John Ternus: Apple's product perfectionist taking on Al age

To understand how Apple's new CEO John Ternus will run the company, pay attention to what he refuses to sell.

- Reuters

While software rivals at Microsoft and Google are spending hundreds of billions to push artificial intelligence into every corner of their businesses, the man set to lead one of the world’s most iconic companies appears to treat AI with a deliberate, almost stubborn pragmatism.

“We never think about shipping a technology,” Ternus, 50, said in a recent interview about AI with tech review site Tom's Guide. “We always think about how can we leverage technology to ship amazing products.”

When he succeeds Tim Cook on September 1, that distinction will matter enormously. Ternus’ focus on the product makes him a steward of Apple tradition at a time when the Cupertino-based tech giant has lost its perch as the world’s most valuable company to Nvidia.

Apple’s delayed roll-out of its revamped Siri assistant, and a reliance on Google for the AI to power it, have led some analysts to question its strategy for the new technology.

That has yet to affect iPhone sales, But technology experts say advances in AI could usher in a once-in-a-generation change that threatens the smartphone’s central role in people's lives.

Rivals including Samsung and OpenAl are betting that Apple's stumble is an opening. Meta has also found an early success with its RayBan smartglasses that come with Al features.