Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell, who is the new Siri engineering chief, is bringing members of the Vision Pro management team to Siri, replacing or demoting previous managers of the voice assistant business, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (April 22), citing unnamed sources.

Apple did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

The company’s efforts to fix Siri have encountered project delays and engineering problems and have come to symbolize Apple’s difficulties in the artificial intelligence (AI) field, according to the report.

While Vision Pro has not been a commercial hit, Rockwell’s leadership of the development of the device showed his ability to take on major projects, gain support from top leadership and produce a well-regarding operating system and product, the report said.

Rockwell remains in charge of the Vision Pro operating system, visionOS, even as he leads Siri, per the report.

It was reported March 20 that Apple put Rockwell in charge of Siri and removed the voice assistant from the oversight of AI head John Giannadrea in order to speed up the development of AI products.

Those leadership changes followed an annual offsite meeting of Apple’s senior leaders, the “Top 100,” at which the company’s AI efforts were a key topic of discussion.

Rockwell had demonstrated with the Vision Pro his ability to ship new products, as he became one of the few Apple leaders over the past decade to take a major hardware device from conception to market.

Siri was revolutionary when it debuted in 2011 but now lags behind competitors like Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Gemini for Android devices, and Samsung’s Galaxy AI — all of which are ahead in incorporating more advanced AI features — PYMNTS reported in March.

Luc Julia, a co-designer of the original Siri and now chief scientific officer of French automaker Renault, told PYMNTS in March that one hurdle to moving faster is Apple’s culture, as a product must be “nearly perfect” before it is introduced.

“They are falling behind because of this fear of not being perfect,” Julia said.

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In the note, which the company provided to PYMNTS, Morgan Stanley said it found that the Apple Intelligence platform has been downloaded and engaged with by 80% of eligible U.S. iPhone owners in the last six months, has an above average net promoter score of 53, and is characterized by iPhone users as “easy to use, innovative, and something that improves their user experience.”

“While much of the public critique of Apple Intelligence is warranted, and investor sentiment and expectations on Apple’s AI platform couldn’t be lower, our survey of iPhone owners paints a more positive picture,” Morgan Stanley said in the note.

The survey also found that since September, the share of iPhone owners who believe it is extremely or very important to have Apple Intelligence support on their next iPhone rose 15 points to reach 42%. Among iPhone owners who are likely to upgrade their device in the next 12 months, the percentage saying that about the AI platform rose 20 points to reach 54%, according to the note.

Morgan Stanley also found that consumers are willing to pay more for Apple Intelligence than they were in September. Those who have used the AI platform are now willing to pay an average of $9.11 per month for it, a figure that’s 11% higher than the $8.17 average seen in September, per the note.

“While we don’t expect Apple to put Apple Intelligence behind a paywall until the platform is more built out, the potential long-term monetization of an Apple Intelligence subscription could reach tens of billions of dollars annually when considering a 1.4B global iPhone installed base, 32% (and growing) of US iPhone owners have an Apple Intelligence support iPhone, and users are willing to pay up to $9.11/month for Apple Intelligence,” Morgan Stanley said in the note.

Apple announced its suite of AI features in June, saying Apple Intelligence would revolutionize the iPhone,Mac and iPad experience, while keeping user data safe.

The rollout of the offering over a period of months experienced some hiccups, including complaints that its AI summary tool was generating inaccurate headlines, leading Apple to remove the feature from its operating system.

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The company has been using synthetic data to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models but has found that method to be ineffective, Apple wrote in a Monday (April 14) blog post.

Now, Apple will still use synthetic data as a starting point but will compare the generated text to a sample of emails from participating user to determine which generated output best lines up with real-world messages.

“Only users who have opted-in to send Device Analytics information to Apple participate,” Apple said in the blog post. “The contents of the sampled emails never leave the device and are never shared with Apple. A participating device will send only a signal indicating which of the variants is closest to the sampled data on the device, and Apple learns which selected synthetic emails are most often selected across all devices.”

The new technique aims to improve text-related features from the Apple Intelligence platform, like summaries in notifications, the ability to synthesize thoughts in its Writing Tools and recaps of user messages.

Apple Intelligence has struggled to provide users with accurate summaries, and senior executives said in an internal meeting last month that the company’s delays to key updates for Siri, its virtual AI-powered voice assistant, have been ugly and embarrassing.

Apple said Siri would get fresh AI updates later this year, but the Big Tech firm later told Reuters that those improvements would only come in 2026.

Siri, once a pioneer in the field of virtual assistants, is now lagging behind rivals such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Gemini for Android devices, and Samsung’s Galaxy AI, all of which are ahead in offering more advanced AI features, PYMNTS reported last month.

The delays reportedly resulted in the termination of an executive, a rare move for Apple.

CEO Tim Cook removed AI head John Giannandrea, the former head of search and AI at Google, from overseeing Siri. Taking his place, Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell, who will oversee Siri’s upgrades.

“Rockwell will report to software chief Craig Federighi,” PYMNTS reported. “Giannandrea will still oversee other AI efforts at Apple.”

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The effort, which brought up to 1.5 million of Apple’s flagship smartphones into the country, came after the company ceased productions in India to overcome President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Reuters reported Thursday (April 10), citing sources familiar with Apple’s plans.

According to the report, analysts warn that iPhone prices could rocket up in the U.S. due to Apple’s dependence on Chinese imports. China is the company’s chief manufacturing hub, and is facing a 125% tariff rate.

India, meanwhile, has a much lower rate — 26% — which is now on hold after Trump instituted a 90-day tariff pause on all countries aside from China.

Apple “wanted to beat the tariff,” one of the sources told Reuters.

That source said the company had campaigned to get Indian airport authorities to cut the time needed to make it through customs at the Chennai airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, from 30 hours down to just six hours.

Apple sells upwards of 220 million iPhones worldwide each year, the report said, citing data from Counterpoint Research showing that 20% of those phone imports to the U.S. are from India, with the remainder coming from China.

The Reuters report suggests that Apple’s plans were in place long before the tariffs, or even before Trump’s election victory, with a senior Indian official saying that the company had spent about eight months arranging its fast-tracked customs clearance.

As noted here earlier in the week — in a previous report on Apple’s plans to use India to offset the tariff costs — the tech giant was among the companies that saw the biggest stock market losses after the new levies were announced.

“The decline in shares of Apple erased $300 billion from the company’s market cap, largely because of the iPhone maker’s overseas production hubs,” PYMNTS wrote.

When Trump announced the pause Thursday, the markets recovered somewhat, with the Dow surging by nearly 2,000 points, bringing temporary relief to many industries and markets, PYMNTS wrote in a separate report Thursday.

“However, companies and economists remain cautious about its long-term implications,” that report added. “The freeze does not eliminate tariffs entirely, leaving uncertainty about future trade policies but also pulling the covers on what companies may do if the temporary freeze is lifted for an appreciable amount of time.

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The company is doing so because while the tariffs announced by the Trump administration impose a 26% rate on goods from India, they place at least a 54% rate on those from China, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday (April 7), citing unnamed sources.

About 50% of American demand for iPhones could be met with devices made in India, according to the report.

Apple did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

The company is also attempting to get an exemption from the tariffs, as it did during the first Trump administration, the WSJ report said.

Making the products in the U.S. — which is the stated goal of the new tariffs for all goods — is a “nonstarter” because that would be much more expensive than paying the tariff, per the report.

Bloomberg reported Monday that Apple stocked up on inventory ahead of the tariffs as part of its efforts to prepare for their arrival, which should delay the impact of the tariffs until into the next quarter.

Apple is also likely to squeeze its suppliers and lower its margins in order to keep the prices of its iPhones from soaring, the report said, adding that the company has kept the starting price of its flagship device at $999 since 2017.

In the meantime, consumers’ concerns that tariffs may cause a surge in iPhone prices sent them racing to Apple stores this weekend, leading to crowds like those normally seen during the holiday shopping season, per the report.

Apple was among the companies that took the biggest hits to their stock price on Thursday (April 3), the day after the new tariffs were announced. The drop seen by the company and others like Nike and Wayfair was due to their dependence on imports.

The decline in shares of Apple erased $300 billion from the company’s market cap, largely because of the iPhone maker’s overseas production hubs.

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This complexity amounted to abuse of Apple’s dominant position in the distribution of mobile apps on iOS and iPadOS devices between April 2021 and July 2023, the Autorité de la concurrence said in a Monday (March 31) press release.

“As part of its investigation into the merits of the case, the Autorité found that while the objective of the App Tracking Transparency (‘ATT’) framework is not at its core problematic, how ATT is implemented is neither necessary for nor proportionate with Apple’s stated objective of protecting personal data,” the release said.

Apple did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

The company told Reuters, per a report posted Monday: “While we are disappointed with today’s decision, the French Competition Authority has not required any specific changes to ATT.”

ATT, which Apple introduced in April 2021 with the launch of iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, protects the privacy of users of iPhones and iPads by asking for their consent before allowing third-party applications downloaded from the App Store to collect user data for targeted advertising purposes, according to the French regulator’s press release.

In October 2020, after Apple announced that it would introduce ATT, several associations representing players in the online advertising industry filed a complaint with the regulator, saying the technology would present an obstacle to targeted advertising, per the release.

The regulator ruled that ATT is abusive in terms of competition law because it leads to multiple consent pop-ups being displayed, requires users to consent twice to advertising tracking but refuse only once, and, until the implementation of iOS 15, required users to consent only once to Apple’s data tracking but twice for third parties’ data collection, the release said.

Apple told PYMNTS in July 2023 that ATT gives users added control by requiring apps to ask permission before tracking them.

The company said it had received “strong support from regulators and privacy advocates on the goal of ATT,” and would continue to work to make sure users hold onto control of their data.

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Cook said this on the sidelines of the China Development Forum in Beijing, a day before Apple is set to hold its developer conference in Shanghai, the South China Morning Post reported Monday (March 24).

At the developer conference, Apple is expected to share details about Apple Intelligence with Chinese developers, according to the report.

The company is waiting for final approval to add Apple Intelligence to iPhones in the country, the report said.

When a new AI model from DeepSeek was launched in January, tech stocks plunged as the company claimed it achieved performance comparable to those of U.S. rivals while using substantially fewer Nvidia chips.

During Apple’s Jan. 30 earnings call, Cook was asked about the rise of DeepSeek and said, “In general, I think innovation that drives efficiency is a good thing. And that’s what you see in that model.”

In February, a top executive from China’s Alibaba said his company partnered with Apple to help bring AI-powered iPhones to China.

“They want to use our AI to power their phones, so we’re very fortunate and extremely honored to be able to do business with a great company like Apple,” Joe Tsai, Alibaba’s chair, said at a conference in Dubai.

It was reported in January that Apple’s iPhone sales dropped 5% late last year amid stronger competition from Chinese rivals and that much of the decline could be attributed to the lack of Apple’s AI features on phones sold in China.

One roadblock was that Apple had not yet been able to add those features to iPhone 16s sold in China even as Chinese companies like Huawei added them. The company was trying to secure partnerships with Chinese companies to roll out its AI features.

China requires generative AI operators to secure government permission before they can debut a product.

“Apple’s iPhone 16 series was met with a mixed response, partly due to a lack of availability of Apple Intelligence at launch,” Tarun Pathak, director at Counterpoint Research, said at the time.

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As Axios reported, the proposed class action suit, filed last week in federal court, seeks unspecified damages for customers who purchased Apple products outfitted with the company’s AI capabilities, dubbed “Apple Intelligence.”

“Apple’s advertisements saturated the internet, television, and other airwaves to cultivate a clear and reasonable consumer expectation that these transformative features would be available upon the iPhone’s release,” the suit says.

“This drove unprecedented excitement in the market, even for Apple, as the company knew it would, and as part of Apple’s ongoing effort to convince consumers to upgrade at a premium price and to distinguish itself from competitors deemed to be winning the AI-arms race.”

However, the suit adds, Apple’s products featured “a significantly limited or entirely absent version of Apple Intelligence,” thus misleading consumers. The suit also says Apple advertised its products based on “overstated AI capabilities.”

The lawsuit also notes that Apple has pulled a recent ad campaign touting AI capabilities of its Siri voice assistant from YouTube, but has otherwise “failed to retract all the similarly false representations in the market that began in the summer of 2024.”

PYMNTS has contacted Apple for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.

The suit comes at a time when — as noted here last week — Apple is struggling to catch up to competitors such as Amazon and Google as those companies roll out more advanced AI features.

The company has said that improvements to Siri — originally planned to debut this year — had been pushed back until 2026. Amazon, meanwhile, recently announced Alexa+, an updated version of its home voice assistant that embeds generative and agentic AI.

“It is a remarkable fall from grace for Siri that has culminated in a rare move by Apple: demoting the executive in charge,” PYMNTS wrote.

The executive in question is John Giannandrea, ex-head of search and AI at Google, who had been overseeing Siri’s upgrades before. That job now goes to Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell.

Speaking with PYMNTS earlier this month, Siri co-designer Luc Julia said that an obsession with perfection is likely weighing down efforts to introduce an upgraded Siri.

“They are falling behind because of this fear of not being perfect,” said Julia.

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As Bloomberg News reported Sunday (March 23), the camera would help the watch see the outside world and use artificial intelligence (AI) to provide relevant information.

These watches are likely still generations away from hitting stores, writes Bloomberg’s Mark Gruman, but are on the company “roadmap,” with plans to add cameras to both the standard Series and Ultra Apple Watch models. 

But each watch would have a different camera set-up, the report added. In the Series watch model, the camera would be inside the display, as with the front-facing lens on an iPhone. With the Ultra version of the watch, the camera lens would sit at the side of the watch near the crown and button.

This way, an Ultra user could point their wrist at something to scan an object, while Series wearers would have to flip over their wrists. Gruman added that it’s likely the watch cameras would not support FaceTime, as the screens are too small for adequate video-conferencing.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote last week about Apple’s struggles to catch up with its rivals on the AI front, with Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Gemini for Android devices, and Samsung’s Galaxy AI all ahead in integrating more advanced AI features.

The company told Reuters recently that upgrades to its Siri AI assistant would be delayed until this year after promising those enhancements for 2025. 

Robby Walker, head of Siri at Apple, has said that delays and missteps by Siri were “ugly” especially after aggressively advertising its capabilities, according to a recent Bloomberg report.

“It is a remarkable fall from grace for Siri that has culminated in a rare move by Apple: demoting the executive in charge,” PYMNTS wrote.

Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly removed AI head John Giannandrea, the former head of search and AI at Google, from running Siri operations, replacing him with Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell.

According to Siri co-designer Luc Julia, Apple’s obsession with perfection is likely hindering efforts to launch an improved version of Siri faster.

“They are falling behind because of this fear of not being perfect,” Julia told PYMNTS in an interview this month.

He noted that Siri was not created at Apple but rather by SRI International, directed by Julia. Apple later acquired Siri in 2010, and only after the intervention of one legendary executive.

“Only one guy wanted it,” Luc recalled. “It was Steve Jobs.”

 ’

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Today, Siri lags behind competitors such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Gemini for Android devices, and Samsung’s Galaxy AI — all of which are ahead in incorporating more advanced AI features.

Earlier this month, Apple told Reuters that improvements to Siri would be delayed until 2026. Previously, it had said Siri would see enhancements this year. Apple did not give a reason for the delay. The news comes as Amazon recently announced Alexa+, which embeds generative and agentic AI.

Robby Walker, head of Siri at Apple, reportedly said that delays and missteps by Siri were “ugly” especially after heavy marketing on its capabilities, according to a Friday Bloomberg report.

It is a remarkable fall from grace for Siri that has culminated in a rare move by Apple: demoting the executive in charge.

Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly removed AI head John Giannandrea, the former head of search and AI at Google, from overseeing Siri, according to Bloomberg. Instead, Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell will take over upgrading Siri.

Rockwell will report to software chief Craig Federighi. Giannandrea will still oversee other AI efforts at Apple.

The change was made following Apple’s secretive Top 100 meeting that gathers its most important executives to an off-site location to chart Apple’s course — an event Apple co-founder Steve Jobs himself created. Bloomberg said the top topic at the meeting was Apple’s AI efforts.

Read more: Report: Apple Makes Leadership Changes to Speed Development of AI-Powered Siri

Perfection and Corporate Myopia

According to Siri co-designer Luc Julia, an obsession with perfection is likely hampering efforts to roll out an upgraded Siri faster.

“They are falling behind because of this fear of not being perfect,” said Julia, in a previous interview with PYMNTS earlier this month.

Julia said Siri was not actually created by Apple. Rather, nonprofit research and development group SRI International, directed by Julia, developed it. SRI was spun off as a separate company in 2007; Apple acquired Siri in April 2010 and integrated it into the iPhone 4S in 2011.

At the time, Apple executives didn’t see the opportunity Siri presented. Apple wouldn’t have acquired Siri’s technology if it weren’t for Jobs, who insisted on it, according to Julia, who later joined Apple as a director.

“Only one guy wanted it,” Luc recalled. “It was Steve Jobs.”

Julia sees the same cautiousness now among Apple’s top management about revamping Siri. “It’s the same story we are talking about today, which is, don’t go too fast. We’ll see if we want to do it.”

Since Jobs’ passing in 2011, new ideas at Apple have been few, and they were hit or miss. The most innovative thing Apple has done since then is the Apple Vision Pro, its augment reality headset, Julia said. The rest of the company is “basically running on what exists.”

See also: Siri’s Original Co-Designer Says Apple’s ‘Fear of Not Being Perfect’ Hampers Siri Revamp

‘We Saw Apple Without Steve Jobs’

In 2013, Oracle Chairman and then-CEO Larry Ellison was asked by CBS how he thought Apple would fare without Jobs.

“We conducted the experiment. It’s been done. We saw Apple with Steve Jobs,” said Ellison, drawing his finger up to mimic rising fortunes, “we saw Apple without Steve Jobs,” bringing his finger down to show declining sales.

Ellison was referring to the time when Apple’s board fired Jobs in 1985 after he lost a power struggle with then-CEO John Sculley. Apple’s business began to fail. In 1997, Jobs returned as CEO.

Jobs would go on to launch the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad, dominating the music, smartphone and tablet industries.

“He’s irreplaceable,” Ellison said. “They will not be nearly so successful because he’s gone.”

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