John Ternus poised to lead Apple into the age of AI
Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
At a glance
Analysis
Named sources
New plan
- John Ternus is becoming Apple’s chief executive, succeeding Tim Cook after 15 years and taking charge of a company that leads the smartphone market but trails rivals in artificial intelligence.
- Ternus is expected to build on his hardware expertise while preserving much of Cook’s supply-chain strategy, which remains heavily linked to China despite gradual diversification.
- His first major test will come at Apple’s September 9 iPhone event, where the company is expected to unveil its first foldable handset.
John Ternus is taking over Apple with barely a week to settle in before the company’s annual iPhone event on September 9. The event is expected to feature Apple’s first foldable handset, giving the new chief executive an immediate public test.
Ternus succeeds Tim Cook, ending Cook’s 15-year run at the company. The transition replaces an operations specialist known for building Apple’s supply chain with the engineer who built its hardware. Ternus, 51, joined Apple’s design team in 2001 and rose to senior vice president of hardware engineering, overseeing teams responsible for the company’s product lineup, including the iPhone, its main source of revenue.
Tim Cook left the house in phenomenal order
The central challenge is artificial intelligence. Apple remains a dominant smartphone company but has fallen behind competitors in AI. Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives & Co. said Cook left the company in “phenomenal order,” but that Ternus must now define Apple’s AI chapter. Ives expects him to focus on hardware innovation rather than overhaul a supply chain that is already working.
But now it’s about Ternus defining the AI chapter
Some analysts had viewed software chief Craig Federighi as the more natural choice for a company trying to catch up in AI. Carolina Milanesi of Creative Strategies argued that consumers still adopt technology through hardware first. “You’re not going to discover the value of AI if you’re not interested in the hardware,” she said.
Ternus holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania and previously worked at Virtual Research Systems. At Apple, he has been credited with efforts to make products more durable and reliable, as well as design changes that reduced their carbon footprint.
Consumers are still buying hardware first, and it’s going to be like that for a long time
He also inherits Cook’s geopolitical responsibilities. Apple’s manufacturing network still relies heavily on China, even as the company has gradually shifted iPhone assembly to India and other production to Vietnam. Cook spent years managing relations with Beijing and Donald Trump’s White House while protecting that network. Milanesi said the larger question is how Ternus will change once he moves from engineering leadership to the company’s top job: “Your responsibility is bigger, your power is bigger. You’re dancing a different kind of dance.”
You’re not going to discover the value of AI if you’re not interested in the hardware
About this summary
Originally published by Khaleej Times. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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