Apple Executive Dan Riccio Reportedly Shifting Focus to AR/VR Headsets

[MacRumors]

Last month, Apple announced that its hardware engineering chief Dan Riccio would be transitioning to a new role focusing on a "new project," and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today claimed the focus area will be AR/VR headsets.

From the report:

Riccio's move is similar to the approach taken last year by Phil Schiller, the company's former marketing chief. Both executives left senior roles but held on to areas that needed extra oversight. In Schiller's case, it was the App Store and public relations, and for Riccio, it’s the AR and VR headsets. This strategy helps keep key longtime executives at the company.

Apple's work on its first headset, a high-end VR-focused device with some AR capabilities, has faced development challenges, and people within Apple believe Riccio's extra focus could help. While he has ultimate oversight of the project, it is led day-to-day by Mike Rockwell, an Apple vice president who has well over a thousand engineers working on the two devices.

Apple is widely rumored to be working on multiple AR/VR wearables, including a mixed reality headset for release as early as next year and sleeker AR glasses coming at some point later. Last week, The Information claimed that the first headset could cost $3,000 and will be equipped with more than a dozen cameras, two ultra-high-resolution 8K displays, advanced eye-tracking technology, interchangeable headbands, and more.

The report also claims that Apple has advised staff that Johny Srouji, the company's Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies, will now be overseeing a team working on in-house displays and camera technology. The move could suggest that Apple is "getting closer to shipping its first devices with fully custom displays," following rumors that next-generation iPad Pro and Mac models will feature Mini-LED displays.

Apple announced that John Ternus will become its Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, although Apple's executive leadership page still lists Riccio in this role for now. Ternus joined Apple's Product Design team in 2001 and has been a vice president of Hardware Engineering since 2013, the company said.

Article Link: Apple Executive Dan Riccio Reportedly Shifting Focus to AR/VR Headsets

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Congratulations on the new role Mr. Riccio!

 

[Biglethal69]

Oh my God do you think with the amount of money this guy gets paid you think you could crack a smile or two just standing there like a dimwit.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Oh my God do you think with the amount of money this guy gets paid you think you could crack a smile or two just standing there like a dimwit.

I feel weird when I'm smiling in a photo - there's a lot of ways people feel comfortable or not when being photographed.

 

[otternonsense]

How many years has it been with the AR rumour mill that hasn't had something to show other than co-op LEGO showcases on iPads during past Apple events, virtual furniture dropping on whats-a-computer advertisements, and noodly ribbons for last year's event promos? Is there actual interest for this?

 

[AngerDanger]

…you could crack a smile or two [instead of] just standing there like a dimwit.

Seriously, is this too much to ask for?

 

[nfl46]

Hopefully these things are awesome. We shall see what Apple has in store for us.

 

[citysnaps]

Excellent news!

AR (and VR) will be another segment where Apple will release products/technology that will eclipse what others currently have out. AR is already employed in many commercial situations. I suspect with Apple's engineering and imagination there will be many more, both at commercial and consumer levels.

 

[flottenheimer]

A little off topic perhaps, but I've wondered for a long time if the amount of products from Apple (their entire product lineup) in relation to the number of people working on products at Apple is a little underwhelming? Or is it rather impressive?

Does anyone have a serious, well-researched answer?

 

[jeanlain]

How many years has it been with the AR rumour mill that hasn't had something to show other than co-op LEGO showcases on iPads during past Apple events, virtual furniture dropping on whats-a-computer advertisements, and noodly ribbons for last year's event promos? Is there actual interest for this?

Well Pokemon Go has been a cultural phenomenon, or so I'm told.
But it doesn't require glasses. AR glasses are currently only used in certain professional environments, and I don't see that changing anything soon.

 

[citysnaps]

Well Pokemon Go has been a cultural phenomenon, or so I'm told.
But it doesn't require glasses. AR glasses are currently only used in certain professional environments, and I don't see that changing anything soon.

I see that exploding, especially in consumer environments, after Apple releases their AR product.

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

How many years has it been with the AR rumour mill that hasn't had something to show other than co-op LEGO showcases on iPads during past Apple events, virtual furniture dropping on whats-a-computer advertisements, and noodly ribbons for last year's event promos? Is there actual interest for this?

Baby steps, brother.... baby steps!

When you & I can go to a custom theater in a few years- with a dope sound system, strap on an Apple VR headset, and watch and hear an amazing concert, shot in 8k, and have it be indistinguishable from being there live.... it’ll be worth it! Can you imagine? It’s a democratization of experiences. Maybe I can’t spend $5k on flying to Paris for a one-time reunion concert of a supergroup... but $50 for VR, I could swing!
How about those $20k Super Bowl tix?
$100 a pop for VR 50 yard line in 8k sounds fair! How about visiting the Louvre... with nobody else there, & getting as close as you want to all the art? $50-100 sounds fair as well.

There are AMPLE opportunities for this market.

 

[now i see it]

just because a company wants a new potential product to be much better than what's currently available, doesn't mean it's technically possible.
Aiming too high can end up with another AirPower (or Apple Car)

 

[slide_to_unlock]

"Walter, go outside and wipe down the car"

 

[Rogifan]

I don’t get the obsession with this, especially VR. Who cares about VR besides gamers? And as far as AR goes…are people that don’t have to really going to wear glasses/googles on their face all the time? Perhaps there are certain use cases/jobs where this could beneficial but I can’t see it being some mass consumer thing like a smartphone or even a smart watch.

 

[citysnaps]

I don’t get the obsession with this, especially VR. Who cares about VR besides gamers? And as far as AR goes…are people that don’t have to really going to wear glasses/googles on their face all the time? Perhaps there are certain use cases/jobs where this could beneficial but I can’t see it being some mass consumer thing like a smartphone or even a smart watch.

No, not all the time. Only when performing tasks where having additional/augmented information would be beneficial.

Thoracic surgery comes to mind, where a surgeon can summon up records, information, photos, videos, databases, colleagues, and much more during a complex procedure. Or someone inspecting an industrial plant being able to benefit from information/images, previous inspections, etc. Or a car/airplane mechanic being able to access information/images/videos during a complex repair. Or an architect inspecting the framing of a home or building before proceeding to the next construction stage. I can easily see musicians, artists, and craftspeople using AR. There are plenty more situations both benefiting commercial/consumer uses.

 

[The Barron]

Oh my God do you think with the amount of money this guy gets paid you think you could crack a smile or two just standing there like a dimwit.

Along with his lack of smile, his haircut not being shaved straight across his forehead. He can afford a better hair stylist too along with a smile. 😬

 

[jonblatho]

A little off topic perhaps, but I've wondered for a long time if the amount of products from Apple (their entire product lineup) in relation to the number of people working on products at Apple is a little underwhelming? Or is it rather impressive?

Does anyone have a serious, well-researched answer?

While I’m too busy today to find receipts, Apple is very well-known to ask a lot of their employees relative to its fellow Silicon Valley companies. You can probably extrapolate that to the size of specific teams and the number of employees who work on products overall.

 

[ksec]

A little off topic perhaps, but I've wondered for a long time if the amount of products from Apple (their entire product lineup) in relation to the number of people working on products at Apple is a little underwhelming? Or is it rather impressive?

Does anyone have a serious, well-researched answer?

It is VERY impressive if you include only the Design team. But it is also an Achilles heel because they are spread too thin.

Microsoft could afford double the amount of people per project but they wont achieve anything close to Apple. As a matter of fact Apple's efficiency has been slowed down quite a bit since Steve Jobs Era.

 

[applicious84]

Oh my God do you think with the amount of money this guy gets paid you think you could crack a smile or two just standing there like a dimwit.

I think he's just making an appropriate face for what he's getting in to: VR

 

[jweinraub]

I feel weird when I'm smiling in a photo - there's a lot of ways people feel comfortable or not when being photographed.

I do too which is why all of my smiles look fake. I even try mouth cheese to get the muscles aligned decently, but it's still artificial and nothing like my 7-year-old-self was. Why are kids so photogenic and why does that end? How do models maintain a perfect smile and it is 100% phoney yet looks genuine?

Though maybe he wears a custom shirt like Zuckerfail's Brunello Cucinelli that cost $400+.

But all kidding aside, can someone tell me what is the point of this AR/VR tech? On the phone it seems gimmicky as the Touch Bar is. Okay cool I can see street names with the camera overlay which probably drains battery significantly. The blue dot tells me the same amount of informations without the pizzazz and fanfare and makes one using it far less douchey.

And with the headset, the current VR ones make me nauseous so I really can't see why it's needed for anything beyond entertainment. Perhaps AR glasses can aid surgeons with cuts, but I think when one spends $2M for the Da Vinci surgical robot, it probably has a screen that does that sort of thing but I am far too lazy to see if that is true or not.

But still, besides entertainment, navigation, and some other "edge" cases, I can't really see the point in the investment Apple is making on this. Why is this the future? Perhaps I am too much of an old fart curmudgeon but I really want to know if any of the lot of you will actually buy it because you genuinely want it and not because it is the latest Apple can't do wrong tech toy that you must have!

 

[MizuNoHane]

I don’t get the obsession with this, especially VR. Who cares about VR besides gamers? And as far as AR goes…are people that don’t have to really going to wear glasses/googles on their face all the time? Perhaps there are certain use cases/jobs where this could beneficial but I can’t see it being some mass consumer thing like a smartphone or even a smart watch.

Color me obsessed. Thinking about idealized use cases for devices like Oculus Quest or Hololens, in productivity terms alone it's an elegant way of expanding your office beyond a laptop screen to fit whatever room or space you need it to fill. AR could open a way for people to work in cramped environments like small apartments or cubicles. I could take my entire workstation with me on a business trip and be just as productive from a hotel room as I am at my office. And from a purely aesthetic standpoint it would be nice to have a home office that isn't permanently filled with large black monitors. Making technology disappear is an initiative LG and Samsung are already approaching in a different way a la The Frame and rollable OLED panels.

 

[robjulo]

Oh my God do you think with the amount of money this guy gets paid you think you could crack a smile or two just standing there like a dimwit.

Because that wouldn't give off the "hip" look he's trying to portray. He looks ridiculous.

 

[ipedro]

The last time the VP in charge of hardware “semi-retired” to work on “other projects”, we got the Apple Watch. Apple Glasses are going to be the next major disruption.

Steve Jobs had spoken about his regret of how the iPhone and smartphones in general have taken over people’s lives and detached them from their surroundings. Tim Cook appears to share those feelings. Apple seems to have since adopted a roadmap that reintegrates people into being present.

Screen Time and Apple Watch as a glanceable device that you can’t get lost into are the result of that shift. Overlaying information on the real world is the clear next step. This is why AR is so important to Tim Cook and why he often talks about it as important to the company.

I can envision the next big leap for the internet being overlaying it on the real world rather than having it contained in a glass box you carry in your pocket.

 

[otternonsense]

Baby steps, brother.... baby steps!

When you & I can go to a custom theater in a few years- with a dope sound system, strap on an Apple VR headset, and watch and hear an amazing concert, shot in 8k, and have it be indistinguishable from being there live.... it’ll be worth it! Can you imagine? It’s a democratization of experiences. Maybe I can’t spend $5k on flying to Paris for a one-time reunion concert of a supergroup... but $50 for VR, I could swing!
How about those $20k Super Bowl tix?
$100 a pop for VR 50 yard line in 8k sounds fair! How about visiting the Louvre... with nobody else there, & getting as close as you want to all the art? $50-100 sounds fair as well.

There are AMPLE opportunities for this market.

I like the idea but I'm having a hard time decoupling it from wishful thinking. Seeing is believing, and for all of Tim's enthusiasm we haven't seen all that much other than the Lidar component which (I assume) is used primarily for night time portraits.