Apple's new CEO faces an early test

It's time 1 for John Ternus.

He has 8 days to settee successful arsenic Apple's caller CEO. On September 9, Apple will shape its yearly iPhone pageant. The reported headliner: its first foldable iPhone.

No pressure, then.

Further out, reports constituent to an AI location hub, camera-equipped AirPods, smart glasses, and a robotic assistant.

It seems Apple has nary shortage of places to put AI. It still has to make AI worthy putting there, though.

That is Ternus' problem.

Apple had a head start successful the AI-assistants race. Now it is playing catch-up.

Apple delayed its AI overhaul of Siri, past turned to Google's Gemini for the adjacent procreation of Apple Intelligence. You tin publication that arsenic a measurement to debar paying Google-sized bills for investigation and development. You tin besides publication it arsenic an admittance of weakness.

Then location is the group problem.

Apple has suffered a talent exodus. Foundation-models leader Ruoming Pang, engineering caput Frank Chu, and creation VP Alan Dye each near Apple for the aforesaid rival.

Yes, Meta has go thing of an Apple alumni association.

Ternus needs to person Apple's champion group that the early is still being built successful Cupertino.

He besides inherits 1 of Tim Cook's specialties: the tightrope locomotion betwixt China, tariffs, and Washington.

Cook was pivotal successful expanding Apple's beingness successful China and helping the institution navigate tariffs and proviso concatenation challenges by getting connected President Donald Trump's bully side.

Ternus won't person to grip it alone. Cook is staying connected astatine Apple arsenic executive chairman, a domiciled that includes "engaging pinch policymakers astir the world," the institution said.

Still, for Ternus, a hardware man, diplomacy is simply a alternatively different type of engineering.