John Ternus pushes Craig Federighi to accelerate Apple's software development
What's the story
Apple's new CEO, John Ternus, is pushing the company's software chief, Craig Federighi, to speed up the development of its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported. The push comes amid criticism that Apple has been slow in adopting AI technologies compared to its competitors. Ternus recently held a closed-door meeting with Federighi, who was appointed as Apple's AI czar after the dismissal of its previous head last year.
Leadership dynamics
Ternus wants Apple to move quickly beyond Siri improvements
Ternus is said to be frustrated by Federighi's reluctance to embrace AI as aggressively as competitors.
He wants Apple to move quickly beyond just making necessary improvements to Siri and has urged his software chief to accelerate the company's roadmap.
Federighi is known for taking a hands-on role in meetings and major decisions.
Management concerns
Federighi's management style has been a point of contention
Federighi's management style has been described as one that can leave little room for competing ideas to gain traction.
He is known for vigorously debating opposing viewpoints, using his command of technical details and ability to argue his position to push back against proposals he disagrees with.
This approach has at times frustrated members of the software engineering and design teams, some of whom believe they have limited influence over product direction.
Future prospects
Vision Pro and Siri AI leader considers stepping down
Federighi reportedly only plans for a 12-18 month timeframe, unlike the years-long roadmaps used in hardware engineering.
This is one of the gaps Apple may want to bridge in the coming years.
Separately, Vision Pro and Siri AI leader Mike Rockwell is also considering stepping down from his role as vice president of Siri engineering next year.
Innovation efforts
Apple is experimenting with a new development pipeline
Along with the leadership changes, Apple is also experimenting with a new development pipeline.
The company is reportedly giving its engineers 50% more time to code and explore, while spending less time on integration.
This comes as coding agents have improved, further highlighting Apple's efforts to speed up its software development process.