Apple’s incoming CEO John Ternus, in a recent interview, shared how he and Apple think about approaching AI. And ahead of what’s rumored to be a big AI release with iOS 27, he said exactly what I was hoping to hear.
John Ternus explains how Apple thinks about AI
In April John Ternus was interviewed alongside Greg Joswiak by Mark Spoonauer at Tom’s Guide.
The interview came just ahead of Apple’s announcement that Ternus will be the company’s next CEO.
Its timing, and the wide-ranging nature of the interview, makes it a great temperature check for how Ternus is thinking about a variety of issues heading into the CEO role.
For example, Ternus talked about Apple Vision Pro, the company’s biggest flops, and more.
He also gave the following explanation for his (and Apple’s) approach to AI:
We never think about shipping a technology. We always think about, “How can we leverage technology to ship amazing products and features and experiences for our users?” So that’s how we think about AI.
Apple has had its fair share of AI struggles. But this perspective from Ternus helps ease some of my concerns with major AI releases like iOS 27 around the corner.
Avoiding the ‘AI everything’ pitfall in iOS 27 and beyond
AI isn’t going away. And as Apple’s executives put it in that interview, we’re very much in the “early innings” of the technology.
Apple Intelligence first launched in 2024 to some success, but also a fair amount of criticism that hit a tipping point when Apple delayed its promised Siri upgrades.
Since then, iOS 26 was a modest update for AI improvements, but iOS 27 is when Apple is widely expected to up its AI game significantly.
The new, overhauled Siri will be at the center of this AI ’redo,’ but rumors indicate there are plenty of other AI upgrades coming too.
One of my main concerns about Apple and this topic is that the company will start injecting AI into everything just to shake its lackluster AI reputation.
2024’s Apple Intelligence rollout felt a bit like this. And since then, Siri’s delays have increased the pressure on Apple to up its AI game.
But if Apple truly does keep its focus on shipping “amazing products and features and experiences,” it should be able to avoid some of the pitfalls competitors fall prey to.
Plenty of technology companies ship new tech before asking whether it actually improves the user experience. I don’t want Apple falling into that trap.
Ideally, as Joswiak said in the interview, users don’t even need to know that a feature is AI-powered. Nobody outside of Wall Street cares how many features are labeled ‘AI.’ Users just care about great products.
I’m hopeful that, with the help of Gemini technology, Apple will have a bright AI future ahead. And John Ternus’s comments make me optimistic he won’t fall into the ‘AI everything’ trap.
What do you think about Apple’s AI perspective, as described by John Ternus? Let us know in the comments.
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