(Credit: Jibin Joseph/PCMag)
Apple's AI chief, John Giannandrea, is stepping down and will be replaced by Amar Subramanya, Corporate VP of AI at Microsoft AI and former head of engineering for Google Gemini.
Giannandrea will continue to serve the company in a limited capacity, including as an advisor on its board, before he retires in spring 2026.
The change in personnel comes after Apple failed to deliver on its promise of an improved, AI-powered Siri. Some of Siri's AI features announced at WWDC 2024, such as its ability to draw from personal context and to autonomously take action on behalf of users, have yet to roll out.
Apple admitted earlier this year that developing those features was taking longer than expected as they ran into issues with older Siri code. The company, however, has committed to rolling out the features next year, and many expect them to arrive with iOS 26.4.
Earlier this year, there were reports that CEO Tim Cook had lost his faith in Giannandrea; he later handed over the AI reins to Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell. Amid the delays, the company racked up several lawsuits for failing to deliver promised Apple Intelligence features with the iPhone 16.
Subramanya, on the other hand, comes to Apple with a wealth of AI and machine learning experience. As Apple's vice president of AI, he will report to the company's SVP of software engineering, Craig Federighi.
Subramanya's 16-year tenure at Google began as a research assistant. Later, he moved on to the roles of principal engineer and VP of engineering for Gemini. According to his LinkedIn profile, he left Google in June to take the job at Microsoft.
Apple's also rumored to be moving toward another high-profile personnel change. CEO Tim Cook is reportedly stepping down early next year, and, John Ternus, the company's SVP of hardware engineering, is being considered as his most likely replacement.