Apple’s Siri Chief Mike Rockwell May Leave the Company Next Year

Mike Rockwell, Apple’s vice president of Siri engineering, “continues to seriously consider stepping down” and could leave Apple entirely next year, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, as relayed by MacRumors. Gurman described the possible departure as a major blow to Apple.

Siri is the voice assistant built into the iPhone, Mac, Apple TV and other Apple devices, so a change at the top of its engineering team bears on how quickly Apple’s AI features reach users.

Who could take over Siri

If Rockwell leaves or moves to a different role, Siri would likely fall to one of two executives, according to the report.

• Amar Subramanya is a Google veteran whom Apple hired last year to strengthen its AI work.
• Sebastien Marineau is a deputy to software chief Craig Federighi and leads the teams that integrate AI into iOS.

Some people inside Apple see Marineau as a possible eventual successor to Federighi and as someone “more all-in on the AI revolution,” the report says.

Federighi is staying put

Gurman reckons a succession at the top of software engineering remains “a distant prospect.” His sources say Federighi “maintains a firm grip” on the organization and “has done little to prioritize succession planning or establish a clear path for a successor.”

Federighi has led the software engineering group for more than a decade. Gurman adds that he has given no sign of being among Apple’s senior leaders who are considering an exit in the coming years.

Why it matters for Apple users

Apple has been building AI into its products, and the newest example is the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, announced Oct. 13. It has an A19 chip and Siri AI support. The person running Siri engineering shapes how those features develop on every device that carries the assistant.

Nothing has been confirmed. Rockwell is said to be considering a move, and Apple has not announced any change. No change to Siri on current devices has been reported.

Other Apple news in the same report

Gurman also reported that Apple is inviting selected media to an “all-day product launch experience” in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct. 28. He said the event is for touchscreen MacBooks, a new iPad mini and Macs with M6 chips.

Separately, Gurman said Apple knew the iPhone Duo would face “severe supply constraints” because of manufacturing challenges, yet started pre-orders on a Friday rather than waiting for more inventory. In his Power On newsletter he called that a “major mistake.”

Source: MacRumors