Apple’s VP of Acoustics, Gary Geaves, to Step Down

On February 21st, according to a report by Bullwhip News, Apple’s team responsible for audio is set to undergo leadership changes due to the resignation of Gary Geaves, who has served as the Vice President of Acoustics for a long time.

Geaves will be stepping down from his position, with his deputy, Ruchir Davé, set to take over.

Apple’s acoustics team consists of around 300 members who develop audio technology for AirPods, HomePods, and other Apple devices. This team is responsible for creating spatial audio, the 3D sound feature embedded in AirPods, Vision Pro, and other devices.

Tang Tan, the product designer for AirPods, manages the acoustics team under the leadership of John Ternus. However, Tan has been preparing to leave Apple since December last year. Since then, the acoustics team has been reporting to Matt Costello, who is in charge of HomePod and Beats headphones.

Geaves joined Apple in 2011 from Bowers & Wilkins. He will continue to stay at Apple as a consultant to Costello as Costello prepares for retirement. Over the past two years, Geaves has been dedicated to a thorough redesign of the AirPods series, with the first update expected to take place this year.

Rumors suggest that this year will see the release of AirPods 4 and a new version of AirPods Max, while the redesigned AirPods Pro is set to launch in 2025.