Apple’s Chief Hardware Engineer Shifted To A New Unknown Project

Apple promoted its hardware chief, Dan Riccio, to a new role “focusing on a new project.” He will report to CEO Tim Cook, Apple announced on Monday.

Riccio was previously the company’s senior vice president for hardware engineering, signing off on the physical aspects and electrical engineering of Apple products, including iPhones. He’s been on Apple’s “executive team” reporting to Cook since 2012.

What Is The New Project?

Apple did not mention what project Riccio would work on in its announcement.

“Next up, I’m looking forward to doing what I love most — focusing all my time and energy at Apple on creating something new and wonderful that I couldn’t be more excited about,” Riccio said in a statement.

Apple rarely discusses future products, but in recent years, the tech giant has been working on electric cars as well as virtual reality and augmented reality headsets.

John Ternus will take over for Riccio. Ternus was previously a VP at Apple, and his public profile has been growing in recent years. Last year, he was a key presenter of the company’s transition from Intel processors to its own M1 processors for laptops at a livestreamed launch event.

Apple’s Self-Driving Car

If that language sounds familiar, it’s because it’s almost the exact same description that Apple provided for Riccio’s predecessor, Bob Mansfield, when he stepped down as SVP of hardware engineering in 2012. Like Riccio, Mansfield transitioned to “work on future projects” in an unnamed role that reported directly to Cook — which Bloomberg notes included leading Apple’s self-driving car team until December 2020, when Mansfield fully retired from Apple.

Apple’s future automotive ambitions are currently being led by artificial intelligence executive John Giannandrea. But following Mansfield’s departure, there would appear to be a vacancy in senior hardware engineers on that project.

Riccio’s move is the latest departure from Apple’s executive leadership team in recent years, following legendary product designer Jony Ive (who stepped down to form his own design firm, LoveFrom, in November 2019) and Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, who was replaced by Greg Joswiak in 2020 as Schiller refocused on running the App Store and Apple Events.

Synopsis

• Apple said on Monday that its hardware chief, Dan Riccio, will transition to a new role “focusing on a new project.”
• Riccio was previously the company’s senior vice president for hardware engineering, signing off on the physical aspects and electrical engineering of Apple products, including iPhones.