Apple Overhauls Siri Leadership to Accelerate Development of Apple Intelligence Features

Apple is undergoing a significant leadership restructuring within its Siri team to boost progress on upcoming Apple Intelligence functionalities, reports Bloomberg. The move comes after the recent WWDC 2024 reveal of new ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features, which failed to launch as scheduled, prompting Apple to reassign and promote key personnel.

Leadership Changes and New Team Structure

Mike Rockwell, the new Siri head who previously contributed to the software of Vision Pro, has taken charge of revamping the Siri management team since March. Alongside him, former ‌Siri‌ chief John Giannandrea has been reassigned from vocal assistant responsibilities to focus on artificial intelligence research.

Rockwell is replacing existing Siri managers with talent from the Vision Pro software division, aiming to integrate top-tier software engineering expertise. He is also restructuring teams responsible for speech recognition, comprehension, performance, and user experience to enhance Siri's capabilities.

Key Appointments and Oversight

• Ranjit Desai, Longtime Vision Pro engineering lead, now oversees Siri engineering, including platform and systems development.
• Olivier Gutknecht, senior director of Vision Pro design, will lead the Siri UX team.
• Nate Begeman (engineering director) and Tom Duffy (Core OS senior director) are working on Siri's underlying architecture.

Employees have been informed that these changes are strategic to meet Apple's development targets, positioning some of the company’s top software talent in these roles.

Focus on Advanced Technology and Third-Party Integration

Under Rockwell’s leadership, Apple is rearchitecting Siri to utilize a large language model (LLM)-based system that promises to streamline the assistant’s technology and boost its capabilities. Ensuring Siri's integration with third-party apps aligns with Apple's goal of expanding Siri's extensibility.

While leading Siri's transformation, Rockwell continues to oversee the development of visionOS, with the broader Vision Pro hardware team still reporting to John Ternus. Teams previously managed by transitioning executives are now overseen by Geoff Stahl, a veteran working closely with Rockwell.

Strategic Goals and Future Outlook

This management overhaul signifies Apple's commitment to advancing ‌Siri‌'s technology, aiming for a more natural, capable, and integrative personal assistant. The focus on LLMs and third-party app collaboration indicates a future where Siri becomes more versatile and contextually aware.

Apple’s efforts to reengineer Siri reflect a broader push into AI-driven services, heralding a new era of smarter, more integrated personal assistant experiences on Apple devices.

Note: Some details are subject to change as Apple continues to refine its plans and technology strategies.