The Start of a New Apple

When Apple released the iPhone 11 Pro in 2019, many mocked its design. Unlike its predecessors, the iPhone XR and XS, the iPhone 11 Pro had three large rear cameras arranged in a square. Some critics called it a “stovetop.” A few years later, Apple released the iPhone 14 Pro. Would they change the design? No. The iPhone 14 Pro looked virtually identical. While Samsung released a string of new and improved phones, including the Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold, Apple stuck to the same old stovetop design, with the only changes being marginally improved cameras. But today, as a new leader rises to the top of Apple, there is finally a possibility for change. 

John Ternus became the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Apple in September 2026. He succeeded Tim Cook, who had led Apple since 2011. The Board of Directors unanimously supported the change in leadership in a vote this April. Cook served as the Chief Operating Officer under founder Steve Jobs before he became CEO in 2011, and he will now serve as Apple’s executive chairman. Unlike Cook, who came from an operations and supply chain background, Ternus worked as a mechanical engineer at Apple from the early 2000s. He oversaw critical hardware engineering for Apple products, such as the AirPods, iPad, and the iMac. These vastly different backgrounds raise questions about how Apple may change, but they also bring hope that Ternus’ engineering background and leadership skills will usher Apple into a new, innovative era.

Just a few weeks ago at Apple’s annual product keynote—an event where Apple showcases its major hardware updates for the year—Ternus announced the new iPhone Duo: Apple’s first foldable phone. The Duo will be the most substantial form-factor design change in the last seven years. Of course, Ternus didn’t make this happen alone; the iPhone Duo took years to develop. But the fact that Ternus released the Duo just eight days after taking office shows where his priorities lie: bringing hardware innovation back to Apple. The iPhone Duo isn’t the only change he’s bringing to Apple; he also shared his plans to build new artificial intelligence (AI)-focused wearables and smart home devices, such as “a display with facial recognition, a tabletop robot and a security camera.” Although he has been in office for less than a month, Ternus has already showcased his ambition and priorities through these new technologies.

In addition to these hardware projects, Ternus shared his plans for Apple’s approach to the AI era. Ternus described AI as an “intelligent personal hub,” a tool that users can utilize for personal tasks. He claims the best place to implement this type of AI is the iPhone. His approach is simple: rather than making a separate AI assistant or building the next best large language model, Ternus hopes to develop an AI that can be integrated right into the iPhone itself, allowing it to become a so-called “intelligent personal hub.” 

Enter the new “Siri AI,” released only two weeks ago. It utilizes Apple’s newest Apple Foundation Model, a generative AI model that was “custom-built in collaboration with Google and its Gemini models.” It operates both locally and through Private Cloud Compute, an Apple cloud infrastructure that was built to securely protect users’ private information. This new AI is capable of handling routine tasks locally, forming contextual understanding, and summarizing. For example, you can now ask Siri to summarize a Spectator article, draft an email for you, or even send specific photos from weeks ago to a group chat—all in one request. If it works as promised, Siri AI will greatly improve our Apple device experience. 

With Siri AI, Ternus’ goal is not to make the next ChatGPT or Claude, but to develop a reliable and safe AI that can become a personal operating system agent for its users. When you use an AI chatbot, like ChatGPT or Claude, you write a prompt, describe the situation you are in, and ask for an answer. Siri, on the other hand, starts with information on your device, like your messages, photos, or calendar, allowing you to bypass the need for detailed prompts. To ensure this stays safe, Siri AI performs most tasks locally, allowing the relevant information that it uses to stay on the same device. The more complicated tasks are managed by the Private Cloud Compute, where the user’s information remains unavailable to Apple. 

In this era of AI, user security is essential, and Ternus wants to show the world that Apple can deliver it. Recently, Anthropic and OpenAI encountered a security incident. Their AI gained access to unauthorized items and started performing tasks autonomously. Although these issues were addressed, they revealed the potential risk of AI finding and leaking personal information. Ternus is preventing this issue by ensuring all data stays on the device, so no other users or even Apple can “accidentally” access it.

On the other hand, some criticize Apple’s use of Gemini as outsourcing that can potentially force a dependency on Google and create security risks, undermining Ternus’ plan for a secure AI. Although Apple is now partially dependent on Google to manage and run its new AI, Apple still owns the AI’s operating system, system routing, orchestration, security design, and user experience. In addition, this partnership with Google spares Apple from spending billions of dollars on building its own AI model from scratch. Taking this hybrid approach ensures that the AI agent stays private and secure while relieving Apple of the burden of building its own model.

Of course, it’s too early to give Ternus full credit, and we should certainly wait to see if he can deliver. Still, Ternus showed us his vision with iPhone Duo and Siri AI. Under his leadership, shaped by his engineering background, Apple will focus more on these new form factors and software. This could lead to a change that Apple has not seen for decades, one in which Apple will revolutionize the world once again.