Apple's Next CEO Needs to Launch a Killer AI Product

Apple's next CEO, John Ternus, faces a defining challenge: launch a killer AI product that makes the technology accessible and delightful for the masses, akin to how the iPhone revolutionized mobile. Current CEO Tim Cook, who will step down in September to become executive chairman, has left the AI box unchecked—Apple Intelligence, rolled out in 2024, was underwhelming and incomplete. Ternus, currently SVP of hardware engineering, is a methodical operator like Cook, but his deep technical background (e.g., quantum dots and environmental impact of cadmium) and his view of AI as an 'immense inflection point' suggest he could shepherd a breakthrough.

The urgency is high: AI agents like Claude Code and OpenClaw are too risky or technical for most people, and by the end of this decade, users may bypass apps entirely by telling an always-on AI agent to get them home. Ternus and marketing head Greg Joswiak insist the iPhone, which hosts various AI models, is here for another 50 years, but the industry is watching for an AI-centric device—perhaps like the one Jony Ive is developing with OpenAI. If Ternus can deliver a product that piggybacks on Apple's legacy while decoding AI for the masses, it could define the AI era.