Nearly every Apple top exec is working on the AR headset

AppleInsider · May 21, 2023 3:06PM

Apple's mixed-reality headset is a big deal for the company, with many of the highest executives involved with the project to try and make it a success.

A render of a potential Apple headset [AppleInsider]

Apple's AR and VR headset is expected to be unveiled during WWDC 2023 in June, and could be the launch of a brand new platform for the company. With a lot riding on it being a success, many of the top brass at Apple are pitching in to realize that vision.

In a rundown from Mark Gurman in his "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, the list of executives involved in the seven-year journey includes Mike Rockwell, who oversees the engineering of the device. A person involved with its development said "He's an utter genius and if anyone can get this done, it's him."

Given the closeness and involvement, Rockwell could become one of the faces of the device for its unveiling.

COO Jeff Williams is in charge of the design team, including the human interface group who have worked on the overall vision. Williams also manages manufacturing the device itself, which is apparently thought internally to be the most complex product Apple has ever designed.

Between Rockwell and the top executive team is Dan Ricco, who has worked just on the headset for the last two years. Below Rockwell is senior lieutenant Paul Meade, handling hardware engineering for the headset and previously worked on iPhone hardware management until 2017.

Jony Ive is also namechecked in the list, as while he was in a part-time role during the early creation of the headset, he apparently pushed to avoid the isolating designs of existing headsets. This included lobbying for a portable base station-less design, an outward-facing display for others to see the eyes of the user, and a smooth transition between VR and AR.

Though Ive is no longer with Apple, he was still involved with the headset until his contract ended a year ago.

Other names on the list include Greg Joswiak, Phil Schiller, Frank Casanova, Kim Vorrath, Jeff Norris, Johny Srouji, Shannon Gans, and Geoff Stahl.

Read on AppleInsider

mikethemartian · May 21, 2023 5:40PM

I feel sorry for the engineers that actually do the work with all these bosses.

shaolinrockstar · May 21, 2023 6:42PM

manwithnoname said:

I don't think the majority of the public care about AR/VR. It will just be another product some people will buy. Its no great inovation or world sharttering tech. Techno heads will buy it up as they do with anything new, whether it's useful; or not! That most likley is not what Apple fanatics want to hear but it is what it is.

Says everyone until they see the game changer for themselves. Everyone else has tried and failed, so you think Apple is doomed to fail too. The majority of the public don't care about AR/VR because they haven't seen anything so far that would draw them to it. But that is what Apple does best. Not necessarily innovation or world shattering tech, but taking what currently exists and ironing out the kinks and distilling it until they can provide an EXPERIENCE that is simply irresistible. Once that happens, public opinion will shift. It won't happen overnight. But give it a few years and this could be the start of something huge. Then everyone will follow and say it was inevitable.

macxpress · May 21, 2023 7:14PM

manwithnoname said:

I don't think the majority of the public care about AR/VR. It will just be another product some people will buy. Its no great inovation or world sharttering tech. Techno heads will buy it up as they do with anything new, whether it's useful; or not! That most likley is not what Apple fanatics want to hear but it is what it is.

The majority of the public most likely didn't care about a smartphone until Apple changed that. The majority of the public didn't care about an ultra-portable tablet device (iPad) until Apple changed that. We could go on and on about what the public doesn't care about, until it does something that changes their lives.

thrang · May 21, 2023 9:10PM

I have posted many times... IMO, this device, while slow to be adopted, will benefit Apple much more in many vertical business segments, healthcare, government, military, law enforcement, education, and assistive services, rather than just what the general public would use it for. It's also a developer focused launch once they show the frameworks and internal apps (and I suspect you will see some special third party demos as well), $3,000 is chump change for a serious developer to invest, and they will be the bulk of buyers for this version. The pump has to be primed. The third party solutions that sprout from that investment will form the basis of the Version 2's wider adoption.

It's not to say that gaming and other general public interest apps won't be large part, but other than the iPhone, Apple still has a wide open field in front of them in most of the sectors above, and more... this could be interesting....

kierkegaarden · May 21, 2023 9:39PM

This article comes just days after one claiming that executives are distracting themselves from the project. I think the secrecy around the project has prevented any real information from being leaked, and stories are being created to make up for this — it’s all fiction. Only a small team inside Apple knows what it will look like, what it will cost, and what the UI/UX will be. I think they will move a minimum 10m units in the first full year, and the only limitation will be manufacturing capacity.

king editor the grate · May 21, 2023 10:16PM

manwithnoname said:

I don't think the majority of the public care about AR/VR. It will just be another product some people will buy. Its no great inovation or world sharttering tech. Techno heads will buy it up as they do with anything new, whether it's useful; or not! That most likley is not what Apple fanatics want to hear but it is what it is.

This comment was posted on a story when first iPod announced, I think on this site:

Toooooo expensive piece of crap!!!

I said the Cube was overpriced and should cost $1200, this piece of Sh... should cost no more than $90.

Apple is selling a bunch of overpriced things like the TiBook that won't be resellable for more than $1300 in less than 6 month because it is not upgredable.

This iPod is for spoil rich kids with insane parents or an Apple fan as fannatic as a Taliban. It has good features but forget about getting it for $399!!!! Never, who gets that thing is a very stupid person.

Steve Jobs is under terrible consuling or is under too much pot. This propusal is not realistic at all. If Apple does something like this again is going down.

This unit may work for an audio engeneer to record some conference or rock band on the field in place of buying a expensive DAT machine, that is the only real good market this machinne is gonna have.

rundhvid · May 21, 2023 10:18PM

Bla, bla, bla…

—will it do P.O.R.N ?

😱👀

toortog · May 21, 2023 10:26PM

I feel sorry for the Marketing team who have to try and sell this thing. Apple's traditional market is devices for the mass market, yes the higher end of the market since the original Mac Apple has always be the high side, but doable. Now their Marketing team has to deal with a product that really isn't for the masses its niche product. In addition to be a niche product it's even expensive for it's market. So sure it's Apple and a lot of Apple fanboys will be drooling and shouting about it, but how many will actually shell out the estimated $3000 in this tough economy? So I think Apples Marketing team is going to feel like Sisyphus pushing that boulder up the mountain.

jakeb · May 22, 2023 12:33AM

Important to remember when this launches... every single new product Apple launch has been hated and made fun of. And then 2 iterations later it becomes a widespread success. So I fully expect everyone to be incredibly disappointed when this launches and then change their mind in a few years.

jakeb · May 22, 2023 12:35AM

Also important to remember... Apple always leaks ridiculous prices for their new products. iPad was rumored to cost $1500 to $1800. Then they launched it at $500 and everyone thought it was cheap.

If they're leaking $3000, theres a good chance this thing is actually launching at $1200 or so.

radarthekat · May 22, 2023 1:19AM

manwithnoname said:

ShaolinRockstar said:

manwithnoname said:

I don't think the majority of the public care about AR/VR. It will just be another product some people will buy. Its no great inovation or world sharttering tech. Techno heads will buy it up as they do with anything new, whether it's useful; or not! That most likley is not what Apple fanatics want to hear but it is what it is.

Says everyone until they see the game changer for themselves. Everyone else has tried and failed, so you think Apple is doomed to fail too. The majority of the public don't care about AR/VR because they haven't seen anything so far that would draw them to it. But that is what Apple does best. Not necessarily innovation or world shattering tech, but taking what currently exists and ironing out the kinks and distilling it until they can provide an EXPERIENCE that is simply irresistible. Once that happens, public opinion will shift. It won't happen overnight. But give it a few years and this could be the start of something huge. Then everyone will follow and say it was inevitable.

Really no-one cares what Apple is doing other than the die hard fan boys. Apple is not going to change the world with this I asure you. It will be the same thing as the Apple Watch. The hype around that just before launch was the same. Sure people buy it but it was not a game changer and is just another product out there. The head set will be the same. To be frank with you who the hell wants to live their lives in a dream world wearing a head set doing a Stevie Wonder impression! No disrespect to Stevie. Some poeple will buy this others will not and the world will move on. Apple is good but lets face another fact Apple Silicon did not kill intel or AMD its just another chip on the market that sould be obvious by now.

I suppose this very much depends upon one’s definition of ‘change the world.’ My smartphone means I don’t own a handheld calculator, an alarm clock radio, a dedicated camera or video recorder, a separate GPS navigation system (even in my car; my Mazda doesn’t provide a dedicated navigation unit, just a general use screen and CarPlay/android auto integration). I don’t own a dedicated stereo, just a smart speaker driven by my smartphone, I don’t own paper notepads, an organizer, any calendars, photo albums, I don’t go sit at my computer to send or read emails, and on the list goes. Certainly the smartphone has changed much in the way we interact with technology, obsoleting many products that no longer get produced, used for a while and then sent off to landfills. A smartphone is a small, yes dense, but small product compare to all the materials that represent the many products it replaces. It’s helped more than hurt the environment versus producing all that it replaces. By a large margin I would assert. That’s world changing by my definition.

mejsric · May 22, 2023 2:25AM

manwithnoname said:

ShaolinRockstar said:

manwithnoname said:

I don't think the majority of the public care about AR/VR. It will just be another product some people will buy. Its no great inovation or world sharttering tech. Techno heads will buy it up as they do with anything new, whether it's useful; or not! That most likley is not what Apple fanatics want to hear but it is what it is.

Says everyone until they see the game changer for themselves. Everyone else has tried and failed, so you think Apple is doomed to fail too. The majority of the public don't care about AR/VR because they haven't seen anything so far that would draw them to it. But that is what Apple does best. Not necessarily innovation or world shattering tech, but taking what currently exists and ironing out the kinks and distilling it until they can provide an EXPERIENCE that is simply irresistible. Once that happens, public opinion will shift. It won't happen overnight. But give it a few years and this could be the start of something huge. Then everyone will follow and say it was inevitable.

Really no-one cares what Apple is doing other than the die hard fan boys. Apple is not going to change the world with this I asure you. It will be the same thing as the Apple Watch. The hype around that just before launch was the same. Sure people buy it but it was not a game changer and is just another product out there. The head set will be the same. To be frank with you who the hell wants to live their lives in a dream world wearing a head set doing a Stevie Wonder impression! No disrespect to Stevie. Some poeple will buy this others will not and the world will move on. Apple is good but lets face another fact Apple Silicon did not kill intel or AMD its just another chip on the market that sould be obvious by now.

why not just wait until it released. coz it will be funny when your favorite brand starts copying after apple release it.

hammeroftruth · May 22, 2023 2:57AM

Toortog said:

I feel sorry for the Marketing team who have to try and sell this thing. Apple's traditional market is devices for the mass market, yes the higher end of the market since the original Mac Apple has always be the high side, but doable. Now their Marketing team has to deal with a product that really isn't for the masses its niche product. In addition to be a niche product it's even expensive for its market. So sure it's Apple and a lot of Apple fanboys will be drooling and shouting about it, but how many will actually shell out the estimated $3000 in this tough economy? So I think Apples Marketing team is going to feel like Sisyphus pushing that boulder up the mountain.

No worse than the “gold” Apple Watch Edition which was $10000.

applezulu · May 22, 2023 3:43AM

Toortog said:

I feel sorry for the Marketing team who have to try and sell this thing. Apple's traditional market is devices for the mass market, yes the higher end of the market since the original Mac Apple has always be the high side, but doable. Now their Marketing team has to deal with a product that really isn't for the masses its niche product. In addition to be a niche product it's even expensive for it's market. So sure it's Apple and a lot of Apple fanboys will be drooling and shouting about it, but how many will actually shell out the estimated $3000 in this tough economy? So I think Apples Marketing team is going to feel like Sisyphus pushing that boulder up the mountain.

It must be getting close. I recall the commentary before here Apple Watch came out. Nobody wears a watch any more, because every phone has a clock on it. Nobody’s going to pay an Apple price for a Fitbit. What could it do that the iPhone in your pocket doesn’t already do? Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs and has doomed Apple, etc., etc.

Some of the same continued well after the AW was released, but the choicest negative pronouncements are the ones that come before anyone has even seen a new Apple thing.

I don’t yet know what the use case for this thing will be, but I’ll be surprised if I’m not surprised by something that it will be able to do.

I do know that for a thing that nobody will need or want or be willing to pay for, you really can’t go anywhere these days without seeing a lot of people wearing Apple Watches.

edited May 2023

macgui · May 22, 2023 3:58AM

The Watch started off pretty slow. Apple figured out what they wanted to with it and now they're everywhere, and wildly copied in design, if lacking function.

Until Apple delivers this device, nobody really knows what it will do or how Apple will develop it down the road. It probably won't be a phone or a watch for most people. That doesn't mean it won't have appeal to more than a tiny group like the trolls suggest.

I don't need AR or gaming goggles. I'd like to put these on and travel the world, space, the sea or just watch a movie in highrez. No need for a 120" Samsung TV. Pretty basic compared to what some people want with these.

They may not be what I want when they ship or maybe never, after they ship. Hope they do well for Apple because that means they're doing something for some consumers even if I'm not one of them.

michelb76 · May 22, 2023 5:12AM

Obviously this device is not targeted at the general public. I think Apple just needs to get this out to get their feet wet. If it’s somewhat decent it may spur development in 3D and vr/ar tooling on the mac platform again, something which is sorely lacking after Apple’s disinterest and inability to have good GPU’s. With the Mx series, we're finally getting a somewhat decent GPU.

Having this in the hands of developers could be great, Apple can followup with a refined and affordable hardware product a few years later. It’s basically Apple’s hololens, with hopefully a different fate.

entropys · May 22, 2023 10:48AM

XrProOS?
hope it doesn’t mean Apple plans to start charging for the OS.

applezulu · May 22, 2023 11:28AM

michelb76 said:

Obviously this device is not targeted at the general public. I think Apple just needs to get this out to get their feet wet. If it’s somewhat decent it may spur development in 3D and vr/ar tooling on the mac platform again, something which is sorely lacking after Apple’s disinterest and inability to have good GPU’s. With the Mx series, we're finally getting a somewhat decent GPU.

Having this in the hands of developers could be great, Apple can followup with a refined and affordable hardware product a few years later. It’s basically Apple’s hololens, with hopefully a different fate.

You don’t even know what it is, so it’s not obvious who it’s targeted at at all.

nubus · May 22, 2023 11:39AM

michelb76 said:

Obviously this device is not targeted at the general public. I think Apple just needs to get this out to get their feet wet.

Then why use the Apple brand for this? They have Beats, Claris, Shazam, and Apple could invent a brand for the next "owned by Apple but not Apple" but selling to defense industry

And to those saying "every prediction has been wrong"... iTunes Ping, Segway, Google+, Google Wave, Newton, Apple Pippin,... Products do fail.

applezulu · May 22, 2023 12:06PM

nubus said:

michelb76 said:

Obviously this device is not targeted at the general public. I think Apple just needs to get this out to get their feet wet.

Then why use the Apple brand for this? They have Beats, Claris, Shazam, and Apple could invent a brand for the next "owned by Apple but not Apple" but selling to defense industry

And to those saying "every prediction has been wrong"... iTunes Ping, Segway, Google+, Google Wave, Newton, Apple Pippin,... Products do fail.

Newton and Pippin were mistakes made during Steve Jobs’ exile from Apple. Ping was a feature, not a product, and the rest are not Apple. Nothing is a guaranteed certainty, but betting against Apple has not been a good investment strategy for the last quarter century.

Nearly every Apple top exec is working on the AR headset

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