Apple first hopped on the augmented reality (AR) bandwagon in 2017 when it announced the ARKit framework for motion tracking. However, the company has not had an executive dedicated to overseeing its AR initiatives. That changes now with the appointment of Frank Casanova as Senior Director of Worldwide Product Marketing at Apple.
According to Casanova"s LinkedIn profile, he will lead all facets of Apple"s product marketing for its AR efforts. He moved into the new role this month after serving as Senior Director of Apple"s iPhone Partner Marketing for 12 years since 2007. In that role, Casanova established partnerships with wireless carriers to offer iPhones to their respective customer base.
Prior to that role, Casanova was the Senior Director for MacOS X Graphics, Audio and Video at the Cupertino tech giant from November 1997 to June 2007. But his career at Apple dates back to as early as May 1988 when he was working as a product manager at the company. It was briefly punctuated in 1997 when he joined computer software firm MetaCreations as Vice President of Marketing.
With Casanova"s new appointment, Apple is expected to introduce native AR support to its future iPhone models. The company was recently rumored to be working on adding 3D cameras to the back of its 2020 iPhones supposedly as part of its AR push, though Apple remains mum on the report.
Source: Bloomberg