Apple Restructures Siri Division - Acquires Vision Pro Developers

Apple is undergoing a significant transformation within its Siri division, with Mike Rockwell, the newly appointed head of Siri engineering, bringing in team members from his previous role in the Vision Products Group. This strategic move aims to enhance the capabilities of the voice assistant through advancements in artificial intelligence.

According to reports from Bloomberg, much of the leadership within the Siri team has been replaced with individuals who were previously part of the Vision Products Group, where Rockwell played a crucial role in developing the Vision Pro headset.

Rockwell is also said to have restructured various teams within Siri, focusing on areas such as speech synthesis, language understanding, performance, and user experience. This restructuring follows Apple's earlier announcement that the rollout of significant Siri functionalities under the Apple Intelligence initiative has been delayed, potentially by up to a year. The new features are now expected to be delivered in the fall.

The integration of generative AI features into Siri is currently a top priority for Apple. Despite Siri's launch in 2011, the company has struggled to maintain its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving field of AI-driven voice assistants. Users often find it challenging to interact with Siri effectively, especially when compared to the more advanced chatbot functionalities offered by competitors such as OpenAI and Alibaba.

Rockwell takes over the role of Siri engineering chief from John Giannandrea, Apple's head of AI, and Robby Walker, who previously led the Siri team. Rockwell has expressed intentions to elevate Siri's performance significantly. Ranjit Desai, a former Vision Pro developer known for his expertise in high-performance systems with low latency, has joined the Siri team as part of this transition.

There are questions about the future of the Vision Products Group following Rockwell's transition to the Siri team. Geoff Stahl, who previously worked under Rockwell, is expected to take over the software division within the Vision Products Group. Other managers associated with visionOS are likely to remain in their roles unless invited to join the Siri team.

Meanwhile, the Vision Pro is anticipated to have a second model released by the end of this year or early next year, while Apple continues its efforts on developing a true augmented reality (AR) headset.