AI: New Bounce for Apple Design in AI Age. RTZ #975
Apple has a new bounce in its design step.
Much discussion has been had of late around Apple’s ‘People Problems’.
Especially in the teeth of the AI Tech Wave in its fourth year post-ChatGPT. Not to mention Meta’s recent poaching of Apple’s Design Chief for its own hardware ambitions.
And the generally prevailing wisdom that Apple’s Apple Intelligence and Siri, Google Gemini enabled or not, fail to rise to the challenge.
My view of course has been to the contrary, emphasizing that AI opportunities are now maturing to the point where Apple can just begin to take advantage of via their unique set of global hardware and software platforms.
That raging debate aside, Apple’s executive team led by CEO Tim Cook, 65, still very much in charge, steering the ship. Tweaking the team, for the new year and AI opportunities ahead.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who generally has his finger on Apple’s pulse, explains in “Apple Expands Hardware Chief’s Role in Latest Sign of CEO Candidacy”. Starting with these takeaways:
“Apple Inc. has expanded the job of hardware chief John Ternus to include design work, solidifying his status as a leading contender to eventually succeed Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook.”
“Ternus is now billed internally as the “executive sponsor” of all design on Cook’s management team, entailing being a bridge between design staff and Apple’s top brass.”
“The move is seen as an acknowledgment that Ternus may be better suited to the design role, and he is viewed by some board members as a leader capable of reshaping Apple’s devices for the artificial intelligence era.”
Then to the meat of the issues:
“Apple Inc. has expanded the job of hardware chief John Ternus to include design work, solidifying his status as a leading contender to eventually succeed Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook.”
“Cook, who has led Apple since 2011 and turned 65 in November, quietly tapped Ternus to manage the company’s design teams at the end of last year, according to people with knowledge of the matter. That widens Ternus’ role to add one of the company’s most critical functions.”
The move touches on the design DNA halo from Steve Jobs himself:
As Bloomberg continues:
“The responsibilities have special significance at Apple. The role, which includes overseeing both hardware and software design, has long been entrusted to a senior leader. Going back to the Steve Jobs era, the company’s success has always been closely linked to how its products look and feel.”
“The role was held by Jony Ive, Jobs’ longtime design partner, until his departure in 2019. Cook oversaw design from 2015 to 2017, when Ive temporarily stepped back from the position. Jeff Williams, Apple’s longtime chief operating officer and Cook’s top deputy, most recently held the job until his retirement at the end of 2025.”
Yes, the Jony Ive now working diligently at OpenAI to reportedly release a portfolio of AI devices this year. No firm details yet, but reports from the Information indicate the following:
“OpenAI executives are openly talking about prototype devices the firm is developing. They aren’t saying what the devices are, but my colleagues have reported OpenAI is also working on a pin, glasses, earbuds and a desktop speaker. Not to be forgotten, Meta already sells smart glasses with a built-in AI assistant.”
Perhaps even an AI Pen…
“As models get better at understanding people’s surroundings, presumably they’ll be helpful in navigation, translation and other tasks such as talking someone through their homework as they work on it. (As always, it’s worth watching Spike Jonze’s “Her” if only to see these kinds of wearables in action. That film is CEO Sam Altman’s North Star, as we have reported.)”
Now there’s a new internal title for John Ternus:
“Ternus is now billed internally as the “executive sponsor” of all design on Cook’s management team, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the change wasn’t public. That entails being a bridge between design staff and Apple’s top brass. He represents the design organization in executive team gatherings and manages the group’s leaders.”
CEO Tim Cook is of course still in charge. The tweaks made subtly:
”Even with the change, there are no signs within Apple that Cook is poised to step down soon. And when he does eventually retire, the executive is expected to stick around as chairman. Apple told shareholders this month that its current chairman, Art Levinson, would remain in his role past the company’s February shareholder meeting — despite the fact that he’s now 75, the usual retirement age for directors. That implies a chairman transition won’t happen until at least 2027.”
“The Ternus move was made discreetly: The heads of Apple’s design teams continue to report directly to Cook in both internal organizational charts and the company’s public disclosures. People with knowledge of the move said that Cook himself is trying to expose Ternus to more parts of the company’s operations.”
The internal management patterns were already set in this direction:
“As senior vice president of hardware engineering, Ternus already worked closely with the industrial design team, which focuses on hardware. But he hadn’t previously been responsible for that group or the one developing the user interface in Apple’s software.”
“The move is seen as an acknowledgment that Ternus may be better suited to the design role. Cook, who rose through Apple’s sales and operations ranks to become CEO, is known to keep a distance from design decisions. He’s had limited involvement with product design since taking the reins.”
“Still, Ternus isn’t the final arbiter for design decisions, which have been made by consensus for several years. Craig Federighi, who runs software engineering, is heavily influential in software design, and marketing chief Greg Joswiak is also a strong voice. Ternus was already part of that process on the hardware engineering side.”
The nod to Craig Federighi above is timely. This other piece on Apple software chief Craig Federighi taking charge of Apple’s AI efforts.
“With Google Deal, Apple’s Craig Federighi Plots a Cautious Course in AI.”
“At a moment when Apple’s peers are spending colossal sums of money on AI, the iPhone maker has put a longtime software executive, known for his frugality, in charge of its AI destiny.”
I’ve discussed the Google Apple deal and see it as a win-win for both.
Going back to the Bloomberg piece, the Ternus moves have been anticipated for some time now:
“Having Ternus oversee the design teams while they still technically report to Cook is a strange arrangement, according to Apple employees. But it’s a sensitive situation. Changing the reporting structure would affirm Ternus’ status as a rising star, at a time when the company is still keeping its succession planning under wraps.”
“Such an acknowledgment also risks undermining Cook by making it seem like he retreated from the design role. Apple only announced that he would take on the duties six months ago.”
“Bloomberg News first reported in 2024 that Ternus was a frontrunner to eventually take over for Cook and that Apple had intensified its succession planning. In October, Bloomberg reported that Ternus’ stature had grown further, with the executive becoming a key decision-maker on product road maps, features and strategy — duties that went beyond the traditional scope of a hardware chief.”
“At 50, Ternus is the youngest member of Apple’s executive team, giving him the longest potential runway as chief executive. He is well regarded by Cook and former COO Williams and is viewed by some board members as a leader capable of reshaping Apple’s devices for the artificial intelligence era.”
And of course Apple has a deeper, young bench in addition to John Ternus, the tip of the Apple younger management iceberg:
“Beyond Ternus, the other internal CEO candidate is Sabih Khan, Apple’s newly appointed chief operating officer. Khan oversees the company’s supply chain and occupies the same role Cook held prior to becoming CEO. His predecessor, Williams, had also been viewed as a contender for the top job.”
Besides the John above, there is of course another at Apple with a variation of that name.
The other Johny.
Beyond the Jony Ive who was once revered, and now an arch-competitor.
This Johny, who helped drive Apple’s unique super-power to date in Apple Silicon. As Bloomberg explains:
”Johny Srouji, Apple’s executive in charge of custom silicon chips and related technologies, told Cook at the end of last year that he was seriously considering leaving the company and could take a role elsewhere, Bloomberg reported. Though he later told employees he wasn’t departing “anytime soon,” the discussion underscored growing uncertainty within Apple’s leadership ranks.”
Back to John Ternus and his evolution within the company:
“Ternus’ duties expanded further last year, when he assumed oversight of robotics teams and took sole responsibility for hardware engineering on the Apple Watch. That followed the breakup of the company’s artificial intelligence group and Williams’ retirement.”
“Apple has also increasingly positioned Ternus as a public face of the company. He introduced the iPhone Air and has led many of the major interviews following recent product announcements, often taking a more prominent role than Cook.”
“The latest shift marks another leadership change within Apple’s design organization. In 2024, the company named team veteran Molly Anderson as head of industrial design. Alan Dye, the company’s chief of human interface design, departed for Meta Platforms Inc. in December. Many staffers who worked under Ive, meanwhile, have since left for his design studio, LoveFrom, or startups such as OpenAI.”
Given the younger executives and their contexts above, one gets a clearer sense of Apple’s Tim Cook steering his ship squarely into the AI opportunity. With angles and winds favoring the best long-term prospects.
Apple a prime player still in this AI Tech Wave. Stay tuned.
(NOTE: The discussions here are for information purposes only, and not meant as investment advice at any time. Thanks for joining us here)
