craig federighi
Latest
Here’s why your iOS auto-updates often arrive late
He said Apple takes feedback from those who update early into account.
Judge orders Apple’s iOS and macOS chief to testify in Epic case
CEO Tim Cook will also be deposed as the case heads to trial.
How Apple reinvigorated its AI aspirations in under a year
At its WWDC 2017 keynote on Monday, Apple showed off the fruits of its AI research labors. We saw a Siri assistant that's smart enough to interpret your intentions, an updated Metal 2 graphics suite designed for machine learning and a Photos app that can do everything its Google rival does without an internet connection. Being at the front of the AI pack is a new position for Apple to find itself in. Despite setting off the AI arms race when it introduced Siri in 2010, Apple has long lagged behind its competitors in this field. It's amazing what a year of intense R&D can do.
Apple's WWDC 2014 keynote was the most exciting in years
Just a few minutes into Apple's recent WWDC keynote, it was apparent that things were going to be a little bit different, a little bit more soulful if you will. After all, it's not too often that one sees a top Apple executive casually joke about calling the next iteration of OS X "OS X Weed." For a number of reasons, I found this year's keynote to be the most interesting and exciting in recent memory. Specifically, there seemed to be an infectious air of excitement at Moscone West this past Monday; Tim Cook seemed looser than usual and Craig Federighi absolutely killed it with an engaging balance of humor, information, and enthusiasm. All in all, Apple executives appeared at ease, confident, and all too eager to show thousands of developers what the company had been working on over the past many months. Federighi's penchant jokes aside, I found Apple's 2014 WWDC keynote to be incredibly engaging for the simple fact that it was actually full of surprises. Go figure. In recent years, the Apple rumor mill has gotten so damn good at snuffing out Apple's software and hardware plans that Apple media events have served to merely confirm what many in the blogosphere already knew weeks earlier. But this year was different. If you go back and look at any of the "What to expect at WWDC" articles, one would have assumed that the most important feature in iOS 8 was going to be an app called Healthbook. As it turns out, Healthbook is actually called HealthKit and the feature-set was hardly a focal point of the keynote presentation. Apple on Monday made a number big announcements that will discernibly improve the iOS and OS X user experience. And best of all, none of the tech sites that typically break Apple rumors anticipated even 5% of what Apple had in store. Indeed, there were so many new compelling features to introduce that WWDC maestro Craig Federighi was quickly zooming from feature to feature in an effort to cover as much ground as possible. Even features that would ordinarily occupy a few minutes of stage time (Siri enhancements in iOS 8, for example) were relegated to just a single slide. Apple's recent $3 billion acquisition of Beats? Nary a mention. By the time the keynote ended after nearly 2 hours, there was no shortage of information to digest; iOS extensions, iCloud Drive, iOS/OS X continuity features, support for third party keyboards, phone calls on OS X, Quick Type, a new programming language!, revamped spotlight functionality, App Store enhancements, and the list truly goes on and on. Last year, the main focus of WWDC was the new design aesthetic of iOS 7 spearheaded by Jony Ive. OS X Mavericks was a respectable upgrade in its own right, but it didn't really blow anybody away. But this year, iOS 8 is less about how the system looks and more about the cool new things you can do with it. As for OS X Yosemite, I personally think it's the most exciting and intriguing OS X update in years. Looking back, Apple's WWDC keynote this week taught us a few things. First and foremost, it demonstrated that the innovative spirit at Apple continues to thrive despite assertions to the contrary. Second, it reminded us that Apple media events can be downright exciting when we don't have a checklist of every new feature on the agenda. And third, it's never been more apparent that one of Steve Jobs' most significant contributions to Apple was putting in place a top notch executive team more than capable of taking Apple to new heights in his absence.
Apple posts WWDC 2014 keynote online
Apple a short while ago posted its entire keynote online for your viewing pleasure where you can relive all of the event's greatest moments; from Craig Federighi talking about OS X Weed to a nice Photoshop mashup of Jony Ive with Federighi's hair. Relive the highs, the lows, and all the hearty laughs over here via Apple's website. The technical requirements to view the video are as follows: Streaming video requires Safari 4 or later on OS X v10.6 or later; Safari on iOS 4.2 or later; or QuickTime 7 on Windows. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 5.0.2 or later. Don't have two hours to watch the keynote? We've condensed it down to 90 seconds.
Tim Cook talks product secrecy, sapphire glass, Macs and iRings on Good Morning America
Set your DVR, folks. If you tune in to ABC News tonight you'll be treated to an interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, and executives Craig Federighi and Bud Tribble. Now it's not often that we see the upper ranks at Apple sit down for interviews, and televised ones at that, but today marks the 30th anniversary of the Mac and Apple is in full-on celebratory mode. Earlier today, Good Morning America aired a short preview of the full-length interview where we see a laid-back Cook briefly talk about product secrecy and Apple's new sapphire plant in Arizona. At one point, he even deflects a question about the iWatch by saying Apple is actually working on an iRing (which if you recall, may be the dumbest Apple rumor of all time). You can check out the video below. See more US News from ABC|World News Some additional highlights from the video: A self-professed workaholic, Cook gets up every morning at 3:45 He gets about 700-800 emails a day, and reads the majority of them The full-length interview, set to air tonight on World News with Diane Sawyer promises to touch on a few more topics and provide a lot more depth, including Cook's take on the recent NSA controversy.
Jony Ive, Craig Federighi chat with USA Today
In anticipation of Apple's worldwide iPhone launch this Friday, Apple executives have been hitting the interview circuit. Earlier today, we pointed to a Businessweek interview with Tim Cook, Craig Federighi and Jony Ive; and now comes yet another chat with Apple's higher-ups courtesy of USA Today. In detailing why iOS 7 does away with the skeuomorphism so favored by Steve Jobs and Scott Forstall, Jony Ive explains: When we sat down last November (to work on iOS 7), we understood that people had already become comfortable with touching glass, they didn't need physical buttons, they understood the benefits," says Ive. "So there was an incredible liberty in not having to reference the physical world so literally. We were trying to create an environment that was less specific. It got design out of the way." On the same note, Craig Federighi explains that graphical improvements in mobile devices have somewhat negated the need for previous iOS mainstays like drop shadows. "This is the first post-Retina (display) UI (user interface), with amazing graphics processing thanks to tremendous GPU (graphics processing unit) power growth, so we had a different set of tools to bring to bear on the problem as compared to seven years ago (when the iPhone first launched)," he says. "Before, the shadowing effect we used was a great way to distract from the limitations of the display. But with a display that's this precise, there's nowhere to hide. So we wanted a clear typography." Ive jumps in. "Yes, we wanted to defer to the content, and just get out of the way." There's a whole lot of interesting information in the interview, and seeing as how interviews with Apple executives are rather hard to come by given the secretive nature of the company, the USA Today piece is certainly worth reading in its entirety.
Tim Cook, Jony Ive and Craig Federighi chat with Bloomberg Businessweek
On the eve of the iPhone 5c and 5s launch, Apple executives Tim Cook, Craig Federighi and Jony Ive sat down for an all-encompassing interview with Bloomberg Businessweek. It's not often that Apple execs sit down for in-depth interviews, but when it happens, it is usually chock-full of interesting information. The Businessweek interview is no different. One of the many persistent criticisms regarding Apple's iPhone strategy is that the company needs a cheap handset to appeal to more cost-conscious consumers. Cook, however, explained that Apple's business model isn't predicated on churning out low-value devices at cheap price points. To Cook, the mobile industry doesn't race to the bottom, it splits. One part does indeed go cheap, with commoditized products that compete on little more than price. "There's always a large junk part of the market," he says. "We're not in the junk business." The upper end of the industry justifies its higher prices with greater value. "There's a segment of the market that really wants a product that does a lot for them, and I want to compete like crazy for those customers," he says. "I'm not going to lose sleep over that other market, because it's just not who we are. Fortunately, both of these markets are so big, and there's so many people that care and want a great experience from their phone or their tablet, that Apple can have a really good business." Later on in the interview, Cook drives the point home, noting that Apple never preoccupied itself with the idea that it had to develop a low-cost phone. "Our primary objective," Cook explained, "is to sell a great phone and provide a great experience, and we figured out a way to do it at a lower cost." The article also touches on the close collaboration between Ive -- Apple's design guru -- and Federighi -- Apple's senior VP of software engineering. Indeed, one of the predominant mantras heralded by Cook following the ouster of Scott Forstall was that Apple needed to "encourage even more collaboration" between the company's various teams. With desks that are reportedly just a one-minute walk from one another, Ive and Federighi have worked closely together for quite some time. What makes that collaboration work is the two men's shared focus on usability and simplicity. Sit down with top executives from, say, Samsung's mobile division, and you'll probably hear a great deal about how much the company listens to the market and can move to address global needs with astonishing alacrity. Ive and Federighi will spend 10 minutes talking about how hard they worked to perfect iOS 7's blurred-background effect. "I think, very often, you can't call out by attribute or name areas of value," says Ive regarding what people look for when using a product. "But I do think that we sense when somebody has cared. And one thing that is incontrovertible is how much we've cared." With respect to Apple's chief competitor in the smartphone space -- Android -- Cook appears to be unfazed by Android's ever-increasing market share. For Cook, the true metrics that matter are customer satisfaction and actual device usage. Does a unit of market share matter if it's not being used?" Cook asks. "For us, it matters that people use our products. We really want to enrich people's lives, and you can't enrich somebody's life if the product is in the drawer." There's a whole lot more to digest in the full article and it's well worth checking out. From Cook's view on Apple's share price to his views on Android fragmentation, the Businessweek interview provides a rare glimpse into the minds who help churn out some of the world's most popular products. You can check out the story in its entirety over here.
The Wall Street Journal on Apple's Craig Federighi
While watching Apple's keynote earlier this week, I was particularly struck by Craig Federighi's presentation. He was affable, felt comfortable on stage, was informative, interacted with the audience and even had a few zingers to boot. That said, it's likely no coincidence that Federighi received the most stage time on Monday, handling presentation duties both for OS X Mavericks and iOS 7. The Wall Street Journal today has an interesting profile on Federighi, an important member of Apple's executive team that many people may not know much about. The lanky, 44-year-old engineer has a long Apple pedigree. He worked at Next, the other computer company founded by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and joined Apple when it acquired the company in 1997. But despite earning the respect of colleagues for his focus and affability, he has remained behind the scenes for years. Mr. Federighi spent much of his career working on enterprise software, which has never been Apple's focus. Interestingly enough, the Journal notes that Federighi's career began alongside Scott Forstall when the two worked at NeXT together back in the early '90s. While Forstall quickly rose through the ranks after Apple acquired NeXT, Federighi's enterprise-centric expertise eventually prompted him to leave Apple for Ariba where he would ultimately become the company's CTO. In 2009, Federighi returned to Apple to head up OS X engineering. While Scott Forstall was reportedly a divisive figure within Apple, Federighi appears to be more of a team player who operates by consensus. Consequently, the Journal notes that some decisions regarding Apple's software direction have taken longer to implement. All in all, it might be too early to call Federighi the new face of Apple, but I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing a lot more of him at Apple special events in the future. The Journal has a lot more on Federighi that's definitely worth a read. Incidentally, my favorite Federighi quip during the keynote was when he announced that OS X Mavericks would finally offer support for multiple displays. The crowd began applauding wildly, whereupon Federighi jokingly clarified that Apple's wasn't actually giving away new displays to users, remarking that it's "just software." Good stuff.
Some other cool (and relatively unmentioned) iOS 7 features
Craig Federighi simply didn't have the time to go through all of the features in iOS 7, so I decided to scrape some of those features from a slide. View PDF annotation -- in iOS, it's been impossible to view annotations that someone has added to a PDF. It appears that feature is finally coming to iOS 7, and that will bring even more PDF power to our apps. Enterprise single sign-on -- Not sure how this is going to be implemented, but providing a way for enterprise users to use one sign on for all of the sites that they need to work with on a daily basis is huge. This resolves the issue of needing to log into multiple apps on an enterprise network. Turn-by-turn walking directions -- Finally, what we have in Google Maps, available for iOS Maps. Do Not Track option in Safari -- I believe this is similar to Chrome's "incognito windows. A feature brought over from the desktop version of Safari that blocks websites, ad companies, analytic services and social networks from tracking you online. A version of it was present in iOS 6 as Private Browsing, but was not officially announced. Improved Mail search -- I currently find searching iOS mail to be frustrating, and when I really need to look up an old email, I resort to OS X. I can only hope that iOS Mail search is improved to that level. Night mode for Maps -- No more glaring screen when using Maps at night. WiFi HotSpot 2.0 -- Not sure what the improvements are going to be, but it's interesting to see that "Personal Hotspot" is getting an update. Hotspot 2.0 is a public access WiFi standard that allows devices to connect automatically to a compatible WiFi service when a user enters a coverage area. It'll let users walk around their city and connect to WiFi hotspots on the fly without any interaction with their phone. FaceTime Audio -- the ability to do FaceTime using only audio -- this could be helpful for doing podcasts. App Store Volume Purchase -- This may be a way for developers or Apple to offer volume purchase rates to schools, perhaps with "promo codes" that work for a large number of users. Scan to acquire Passbook passes -- At a store? Want to get a Passbook pass for a discount coupon? Just scan a code to have it automatically loaded into Passbook. Inclinometer == built-in level. We'll continue Zaprudering the slides as time goes by here today. There's a lot of information to digest!
New iOS SDK features for developers
Some of the iOS SDK features that were quickly touched on by Craig Federighi today sound fascinating, although we won't get details on some of them until later. Here are some that I found to be the most interesting: New multitasking APIs -- this should enable apps that you use most often to update themselves in the background. Secure Game Center scores -- as Erica Sadun pointed out, people know how to hack the leaderboards right now; this may eliminate that. MFi game controllers -- this is HUGE for gaming. MFi, of course, means "Made for iPhone / iPad / iPod," and this API should make game controllers that work with our devices become more prevalent. Dynamic type size -- Devs can build in user-directed font scaling so us old folks can read our Helvetica Neue Ultra Light in BIG letters. 60 fps video capture -- want to include slow-mo video in your app? Capture at 60 frames per second. Barcode scanning -- finally, an API for reading barcodes and perhaps those pesky QR codes? Sprite kit -- sprites are a collection of related images grouped into a single image, i.e., frames for an animation or a group of icons. This sounds like it could be something useful for writing side-scrollers or perhaps any game, reducing the number of CPU cycles required to move something across the display. UI dynamics -- the ability to get some of the beautiful transparency and 3D feel we saw in the demos. Peer-to-peer connectivity -- build local WiFi or Bluetooth connections with other iOS devices and Macs(?) into apps easily. Background asset downloads -- automatic updates of app assets that normally take a bit of time upon connection to grab new data. Directions API -- giving developers the capability of building step-by-step directions into their apps. AirDrop from Activity sheet -- so cool, allowing things like photos or videos or artwork you've just created to be sent to another person via AirDrop. Geodesic Polylines -- as Erica points out, this is a "Google Maps" kinda thing you can do right now to show distance lines from a particular point. This could be very helpful in Maps-related apps to show distances from a point. Any other ideas on what these SDK updates may offer? Let's hear your comments below!
Tim Cook: Executive change-up at Apple has been great; Jony Ive has been 'really key' to iOS 7 design
In October 2012, Apple casually announced via press release a blockbuster shakeup at the executive level. Scott Forstall, who was arguably the face of iOS, was shown the door as Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi all assumed additional responsibilities within the company. The reported difficulties of working with Forstall notwithstanding, the expressed purpose of the executive shakeup was to tightly integrate Apple's hardware, software and services to an even greater degree. Seven months later, at the annual All Things D conference, Tim Cook explained to Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher that so far things under the new hierarchy have been going great. "Really, really great," to be exact. Last fall, we changed things up a bit. We did it to enhance collaboration. The key, for us, to have a killer product -- it's to have incredible hardware, incredible software and incredible services. And then you combine them in a way that you can't tell what's what any more. The real magic occurs at the intersection of that. It's what Apple has always been about. This change just amped it up even more. Following that, Kara Swisher asked Cook about Forstall, inquiring as to whether or not the man tapped by Steve Jobs to spearhead the original development of Apple's mobile OS was a collaborative team player. Ever the corporate diplomat, Cook craftily sidestepped the question: I don't want to talk about anyone in particular except for those who are there. The whole concept was to tighten the groups even more, so we could spend more time finding magic in intersections. Seven months later, give or take, I think it has been an incredibly great change. Craig is running both iOS and OS X. This has been fantastic. Eddy Cue is focused on services. These changes have been great -- really, really great. Cook also confirmed that Ive has been lending his aesthetic sensibilities to the next iteration of iOS. While Cook refused to comment on rumors that iOS 7 might see a dramatic UI overhaul, he did note that Ive has been "really key" to its development. Lastly, Cook confirmed that we'll be able to get a full look at the future of both iOS and OS X at this year's WWDC which is scheduled to kick off on Monday, June 10.
Daily Update for August 28, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Craig Federighi, Dan Riccio promoted to Senior Vice Presidents at Apple
On Monday, Apple announced that it was promoting vice president of Mac Software engineering Craig Federighi and vice president of Hardware Engineering Dan Riccio to senior vice president positions. The two men will report directly to Tim Cook. Federighi, shown on the left in the above image, is a public face for Apple and recently appeared in the last WWDC where he introduced Mountain Lion. He worked with Steve Jobs at NeXT and then moved to Apple. He left Apple in 1999 to work for software and information technology services company Airba. He stayed there ten years before returning to Apple in 2009. Riccio, shown in middle in the above image, joined Apple in 1998 after a stint at Compaq where he worked on the mechanical design of Compaq's consumer PC products. He started off as vice president of Product Design and has played an important role in the development of the iPad. The announcement also confirmed that Bob Mansfield (above right), who announced his retirement from his position as senior vice president of Hardware Engineering in June, will stay on at Apple and work on future projects under the guidance of Tim Cook. There was no title given to Mansfield's new position, so it's not clear what role he will play in the company. Regardless, it's good news that the man who guided the teams which delivered the MacBook Air and the iMac will remain at Apple for a while longer.
Apple promotes pair of execs to Senior VP level, Bob Mansfield to hang around after all
It's a day of upheaval in the boardroom at Apple -- in the good sense. Remember how Hardware Engineering Senior VP Bob Mansfield said he would retire in June? He's had a change of heart and will keep working on future products. Meanwhile, two of the vice presidents who've been mainstays of Apple's recent plans, Mac Software Engineering VP Craig Federighi and Hardware Engineering VP Dan Riccio, have been promoted to Senior VP. All three will report directly to CEO Tim Cook, and both Federighi as well as Riccio will get their first turns at Apple's executive management team. While the shift isn't going to signal a dramatic change in strategy, it's notable that Riccio's role is expanding: he's moving from his earlier iPad focus to overseeing all the hardware Apple makes. We can only guess at what the ultimate goals might be for the new assignments, although we can imagine Apple jumping through hoops to keep a hardware executive as skilled as Mansfield on its side.
Apple brings Dictation to the Mac, tells Siri to stay in the car
Apple has just announced that it's bringing new iPad-style dictation to Mountain Lion. In the same way that you can tap the button on the digital keyboard, hitting the microphone button will allow you to speak directly into native software, websites like Facebook and even third-party applications like Microsoft Word. For more coverage of the WWDC 2012 Keynote, check out our liveblog!
A look at Apple's "all-star" executives
Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Jony Ive, and Steve Jobs are big names at Apple. These top executives are known around the technology industry and around the world for their operational excellence, marketing know-how, design genius and powerful reality distortion fields. While these four men often get credit for much of Apple's success, the company boasts an enviable collection of talented "chiefs" and senior vice presidents who help carve its skyward path. A new gallery from CNN Money takes a brief look at eleven of Apple's all-stars. For avid fans of Apple, some of the names mentioned in CNN Money's gallery may be familiar. But if you don't recognize names like Craig Federighi, Scott Forstall, Bob Mansfield, Ron Johnson, Peter Oppenheimer, Bruce Sewell, Jeff Williams, Eddy Cue, Katie Cotton, Dr. Guy "Bud" Tribble, or Greg Joswiak, this may be a good opportunity to brush up on the men and women who help shape one of the world's most successful companies.
Bertrand Serlet, one of the major forces behind OS X, to leave Apple
Bertrand Serlet, senior vice president of Mac Software Engineering and one of the developers of OS X, is leaving Apple after a 22-year working relationship with Steve Jobs. Serlet started working with Jobs in 1989 as part of NeXT and made the move to Apple in 1997 when Jobs returned to the company. "I've worked with Steve for 22 years and have had an incredible time developing products at both NeXT and Apple, but at this point, I want to focus less on products and more on science," Serlet said in a press release issued by Apple this morning. Serlet will be succeeded by Craig Federighi, the current vice president of Mac Software Engineering, who will report directly to Jobs. We at TUAW wish Serlet the best of luck in his future endeavors, and thank him for the role he played in giving us OS X. We also wish Federighi much luck in his new position. With the spotlight focusing on Mac software again with the future release of Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion," we look forward to seeing what he brings to the platform. A video of Jobs and Serlet speaking at WWDC in 2006 about how Microsoft has copied Mac OS X, pointed out by MacStories, can be seen after the break.
