It’s the end of an era for Apple. Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO after 15 years. Cook led the company through major transformations and big product drops that are now part of the daily fabric of our digital lives. Now, a new era is about to begin, and the first defining question is clear: What will Apple do about AI?
There’ll be a lot of pressure on John Ternus, Cook’s successor and senior vice president of hardware engineering, to keep Apple in its position as an industry titan. One of the biggest challenges the 50-year-old executive will face is pressure to overhaul the company’s AI strategy or change gears. But I hope Ternus doesn’t stray too far from Cook’s playbook. To paraphrase comedian Chris Fleming, there’s something waiting for them in the divine if they resist.
In 2026, every tech company is now an AI company, and Apple has been judged by tech enthusiasts and analysts as failing, falling behind. There already is some AI in Apple’s products: basic tools, like proofread and rewrite, and slightly more advanced AI photo editing tools and Visual Intelligence. This is nothing compared to the Galaxy AI and Gemini tools that Samsung and Google have flooded their smartphones with. Apple’s biggest AI swing, the promise of a “smarter Siri,” has been delayed consistently, now bumped out to late 2026.
Apple has announced that John Ternus, seen here at a NYC event in March, will succeed Tim Cook as CEO.
The relative lack of AI in Apple’s iOS and MacOS is actually its secret weapon. People who want to use AI can do so in apps, with rumors swirling that Apple is going to open up its doors to partner with multiple AI chatbots for Siri. And these AI programs can run smoothly, thanks to Apple’s own M chips. Good hardware, as we know from watching Nvidia, is essential to being successful in the AI age. Leaving AI out of its iPhone 17 sales pitch was refreshing and welcome.
For those of us who want to write our own emails or who don’t want to be inundated with AI every time we use our devices, we can do so in peace. No sparkles popping up to offer AI help we didn’t ask for.
A CNET survey found that AI isn’t a major motivator for people to upgrade their phones. The tech is increasingly controversial, with worries swirling around job security, environmental impacts and the legality of how it’s created. Data centers, which are needed to run AI, are also causing alarm in communities across the country. If Apple chooses to continue to take a back seat in the AI race, it won’t have to worry about entangling itself in costly plans to build AI infrastructure beyond what it’s already good at — consumer hardware.
Each of Apple’s previous CEOs has brought something unique to the table. Steve Jobs was the visionary creator. Tim Cook had an industrial background, changing how the company manufactures its products overseas. Ternus’ most recent role was managing hardware engineering. The very fact that Apple’s board tapped a hardware guy, not a software one, is promising. Maybe Ternus will investigate building some kind of physical AI, but I don’t know that I can see Apple leaping to build AI-powered robots. AI-powered smart glasses are seeming more likely, though.
Ternus will no doubt make a lasting impact on the storied tech company during his tenure as CEO. I can only hope that it’s not going to be one marred by AI hallucinations.