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Apple CEO John Ternus says Apple doesn't want to ship AI for AI's sake
Apple CEO John Ternus told Wired's Steven Levy that Apple will "absolutely" leverage AI in its new products but does not want to ship AI for its own sake. Ternus, who became CEO at the beginning of September, defended Apple's position after criticism that it is behind on AI.
Key points
- John Ternus said Apple will "absolutely" leverage AI in new products.
- He said Apple does not want to ship AI for AI's sake.
- Apple delayed a more powerful Siri, which finally launched this summer.
What happened: Apple CEO John Ternus defended the company's approach to AI in an interview with Wired's Steven Levy, TechCrunch reported. Ternus, a longtime Apple executive who officially became CEO at the beginning of September, acknowledged that "everyone has an opinion" about Apple's position but said, "I really like where we're at."
The details: Ternus said Apple is "absolutely going to leverage AI" in its new products. "We don't want to ship AI for AI's sake," he said. He added that when Apple gets it right, people will not have to think about whether AI or more traditional software made something happen, and that what matters is whether Apple built something people really love.
Levy asked whether AI could affect Apple's ecosystem more dramatically, for example if agents made apps unnecessary. Ternus said that could make life really easy, but described the creation of products as "a deeply human and personal thing" that Apple loves to do.
Background: Apple has often been described as behind on AI, in part because it delayed the release of a more powerful version of Siri, which finally launched this summer. Ternus did not name specific new AI products or partners in the remarks that were reported.
What to watch: How Apple's next product launches use AI, and whether its view on agents replacing apps holds as rivals push agent features into their platforms.
Our take
Apple is signalling AI built quietly into its products rather than standalone AI tools, which shapes what teams working on Apple devices should expect.