Apple CEO John Ternus on AI: Happy With Apple's Position

Apple CEO John Ternus is unbothered by the claim that his company has fallen behind in artificial intelligence. In an interview with Wired, he said: "I like our current position very much."

Ternus has led Apple for only two months. He took over on 1 September 2026, but he is no newcomer: he joined the company in 2001 and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering. Marketing chief Greg Joswiak said Ternus has a natural instinct for great products, "and that is exactly what Apple is about." Since taking the top job, Ternus has unveiled several products, including the first Mac with a touchscreen, which also brings back the illuminated Apple logo.

A bumpy road for Apple's AI

Criticism has centered on a rocky rollout. Apple Intelligence was introduced in June 2024 as a selling point for the iPhone 16 series, yet it was missing when the phones launched and arrived later with iOS 18.1. Users in the EU had to wait until iOS 18.4. The AI version of Siri was also postponed several times and only arrived with iOS 27. It is not available in the EU, because Apple has so far been unable to meet the requirements of the Digital Markets Act.

Human-led product design

Apple may now benefit from its caution. The first wave of AI hype has cooled, and many users are more annoyed than impressed by heavy-handed AI features. Microsoft's aggressive AI push in Windows 11, including in Notepad, was poorly received and has since been scaled back. According to Statcounter, around a quarter of PCs still run the predecessor system.

Tim Cook reportedly told an internal meeting last year that Apple has rarely been first. Ternus sees AI as a tool, not an end in itself, to be used only where it delivers genuine value. On security, he said the models are clearly very capable, and Apple's focus is on keeping products safe and reliable and protecting user data. Decisions about new products, he added, should stay with people: "Product development is a deeply human and personal matter, something we enjoy doing."