Apple shifts
responsibility for Siri to operating system chief
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[September 02, 2017]
By Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) - Apple Inc <AAPL.O> has
transferred responsibility for Siri, its voice assistant, from content
chief Eddy Cue to operating systems chief Craig Federighi, a sign that
the company is looking to embed the voice assistant more deeply into its
core systems amid rising competition from Alphabet Inc's <GOOGL.O>
Google and Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O>.
Apple made the change in an update to the company's executive biography
pages. An Apple spokeswoman confirmed the change to Reuters but did not
comment beyond the changes.
Cue, a senior vice president, had overseen Siri since 2012 when Scott
Forestall, Apple's software chief at the time, was fired by CEO Tim
Cook.
Cue is primarily known as Apple's chief content dealmaker, negotiating
the company's pivotal deals with record companies during the iTunes era
and more recently its Apple Music streaming deals and its television
content efforts. But Cue also runs Apple's internet-based services such
as iCloud.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Sep/02/images/ads/current/napa_bch1-3108.png)
In recent years, though, Apple has embedded its voice assistant more
deeply into its iOS and macOS operating systems, letting it control
things like adding calendar appointments, and expanded it from phones to
laptops. Siri now controls third-party apps to do things like summon a
ride or book a table.
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![](../images/090217pics/busine99.jpg)
Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President Software Engineering speaks
during Apple's annual world wide developer conference (WWDC) in San
Jose, California, U.S. June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Sep/02/images/ads/current/ccaonline_lda050208.png)
Federighi, a senior vice president, oversees those operating systems.
The shift in Siri's leadership comes as Apple faces increased competition to get
users speaking to its devices. Though Apple was the first major tech company to
release a voice assistant in 2011, Amazon's Alexa, Microsoft's Cortana and
Google's voice assistant have emerged to jostle for consumers attention.
Amazon and Google have both released voice-activated speakers to showcase their
assistants. Amazon has even started selling Echo devices, which feature Alexa,
in some of its 470 Whole Foods retail stores.
This holiday season, Apple's will jump into the fray and compete against those
speakers with its forthcoming HomePod, which will feature Siri.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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