Apple's incoming CEO John Ternus faces pressure to deliver defining AI product

Apple's next chief executive, John Ternus, will need to launch a killer AI product to maintain the company's position as a technology leader. Current CEO Tim Cook announced this week that he will step down in September and become the board's executive chairman. Apple Intelligence, rolled out in 2024, was underwhelming and uncompleted. Ternus, currently senior vice president of hardware engineering, has spent much of his career out of the public eye. He is seen as a methodical operator like Cook rather than a visionary like Steve Jobs. In a recent interview, Ternus acknowledged that AI is an immense inflection point but couched it as one of many leaps Apple has navigated. He said the company never thinks about shipping a technology but wants to ship amazing products, features, and experiences without customers thinking about the underlying technology. AI threatens to disrupt the entire iPhone ecosystem. By the end of this decade, people may use always-on AI agents rather than swiping on phones to tap apps. Ternus and marketing head Greg Joswiak insisted that the iPhone might be good for another 50 years. Johny Srouji, the wizard behind Apple's silicon strategy, will take over as SVP of hardware engineering. Apple's bespoke silicon is the secret behind much of its innovation, and its neural engines already power on-device AI. Reportedly, Apple already has a deal with Broadcom for AI chips to be delivered in the next year or so.