Who Is Leaving and Why?
John Giannandrea, who led artificial intelligence at Apple, is stepping down from his position. This change comes as the company struggles to improve its Siri voice assistant. Apple announced it on Monday in connection with the delayed launch of a new version of Siri, which was intended to be more personalized and intelligent. Giannandrea joined Apple in 2018, having previously worked on artificial intelligence and search at Google. He will now continue as an advisor until spring 2026, when he will retire.
The company is trying to get Siri back on track. In March, Apple pushed back the release date of the improved version of Siri because it was reportedly taking longer than expected. According to available reports, CEO Tim Cook lost confidence in Giannandrea's ability to lead the AI team and therefore asked Mike Rockwell, who heads the Vision Pro team, to provide temporary oversight.
Who Is Replacing Him?
Amar Subramanya is becoming the new vice president of artificial intelligence. He spent 16 years at Google and joined Microsoft in July as corporate vice president of AI. Now, however, he is moving to Apple, where he will take over the role of vice president of AI. Subramanya will report to Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering.
Apple believes that Subramanya's experience integrating AI research into products will help the company innovate and develop future Apple Intelligence features. Tim Cook said in a statement: "AI has long been central to Apple's strategy, and we are delighted to welcome Amar to Craig's leadership team and bring his extraordinary AI expertise to Apple." Cook also noted that Federighi has played a key role in strengthening the company's AI efforts, including work on a more personalized version of Siri that is expected to arrive next year.
When Can We Expect the New Version of Siri?
Apple plans to launch the improved Siri next spring. According to a report from The Verge, some of the assistant's new features could be powered by a modified version of Google's Gemini model. This leadership change comes at a crucial time as Apple seeks to strengthen its position in artificial intelligence.
The company emphasizes that Subramanya's role will help expand its AI responsibilities. Cook added: "In addition to expanding his leadership and AI responsibilities with Amar's arrival, Craig has been instrumental in driving our AI efforts, including overseeing the work to bring a more personalized Siri to users next year." This team restructuring could bring fresh momentum to development and help Siri catch up with the competition.
