In a bid to reverse its comprehensive lag in artificial intelligence, Apple is seeking a turnaround through a major executive reshuffle and product overhaul. According to reports, this belated self-rescue began with a secret high-level meeting in early 2025, with the endpoint being a completely new Siri set to debut at this week's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
On June 7th, it was disclosed that this meeting was held in a conference room near Apple's software engineering department, with attendees including several senior vice presidents, the Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, and other core executives. The central topic was singular: the complete failure of Apple Intelligence, the imminent delay of a major upgrade for the new-generation Siri, and the rapidly widening gap with competitors like Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic. This meeting ultimately led to a fundamental restructuring of Apple's AI architecture and directly resulted in the then-head of AI, John Giannandrea, being stripped of most of his authority and subsequently departing.
For Apple CEO Tim Cook, the failure of Apple Intelligence 1.0 was directly characterized as "a stain on his track record." Cook subsequently broke precedent by personally and deeply involving himself in setting the AI roadmap, pressuring subordinates to accelerate progress—a rare direct intervention in product development during his more than a decade leading Apple.
Currently, the market's focus has shifted from "whether Apple recognizes the problem" to "whether this overdue transformation can be thorough enough."
The Catalyst for Crisis
According to reports, the meeting was chaired by then-COO Jeff Williams, with Cook himself not in attendance. Participants included former interface design head Alan Dye, Vision Pro founder Mike Rockwell, and several of Apple's highest-ranking executives.
The core conclusion was that Apple's problems in AI were not merely technical but represented a systemic failure in culture, structure, and leadership. Decentralized decision-making, blurred responsibility boundaries, and AI's long-term lack of sufficient internal priority were issues dramatically amplified following ChatGPT's explosive debut in late 2022. The report noted that generative AI had not even entered Apple's strategic vision when ChatGPT launched.
During the meeting, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi led most of the discussion, but the crucial voice was Rockwell's. Having just completed the Vision Pro launch, which saw poor sales, Rockwell was still internally viewed as a driver of significant technical achievement and thus held considerable influence. At the meeting, Rockwell volunteered to become the "firefighter" for Apple's AI and Siri efforts.
Reportedly, Rockwell initially wanted to lead Apple's overall AI business, reporting directly to Cook and fully replacing Giannandrea. However, Federighi explicitly opposed this, insisting Rockwell only oversee Siri and still report to him, ensuring the software engineering department maintained control over AI and Siri.
Rockwell believed Federighi had been slow to recognize AI's importance and lacked sufficient urgency. Additionally, Rockwell sought a promotion to Senior Vice President through this opportunity, a request that also went unfulfilled. Despite this, he ultimately accepted the arrangement to lead Siri under Federighi.
On a parallel track of personnel changes, Apple spent much of 2025 extensively searching for a second AI head, eventually hiring engineering executive Amar Subramanya from Alphabet and Microsoft to oversee AI models and research, also reporting to Federighi.
Cook's Unprecedented Intervention
The severity of Apple's AI crisis reportedly forced Cook to alter his typical management style.
In the past, he typically only participated in product demos and major decisions, delegating roadmap and daily decision-making authority to subordinates. However, after the Apple Intelligence failure, his level of involvement in AI exceeded that of any product project in the past decade.
Cook began directly expressing his preferences for AI features, unilaterally making certain decisions, and pressuring executives like Federighi to "get their act together," believing they had not treated the technology with the seriousness it deserved from the outset.
He also delivered a company-wide motivational speech focused on AI.
The New Siri Blueprint
Reportedly, after Rockwell took over Siri, he quickly replaced the existing Siri management with his trusted core team from the Vision Pro and visionOS projects.
Simultaneously, he spearheaded an investigation and evaluation of third-party AI solutions, ultimately pushing Apple to reach an agreement with Alphabet to use the Gemini model and Google Cloud technology to replace the underlying models and cloud computing system powering Siri.
Federighi and Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue were also involved in this deal.
At the product level, Apple's stance has shifted significantly. Executives like Federighi had publicly dismissed the necessity of chatbots and standalone AI apps during the Apple Intelligence launch but are now set to introduce a standalone Siri application to compete with ChatGPT.
Apple had previously criticized using generative AI in camera apps, stating photos should be "a personal record of what actually happened." Yet, this WWDC will showcase new features allowing users to fill in photo gaps or change shooting perspectives using generative AI.
The report states that insufficient AI capabilities have become a direct cause of delays for multiple Apple hardware products.
A desktop robot originally slated for 2026-2027 is now pushed to 2028; a smart home display is delayed from its original 2024 target to late 2026 at the earliest; and smart glasses are postponed from an early 2027 plan to late 2027.
Cook's Legacy and Ternus's Task
This WWDC is reportedly both Cook's final act as CEO and the starting point for Apple's AI reconstruction project.
Cook is set to step down on September 1st this year, handing the company over to John Ternus. Ternus will inherit an Apple struggling to prove it can still lead technological change. He has overseen the development of glasses, a locket device, AirPods with cameras, and home devices, but the AI capability shortfall has consistently hindered their official launch.
For Rockwell, the launch of the new Siri represents the most significant delivery of his career. Success would solidify his position within Apple's leadership and lay the groundwork for a larger role in the Ternus era.
The report concludes that the question for Apple is no longer "whether it recognizes the importance of AI," but "whether the transformation initiated by that key meeting is sufficient to ensure Apple dominates the next generation of computing platforms."
Comments