Apple's new CEO John Ternus has urged software engineering chief Craig Federighi to accelerate the company's AI efforts and take a bolder approach, with the goal of upgrading Siri into an AI agent that can complete tasks on users' behalf, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman in the Nov 8 update of his Power On newsletter. Gurman also reported that Mike Rockwell, the engineering vice president overseeing the new Siri AI project, is seriously considering stepping down next year, or even leaving Apple entirely.
Ternus turns up the heat internally: Federighi told to push AI boldly
Gurman said Ternus and Federighi held a closed-door meeting in recent weeks. Ternus wants Apple to do more in AI and is unhappy that Federighi has not embraced AI as aggressively as competitors, so he has asked him to speed up development and not settle for merely delivering the necessary Siri feature upgrades.
That internal pressure contrasts with Ternus's upbeat public stance on Apple's AI business. On last week's earnings call, when discussing the new Siri, Ternus said:
"We're very happy with the reviews and feedback we've received, and we're very excited to see more and more users getting to experience it."
Gurman notes that Federighi is still seen as an AI skeptic, concerned about the impact of AI on privacy, security, society and jobs. But in the face of the AI wave led by OpenAI, Meta, Google and Anthropic, Apple can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines.
Management issues in the software division draw scrutiny
The report says long-standing management problems in Apple's software division are also drawing attention. Federighi tends to take part in meetings and major decisions personally, and some employees say this management style makes dissenting views hard to get support. He also frequently debates opponents fiercely, using his command of technical detail and strong argumentative skills to rebut proposals he disagrees with — a practice that sometimes frustrates members of the software engineering and design teams.
Federighi also favors short-term planning, typically laying out plans only 12 to 18 months ahead, while Apple's hardware division is used to planning products years in advance. The two working styles can be hard to reconcile, which not only slows product development but can also make first-generation products less bold in features and design. Apple wants to bring hardware and AI software development closer together, and how to reconcile the two divisions' planning approaches will be an important task for Ternus.
Even so, Gurman notes that Federighi has the ability to solve problems other executives struggle with. Last year, after Apple found that former AI chief John Giannandrea could not deliver on the company's Siri promises, Federighi took over development and, in a relatively short time, shipped a new version of the assistant that works properly.
Rockwell weighs exit as succession remains unclear
Gurman also reported that Mike Rockwell, who led development of the Vision Pro headset and oversees the new Siri AI project, is still seriously considering leaving his current role, and may step down as Siri engineering vice president next year or even leave Apple entirely. The new Siri shipped two years late, and given Rockwell's role in it, his departure would be a major loss for Apple.
If Rockwell ultimately leaves or moves to another role inside Apple, more of the work is expected to fall to two executives: Amar Subramanya, who joined Apple from Google last year to strengthen its AI business, and Sebastien Marino, a deputy to Federighi. Some inside Apple believe Marino could eventually succeed Federighi as head of software engineering, and he takes a more enthusiastic view of AI development. Marino's team is mainly responsible for integrating AI technology into iOS.
However, Gurman says Apple is still a long way from actually starting a succession process for the software engineering chief. Federighi holds firm control of the software engineering division, has not made developing a successor a priority and has not set up a clear succession plan, leaving potential successors with little opportunity to compete for the role. Federighi has run the software engineering division for more than a decade, and there is no sign he plans to leave in the next few years as some Apple executives have.
What to watch
Apple has not commented on the report. What to watch next: whether the closed-door meeting between Ternus and Federighi leads to real changes in AI strategy; whether Rockwell ultimately leaves or moves to another role, and how Subramanya's and Marino's roles in Siri and iOS AI integration shift; and how Federighi's management style can be reconciled with the hardware division's long-cycle planning.