Science & Tech · Big Tech & Internet · 31 mins ago
Apple leaders may differ over the pace of AI development
Apple CEO John Ternus reportedly asked Craig Federighi to develop AI faster.
Federighi leads software at Apple, but the account of their discussion has not been confirmed by the company.
Apple's AI strategy has focused on running smaller models on its devices, rather than building the largest models and data centers.
In 2024, Apple faced pressure to show progress and made promises it could not deliver at the time.
Apple relaunched its AI effort in 2026 with Google's Gemini at its core, while continuing to develop its own models.
The approach aims to provide useful AI with greater privacy and security, and the company has not announced a change to its strategy.
A Bloomberg report says Apple CEO John Ternus urged software chief Craig Federighi to accelerate the company’s software and AI development.
The report says Ternus is frustrated by what he sees as reluctance to pursue AI with the urgency of competitors.
AppleInsider disputes the report’s negative framing and argues that Apple has maintained a deliberate, local-first AI strategy.
The report also says Siri engineering vice president Mike Rockwell is considering stepping down.
- Who
- Apple CEO John Ternus and software chief Craig Federighi. Siri engineering vice president Mike Rockwell is also mentioned.
- What
- A Bloomberg report says Ternus asked Federighi to speed up Apple’s software and AI development.
- When
- The reported meeting took place in recent weeks, according to the report published November 8, 2026.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- Ternus reportedly wants Apple to move faster on AI and beyond necessary improvements to Siri.
Ternus and the Bloomberg report
AppleInsider
AI pace
Ternus and the Bloomberg report
Ternus reportedly believes Apple is not embracing AI with the urgency of competitors and wants faster development.
AppleInsider
AppleInsider argues Apple has maintained a deliberate AI strategy and avoided costly investment in frontier models.
Reported meeting
Ternus and the Bloomberg report
Bloomberg’s report says Ternus pushed Federighi to accelerate Apple’s software roadmap.
AppleInsider
AppleInsider says the meeting’s tone was likely different and advises treating the report with caution.
Apple hired John Giannandrea from Google to advance its AI and machine-learning strategy.
Investor pressure led to a WWDC presentation that AppleInsider says promised more than the company could deliver at the time.
Ternus reportedly met Federighi and urged him to accelerate Apple’s software roadmap.
Apple relaunched Siri with Google’s Gemini model at its core, according to AppleInsider.
Rockwell could leave his Siri engineering role or Apple, according to the report.
- Reported meeting
- Ternus and Federighi
- Report published
- November 8, 2026
- Federighi planning horizon
- 12–18 months, according to 9to5Mac
- Development pipeline experiment
- Engineers reportedly get 50% more time to code and explore
- Rockwell’s role
- Vice president of Siri engineering
2 sources
What people are saying
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