Less than two months after taking office, Tim Cook's successor is posing as a guarantor of continuity and defending an AI that has been integrated into the products rather than an in-house cutting-edge model.
Steven Levy, of Wired, spoke twice with John Ternus, on the sidelines of the presentation of the new MacBook Pro in Los Angeles, the first Mac with a touch screen. At 51 years old, this engineer who joined Apple twenty-five years ago has been at the helm of the company for less than two months. The portrait that emerges is that of a "product man" claiming continuity: when asked about the external leaders he admires or the management books that have marked him, he has no answer and systematically refers to the internal collaborative culture. Apple has also merged its hardware engineering and technology organizations under Johny Srouji, the architect of its in-house chips, who reports directly to Ternus.
AI, the litmus test of the mandate
Faced with the two narratives circulating about Apple – a chronic delay embodied by Siri, or on the contrary a wise saving in the face of the cost of cutting-edge models – Ternus says he is satisfied with the company's position. Apple will use AI, he assures, but the goal is that the user doesn't even have to wonder if a function is based on a model or on classic software: the only account they like the product is.
On the political side, Tim Cook, now executive chairman, remains available "wherever I ask him", according to Ternus, who says he is building his own relationships. He has not yet met Donald Trump.
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