Apple has announced a major leadership change in its artificial intelligence division, confirming that John Giannandrea, the company’s longtime head of AI, will retire next spring after nearly eight years in the role.
The transition comes at a time when the iPhone maker is facing mounting pressure to close the gap with competitors in the rapidly evolving field of generative AI.
Giannandrea, who joined Apple in 2018 in what was then seen as a significant coup, had been tasked with revitalising the company’s AI strategy and addressing the shortcomings of its voice assistant Siri.
But Apple has struggled to keep pace with rivals, and its delayed rollout of a more advanced Siri has been widely viewed as a key setback.
Subramanya takes the helm with a mandate to accelerate AI efforts
Amar Subramanya, a seasoned AI and machine-learning researcher with experience across Google, Microsoft, and IBM, will take over as vice president of AI.
He will report to Craig Federighi, Apple’s head of software engineering, and oversee teams focused on foundation models, research initiatives, and AI safety.
Subramanya’s career spans more than two decades, including roles as a staff research scientist at Google, principal engineer, and, most recently, vice president of engineering for the company’s Gemini model.
He briefly worked at Microsoft in 2025 as corporate vice president of AI before moving to Apple.
Apple executives said the restructuring will also shift some functions previously under Giannandrea to chief operating officer Sabih Khan and services chief Eddy Cue, signalling a deeper integration of AI work across the company.
“AI has long been central to Apple’s strategy, and we are pleased to bring Amar’s extraordinary expertise to our leadership team,” CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
Cook added that Federighi has already been playing a “key role” in steering the company’s AI roadmap, including work to deliver a more personalised version of Siri next year.
Siri delays and competitive pressure frame the leadership shift
Giannandrea’s departure marks a symbolic moment for Apple.
He was expected to mend Siri’s long-standing performance issues and help the company compete with Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant.
But Apple was soon overtaken by the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022, which redefined consumer expectations and spurred a wave of generative AI products.
The company’s own initiative, Apple Intelligence, has struggled to draw enthusiasm.
Users and analysts have criticised the limited capabilities of the technology, and a major upgrade to Siri — seen as essential to Apple’s comeback — was pushed to 2026 earlier this year.
The delay has reinforced concerns about Apple’s ability to innovate amid a fast-moving industry shift.
Rivals advance as Apple faces a pivotal period
Adding to the competitive pressure, Apple is also watching former chief designer Jony Ive and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman push ahead with AI-driven hardware development.
The two announced last month that their first prototypes are complete, with a potential launch in under two years.
Analysts note that Apple still enjoys deep customer loyalty built over more than a decade of iPhone dominance.
But with the next wave of consumer devices likely to be shaped by AI rather than traditional mobile hardware, the company’s ability to catch up will be closely scrutinised.
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