John Ternus, Apple's new chief executive, faces a daunting task: restoring the company's magic in the AI era. Ternus, known for his likeable and unflappable nature, will take over in September, succeeding Tim Cook, who will become executive chairman.
Under Cook's tenure, Apple's sales have quadrupled, and its shares have outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin. However, Apple's response to the AI era has been half-hearted, with its early attempts to integrate AI into its products being an embarrassment.
Ternus will have to do better, and his first product launch later this year is likely to be a foldable phone. The transition is set to look picture-perfect, but Apple's success under Cook was more thanks to steady operational improvements rather than revolutionary products.
Ternus will have to show that a Gemini-powered Siri can behave like a smooth-talking AI assistant when it is shown off at Apple's marquee developers' conference in June. The company is betting primarily on hardware rather than software to carry it forward, on the assumption that AI models will eventually become commoditised.
There are two courses of action Apple's new boss could take: making the company's existing products so ubiquitous that they will almost inevitably become the biggest consumer interface for AI, or developing a new "form factor" beyond the iPhone that is more suitable for the interactive nature of AI.
Competitors are already trying to turn the smartphone into yesterday's technology, and Ternus may have to reinvigorate Apple's product line-up with a determination that eluded Cook. Apple's Vision Pro virtual-reality headset may help the new boss develop Apple smartglasses.
