It’s day one for John Ternus.<\/p>\n
He has eight days to settle in as Apple’s new CEO. On September 9, Apple will stage its annual iPhone pageant. The reported headliner: its first foldable iPhone<\/a>.<\/p>\n No pressure, then.<\/p>\n Further out, reports point to an AI home hub, camera-equipped AirPods, smart glasses, and a robotic assistant.<\/p>\n It seems Apple has no shortage of places to put AI. It still has to make AI worth putting there, though.<\/p>\n That is Ternus’ problem<\/a>.<\/p>\n Apple had a head start<\/a> in the AI-assistants race. Now it is playing catch-up.<\/p>\n Apple delayed its AI overhaul of Siri<\/a>, then turned to Google’s Gemini<\/a> for the next generation of Apple Intelligence. You can read that as a way to avoid paying Google-sized bills for research and development. You can also read it as an admission of weakness.<\/p>\n Then there is the people problem.<\/p>\n Want more Business Insider in your news feed?<\/p>\n \n Add BI in Google so our reporting is easier to find when you\u2019re searching for what matters.\n <\/p>\n Apple has suffered a talent exodus. Foundation-models leader Ruoming Pang, engineering head Frank Chu, and design VP Alan Dye all left Apple for the same rival.<\/p>\n Yes, Meta has become something of an Apple alumni association<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ternus needs to convince Apple’s best people that the future is still being built in Cupertino.<\/p>\n He also inherits one of Tim Cook’s specialties: the tightrope walk between China, tariffs, and Washington.<\/p>\n Cook was pivotal in expanding Apple’s presence in China<\/a> and helping the company navigate tariffs and supply chain challenges by getting on President Donald Trump’s good side<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ternus won’t have to handle it alone. Cook is staying on at Apple as executive chairman, a role that includes “engaging with policymakers around the world,” the company said.<\/p>\n