What to know

  • John Giannandrea is leaving his role as Apple’s head of AI and will retire in spring 2026.
  • Amar Subramanya, with deep experience from Microsoft and Google, is set to replace him.
  • Apple’s revamped Siri assistant, delayed until 2026, reflects ongoing AI struggles.
  • The leadership change highlights Apple’s push to catch up with rivals like Google and OpenAI.

According to an announcement, Apple’s AI chief John Giannandrea is stepping down after nearly eight years, with former Microsoft executive Amar Subramanya stepping in as the new VP of AI. Giannandrea will continue advising Apple until he retires in spring 2026 amid delays in rolling out a more personalized Siri. This leadership change comes as Apple gears up to enhance Siri’s intelligence and catches up in AI, reportedly incorporating a custom version of Google’s Gemini AI model to power new features.

His successor, Amar Subramanya, who brings experience from both Microsoft and Google, will now lead Apple’s AI research, model development, and safety efforts. Apple sees his background in turning AI research into real products as key to speeding up its Apple Intelligence plans. He will report to Craig Federighi, who now oversees more of Apple’s AI work. With the upgraded Siri expected next spring, reports also suggest Apple may use a customized version of Google’s Gemini model for some features.

In March, Apple admitted its more personalized Siri update was taking longer than expected, postponing the release. Internal reports later revealed that CEO Tim Cook had lost confidence in Giannandrea’s oversight of the AI teams and assigned Vision Pro leader Mike Rockwell to manage Siri’s development.

This shakeup reflects Apple’s ongoing struggle to compete with AI leaders like Google and OpenAI. The leadership overhaul combined with partnerships for advanced AI tech shows the urgency inside Apple to catch up in the race to deliver smarter, more useful AI-powered experiences on its devices. What happens next with Siri and Apple’s broader AI strategy could reshape its role in the increasingly AI-driven tech landscape.