And with all eyes on Apple\u2019s C-suite after more than a year of failed promises about the company\u2019s AI assistant offerings, that\u2019s sure to be noticed.<\/p>\n
In recent years, Apple has taken on a reputation<\/a> for trailing competitors in the AI race. Its AI assistant Siri lacks the capabilities of competing products from Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic, and it relies on other companies for the underlying models. Microsoft and Google have both gone all in on incorporating agentic AI features into their operating systems in ways that Apple simply hasn\u2019t \u2014 and sometimes when it\u2019s tried, like via Apple Intelligence\u2019s notification summaries, it\u2019s gotten made fun of<\/a> for missing the mark.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say that stuffing AI into a system is a sign of success. Microsoft, for instance, has been widely criticized<\/a> for going too far with its AI integration for Windows 11 and introducing Copilot into every corner of the operating system, even in its Notepad and Snipping Tool. It led to user backlash, the rise of the term \u201cMicroslop,\u201d and a decision to walk back some of the changes (or at least appear to do so<\/a> via a rebrand, amid user fears<\/a> that Windows 12 would further embrace AI in everything). Some Microsoft users reportedly switched to the MacBook Neo, which offered a lower price point to compete with Microsoft devices and, ironically, less AI-ification. So if Ternus can use his decades at Apple, and his time working under Steve Jobs, to advance Apple\u2019s AI systems right \u2014 in the thoughtful, well-designed, and simplistic way that Apple is known for \u2014 then he may be able to catch the company up in some ways.<\/p>\n But besides integration plans, there\u2019s still the basic problem of the actual AI assistant features that Apple has fallen behind on. Other AI labs have spent the past couple of years dramatically advancing agentic AI systems, which aim to perform complex and multistep tasks on users\u2019 behalf, though there\u2019s still room for improvement. Apple has a long-standing reputation for showing up late to a product category with a winning entry, but here, it\u2019s simply made promises and failed to deliver.<\/p>\n Last June<\/a> at WWDC, executives referenced Apple Intelligence and highlighted live translation features, but personalization features for Siri \u2014 first mentioned at WWDC 2024 \u2014 were delayed, with executives saying the rollout would happen \u201cover the course of the next year.\u201d Ads ran<\/a> in 2024 showing Siri with capabilities that still haven\u2019t arrived nearly two years later. Craig Federighi, Apple\u2019s SVP of software engineering, said at the time that the updates to Siri \u201cneeded more time to reach our high quality bar, and we look forward to sharing more about it in the coming year.\u201d Fast-forward 10 months, and there\u2019s no official word on when the new Siri will arrive, even as WWDC 2026 quickly approaches.<\/p>\n Last year, the company\u2019s strategy seemed to be leaning on<\/a> OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT to fill in a few of Siri\u2019s gaps, like integrating ChatGPT into Apple\u2019s Image Playground and adding visual intelligence features. Executives have repeatedly said in the past they hope Apple users will be able to choose other competitors\u2019 models to use as well, and as of January, Apple finally inked its deal<\/a> with Google to tap Gemini for help fueling Apple\u2019s future foundation models, potentially costing Apple $1 billion<\/a> per year. But even that deal was potentially late \u2014 last April, during Google\u2019s search monopoly trial, CEO Sundar Pichai said the agreement with Apple would hopefully be signed within months, resulting in a rollout by the end of 2025.<\/p>\n Now, the question is whether the all-new, Gemini-powered Siri will roll out by WWDC 2026, or whether the debut will happen later, once Ternus is officially at the helm. On Alphabet\u2019s February earnings call, executives largely ignored<\/a> a question about the company\u2019s AI partnerships, including with Apple, though Pichai said he was looking forward to Google powering \u201cthe next generation of Apple foundation models based on Gemini technology.\u201d<\/p>\n Ternus, who reportedly<\/a> has a reputation for maintaining Apple products rather than innovating new ones, will be tasked with a tall order in leading the world\u2019s first trillion-dollar company into its new AI era \u2014 not only playing catch-up, but trying to get ahead of its competitors, which are already moving at breakneck speed.<\/p>\n Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Hayden FieldClose Hayden Field<\/p>\n Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All by Hayden Field<\/a><\/p>\n AIClose<\/p>\n AI<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All AI<\/a><\/p>\n AnalysisClose<\/p>\n Analysis<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Analysis<\/a><\/p>\n AppleClose<\/p>\n Apple<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Apple<\/a><\/p>\n ReportClose<\/p>\n Report<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n![\"Hayden](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776805655_821_HAYDEN_BLURPLE.jpg\"\/)
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