Apple appoints former hardware team chief as head of VR and AR team

Dan Riccio will oversee the development of Apple’s upcoming AR and VR headsets. Bloomberg reports this based on anonymous sources at the tech giant. Riccio was previously the senior vice president of Apple’s hardware team, but was succeeded last month.

Riccio was already responsible for developing Apple’s VR and AR headsets as part of his previous role, but will now do so full-time, Bloomberg writes. According to the news agency, Apple’s “upcoming VR device with AR capabilities” has suffered development problems. Employees at the tech company would believe Riccio’s extra focus could help.

While Riccio is overseeing Apple’s VR and AR project, the project is generally led by Mike Rockwell, another vice president at Apple, according to Bloomberg. There are said to be “more than a thousand engineers” working on the AR and VR devices. Rumors have been circulating for some time about the arrival of a VR headset from Apple. The Information released information about such an alleged device earlier this month. According to that medium, the first Apple VR glasses would have two 8k screens and cost $3,000, although Apple has not responded to those claims.

Apple announced at the end of January that Riccio would lead a new project, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. The company did not share any details at the time. “I’m looking forward to doing what I love most: devoting all my time and energy at Apple to creating something new and wonderful that I couldn’t be more excited about,” Riccio said when Apple released the news. Riccio was succeeded by John Ternus as senior vice president of Apple’s hardware team.

According to Bloomberg, several changes have been made at the top of Apple in recent times. The group of employees involved in developing their own monitors and cameras would now be led by Johny Srouji. Srouji is a chief executive responsible for processors and modems at Apple. The financial news agency said the move suggests the company is getting closer to shipping its first devices with its own displays, replacing those from third-party suppliers.

Dan Riccio. Photo: Apple