Apple chief executive John Ternus says AI will be part of Apple’s products, but only where it makes them better. Asked whether Apple has fallen behind rivals, he answered that he likes where the company is.
Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran who became CEO at the start of September, made the remarks after the launch of Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook Pro, at an event in Los Angeles this week. Apple delayed a more capable Siri, which only arrived this summer, so the question gets asked often.
In an interview with Wired’s Steven Levy, Ternus said Apple will “absolutely” use AI, but: “We don’t want to ship AI for AI’s sake. When we’re doing it right, people won’t have to think about whether it was AI that made this happen or more traditional software.”
Agents, apps and regulation
Levy put the other popular theory to him, that AI agents built from prompts will replace the apps Apple’s platforms are known for. Ternus did not agree: “That could make life really easy, I suppose, but the creation of products is a deeply human and personal thing, something that we love to do.”
On whether he supports AI regulation, he did not give a yes or no. He said Apple’s focus is on keeping its products secure and safe and protecting users’ information. He added that Tim Cook, now executive chair, is “available to help wherever I ask him”.
The interview contains no new product or software announcement.
