Apple last month announced that chief hardware engineer Dan Riccio would move to a new role, focusing on a “new project.” Today, Mark Gurman posted on Bloomberg that this new project could be nothing less than the future Glass of apple.
A new project that requires special supervision
Apple has been developing augmented / mixed / virtual reality glasses for several years. Initially, we thought the company’s strategy might be to launch augmented reality apps with a simple interface in which to display notifications and information and then go for a more advanced mixed reality model. Now, with the information we have, it looks like the company’s strategy has changed.
Apple plans to release an expensive, high-performance augmented reality headset with which developers can polish and create experiences that later lead to glasses that we can all use in our daily lives. In this change of strategy it seems that it comes into play Dan Riccio who, like Phil Shiller in terms of marketing, will take the reins of this division.
Riccio’s move is similar to one made last year by Phil Schiller, the company’s former marketing manager. Both executives left their senior positions, but remained in areas that required additional supervision. In Schiller’s case, it was the App Store and PR, and for Riccio, it was AR and VR headsets. This strategy helps keep key executives in the company for the long term.
While Riccio focuses on the development of augmented / virtual reality glassesJohn Ternus takes his place at the head of material engineering. A section which, from the outset, would also oversee the development of this product, although perhaps in a less direct manner.
It is clear that the importance that Apple places on augmented and virtual reality goes far beyond a simple hardware product. Tim Cook has already commented in an interview that this is a revolutionary technology that in a few years will make us wonder how we live without it. We’ll see what Apple has prepared for us in this regard.
