Mike Rockwell built Apple Vision Pro from scratch. Now he runs the Siri overhaul. But he’s thought about walking away.
Bloomberg reports that Rockwell has considered leaving or shifting to an advisory role next year, according to people with knowledge of the matter. He has reservations about reporting to his new boss, software chief Craig Federighi. Rockwell wants a bigger say in Apple’s direction. Still, he’d stick around until the Siri upgrade ships. Bloomberg.
This comes as John Ternus prepares to take over as CEO from Tim Cook in September. Ternus faces a retention test. Apple’s top ranks churn like never before. Vision Pro flopped on price and weight. Siri lags rivals. Apple Intelligence stumbled out the gate.
Rockwell landed the Siri job in March 2025. Tim Cook had lost faith in AI head John Giannandrea’s product execution. Giannandrea shifted to research. Rockwell, VP of Vision Products Group, stepped in. He reports to Federighi now. A team member, Aimee Nugent, joined Siri too. She’s known for fixing tough spots. Rockwell long griped about Siri’s flaws. He pushed personalization fixes. 9to5Mac.
Siri’s woes run deep. Promises of AI smarts date to 2024’s Apple Intelligence reveal. Delays piled up. Features like personal context got pushed. Internal tests hit snags. Apple now leans on Google’s Gemini for some iOS 27 Siri bits, per recent WWDC talk. Users vent frustration. Polls show demands for a working assistant. Let’s Data Science.
Giannandrea exited fully this week. After ‘resting and vesting’ till April 15 stock drop. He joined from Google in 2018. Oversaw machine learning. Lost Siri duties in 2025. Became advisor, then gone. Apple tapped Amar Subramanya, ex-Microsoft and Google vet, as AI VP under Federighi. 9to5Mac.
But leadership ripples spread. Kate Bergeron fumes too. Operations chief. Passed over for hardware lead. Tom Marieb got that nod instead. Hardware engineering split into five groups. Turnover historic. Ternus, hardware guy, must hold the line.
Rockwell once eyed Apple’s product and AI roadmap. Like a CTO track. Vision Pro team hated Siri back in 2023. They eyed custom voice controls. Rockwell advised AI lately. Now Siri overhaul tests him. And Apple.
Expect the upgrade soon. iOS 27 eyes June. Gemini powers parts. On-device focus stays. Privacy pitch. But rivals sprint ahead. OpenAI, Google, Anthropic build moats. Apple rents smarts. Spends less—under 10% of peers on AI capex, insiders whisper on X.
Ternus inherits pressure. Cook’s exit smooth. But Siri must deliver. Rockwell stays—for now. Exit would sting. Vision Pro creator. Siri fixer. Gone?
Not yet. Upgrade first. Then decisions. Apple watches close. Talent flight risks everything. Siri reboot key to catching up. Or falling further.
Industry eyes Cupertino. Can Ternus rally? Rockwell commit? Siri shine? Stakes high. Clock ticks.
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