{"id":83694,"date":"2026-04-21T06:50:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T06:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/04\/21\/apples-new-ceo-john-ternes-faces-a-big-challenge-getting-the-ai-strategy-right\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T06:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T06:51:19","slug":"apples-new-ceo-john-ternes-faces-a-big-challenge-getting-the-ai-strategy-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/04\/21\/apples-new-ceo-john-ternes-faces-a-big-challenge-getting-the-ai-strategy-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple&#8217;s new CEO John Ternes faces a big challenge: getting the AI \u200b\u200bstrategy right"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"RegularArticle-ArticleBody-5\" data-module=\"ArticleBody\" data-test=\"articleBody-2\" data-analytics=\"RegularArticle-articleBody-5-2\"><span class=\"HighlightShare-hidden\" style=\"top:0;left:0\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"InlineImage-imageEmbed\" id=\"ArticleBody-InlineImage-108294373\" data-test=\"InlineImage\">\n<div class=\"InlineImage-wrapper\">\n<div>\n<p>John Ternes, senior vice president of hardware engineering at Apple Inc., talks about the iMac computer during the Peak Performance virtual event in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Photographer: Gabby Jones\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Bloomberg | Bloomberg | getty images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p><span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-1\">Apple<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>    It has maintained its dominance in consumer devices despite a massive surge in artificial intelligence and has built a market cap of $4 trillion. But investors won&#8217;t always be patient, and they&#8217;ll look to new CEO John Ternes for a clear strategy when it comes to playing the hottest market on the planet. <\/p>\n<p>Tim Cook&#8217;s 15-year tenure as Apple CEO is ending on September 1, the company announced on Monday. Turnus, Apple&#8217;s longtime hardware boss, is taking over as the second leader after Steve Jobs. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/08\/25\/technology\/jobs-stepping-down-as-chief-of-apple.html\">departure tax<\/a> In 2011, he died of cancer less than two months later.<\/p>\n<p>As Cook exits, Apple faces a number of challenges, including a complex supply chain that is complicated by geopolitical tensions and rising memory prices due to unprecedented demand for AI buildouts. But for Turnus, perhaps the most important aspect of his new job will be pushing the company deeper into AI, where it has lagged behind many of its megacap peers.<\/p>\n<p>So far, Apple&#8217;s AI strategy has included avoiding huge capital expenditures <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-6\">Microsoft<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>, <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-7\">Google<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>, <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-8\">Amazon<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>    And <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-9\">meta<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>    Committed to spending hundreds of billions of dollars per year in combined capital expenditures to finance new data centers and fill them with expensive AI chips. When it comes to developing basic AI models, Apple has hedged its bets there too, and is instead relying on Google&#8217;s Gemini to power its AI features, including a major Siri upgrade due later this year after delays. <\/p>\n<p>In 2024, Apple launched Apple Intelligence, which includes an image generator, text rewriter, the ability to summarize push notifications, and integration with OpenAI&#8217;s ChatGPT. Consumer reaction has been mixed, but Apple continues to sell large numbers of iPhones, and users are finding plenty of AI options on those devices \u2014 just from other companies.<\/p>\n<p>ChatGPT and Anthropix Cloud are currently the two most popular free iOS apps, with Gemini in fourth and Meta AI in eighth. Meanwhile, Apple is betting that within a few years, heavy workloads will run on a chip inside phones, which will play to its strengths as the company has been integrating AI-enabled silicon into its devices since 2017. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;By choosing a hardware leader in John Ternus, Apple may signal that it still believes the future of AI will run through tightly integrated devices rather than just software,&#8221; he said. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/mendoza.nd.edu\/research-and-faculty\/directory\/timothy-hubbard\/\">timothy hubbard<\/a>Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Notre Dame. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108294213\">\n<div role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108294213\" class=\"PlaceHolder-wrapper\" data-vilynx-id=\"7000410292\" data-test=\"VideoPlaceHolder\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-videoEmbed\" id=\"InlineVideo-0\" data-test=\"InlineVideo\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-inlineThumbnailContainer\"><span class=\"InlineVideo-videoButton\"\/><span\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>At present, Apple is getting a lot of growth from iPhone sales. In the latest quarter, iPhone revenue rose 23% from a year earlier to $85.3 billion, which the company attributed to strong sales of the iPhone 17 models released in September.  <\/p>\n<p>Cook said at the time that demand for the iPhone was &#8220;astonishing.&#8221; The company is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter results next week. Cook will still be CEO by that report, but investors will have plenty of questions about Turnus and where he sees Apple headed.<\/p>\n<p>AI-enabled hardware appears to be where the market is going through a combination of wearables, robotics, spatial computing, or possibly something Apple hasn&#8217;t shown yet. In January, Bloomberg reported that Apple would <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2026\/02\/17\/apple-accelerating-work-on-three-new-ai-wearables-per-report\/\">Quick<\/a> Development of three upcoming AI wearables built on Siri: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2026\/02\/21\/apple-ai-smart-glasses-rumors-sounding-more-exciting\/\">smart glasses<\/a>AirPods with a pendant and camera. <\/p>\n<p>Apple is also expected to introduce a foldable phone, which Creative Strategies CEO Ben Bajarin called &#8220;the most consequential hardware moment in years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think the biggest question is what comes after the iPhone,&#8221; Bajarin told CNBC in March. \u201cThese are mature categories and we don&#8217;t know what will happen after that but we do know it will be some form of AI hardware.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"headline0\"\/>AI and Services<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Ternes, 50, will also face the challenge of advancing AI in the services side of Apple&#8217;s business, where the company relies on iPhone users paying for AppleCare, iCloud, Apple TV+ service subscriptions and using Apple Pay. Apple gets a cut when consumers upgrade to paid versions of ChatGPS, cloud, and other generative AI services and chatbots. <\/p>\n<p>Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee said that in the coming years, &#8220;the seas will be turbulent for Apple as there is a lot of change in the way consumers interact with technology,&#8221; particularly with generative AI.<\/p>\n<p>Ternus will also have to decide whether the company will continue its emphasis on privacy, or whether it embraces AI-powered personalization. For Cook, Apple&#8217;s privacy-first approach to user data has long been a differentiator compared to other tech giants like Meta and Google, which specialize in letting brands target users with ads. <\/p>\n<p>Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management told CNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Closing Bell: Overtime&#8221; on Monday that his firm recently bought more Apple stock because of its prospects in &#8220;personalized AI.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s an opportunity for Apple to tell a story to investors that may be compelling enough that they&#8217;re going to get it,&#8221; Munster said. <\/p>\n<p>nowhere on monday <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/newsroom\/2026\/04\/tim-cook-to-become-apple-executive-chairman-john-ternus-to-become-apple-ceo\/\">Press release<\/a> Apple mentions AI while announcing CEO change. Rather, Turnus&#8217;s sections focused on his 25 years at the company and his key role in &#8220;introducing multiple new product lines, including the iPad and AirPods, as well as multiple generations of products across the iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But it&#8217;s clear that when the Turnus era begins in a little over four months, AI will need to be front and center. And Notre Dame&#8217;s Hubbard said Apple needs to return to its roots, at least when it comes to innovation. <\/p>\n<p>Hubbard said, &#8220;Those are the same forces that made Apple impressive \u2013 that rapid innovation is where Apple started, and that&#8217;s probably where the company needs to get back to.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014CNBC&#8217;s Jonathan Vanian contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch:<\/strong> Expect more hardware innovation from John Ternus<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108294216\">\n<div role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108294216\" class=\"PlaceHolder-wrapper\" data-vilynx-id=\"7000410293\" data-test=\"VideoPlaceHolder\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-videoEmbed\" id=\"InlineVideo-0\" data-test=\"InlineVideo\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-inlineThumbnailContainer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"InlineVideo-videoThumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/image.cnbcfm.com\/api\/v1\/image\/108294217-17767178971776717891-45397760210-1080pnbcnews.jpg?v=1776717896&amp;w=750&amp;h=422&amp;vtcrop=y\" alt=\"DA Davidson's Luria says to expect more hardware innovation from incoming Apple CEO John Ternes\"\/><span class=\"InlineVideo-videoButton\"\/><span\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ArticleBody-googlePreferredSourceContainer\" data-module=\"GooglePreferredSource\" data-id=\"RegularArticle-GooglePreferredSource-5\">Choose CNBC as your favorite source on Google and never miss a moment of the most trusted name in business news.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Ternes, senior vice president of hardware engineering at Apple Inc., talks about the iMac computer during the Peak Performance virtual event in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Photographer: Gabby Jones\/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg | Bloomberg | getty images Apple It has maintained its dominance in consumer devices despite a massive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[2266,872,2216,931,493,186,1113,23722],"class_list":["post-83694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bible-news","tag-apples","tag-big","tag-ceo","tag-challenge","tag-faces","tag-john","tag-strategy","tag-ternes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83694"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83697,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83694\/revisions\/83697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}