Apple's Twin Suns

Yesterday brought two bits of reporting about Apple that are seemingly unrelated, and yet also sort of related. The first was a report by Aaron Tilley and Wayne Ma for The Information, diving into how Apple SVP Craig Federighi was recently tasked with overseeing the company's AI efforts. Later came a report from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg noting how another Apple SVP, John Ternus, had been quietly tasked with overseeing the company's design efforts.

Over the past year, these have been the two areas of Apple under the most fire. And they're arguably the two most important areas of Apple going forward. Now being overseen by perhaps the two most important figures within Apple going forward...

Design is How Apple Works

Let's start with design. It has obviously been a focal point of the company since inception, as Steve Jobs famously pushed the mantra of design not just being about how something looks, but how it works. The attention to detail on the back of cabinets and circuit boards and all that. And while it seemed to take a backseat in the industry with the rise of Microsoft and the PC in the 1990s, Apple came roaring back to become the most valuable company on Earth thanks in no small part to this continued focus.

But in the past year or so, Apple has been under quite a bit of fire for some design choices, almost all of which are on the software side of the house. Most notably, with the transition to "Liquid Glass" as the overarching UI theme. To be fair, much of this criticism started after the person overseeing such efforts, Alan Dye, had announced his departure to Meta – a big rebuke to the rival that Mark Zuckerberg clearly hates the most. But the design complaints certainly started before that as well. Anecdotally, I know quite a few people who have no idea who runs design at Apple who refuse to install the latest versions of the OSes because of the way they look. And there's data to suggest they're not alone.

That is not why Ternus is now overseeing the group. In fact, if anything, it may make it a harder time for him to oversee such things because he has no formal background in design beyond his work helping to steer it within the hardware group he has overseen (a group which, I should note, gets no such criticism). But he could be a fresh set of eyes to help right the ship, as it were. And it's not only a good challenge for him, it's a vital one, as he's the person believed to be next in line to succeed Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

Granted, Cook had no such design talent or aspirations either. But he didn't need to – he had Jony Ive in place when he took over the reins from Steve Jobs. In many eyes – and certainly with hindsight – even Ive became problematic on the software side of design when he was thrown into that role (having also previously focused on hardware design) after Cook ousted Scott Forstall. Most people will know this as the time when Jobs' beloved skeuomorphism vanished in favor of flat. Apple's software design really hasn't been the same since.

Anyway, fast forward a few more years and Ive too was gone from Apple.¹ Losing someone of his stature put the company in a tricky spot. How do you replace Jony Ive? The answer is that you don't. That led to design ultimately reporting up to Jeff Williams, Cook's COO. Also without the design background, Williams seemed like a good steward as a sort of jack-of-many-trades executive (while obviously mainly focused on supply chain, like Cook before him, he also oversaw Apple Watch, etc).

Fast forward a few more years and here we are at the present with Williams having just retired at the end of last year. With that move, design shifted, at least functionally, to reporting up to Cook. Two problems there. First, again, this is not Cook's world. But second, and more pressing, Cook is on the verge of retiring himself. Perhaps not imminently, but clearly soon. At which point design will have to be handed off yet again...

This is what led me to a sort of casual prediction/thought last July when the news first came out that Williams would be retiring:

Design is a far trickier topic. Once Williams actually retires to start 2026, that team will transition to noted design expert Tim Cook.

I kid, I kid. But really, it's weird. But it also feels like they don't really have another option here. Though I might note that if Ternus really is in line to be the next CEO now – something that obviously seems more likely than ever with this news – perhaps it would be good to get him that experience? Perhaps especially while Williams is still there to oversee that transition?

Well, sure enough, as Gurman reports:

Apple Inc. has expanded the job of hardware chief John Ternus to include design work, solidifying his status as a leading contender to eventually succeed Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook.

Cook, who has led Apple since 2011 and turned 65 in November, quietly tapped Ternus to manage the company’s design teams at the end of last year, according to people with knowledge of the matter. That widens Ternus’ role to add one of the company’s most critical functions.

If that timetable is correct, it sounds like Williams handed off the oversight of the design groups right to Ternus. And it makes sense for the exactly the reason I suggested last year, it's one of the – if not the – most critical areas within Apple. And they've floundered a bit in recent years because it has been passed around, in particular with awkward transitions as people left and there were not other real options. Better to try to set Ternus up for success here with an orderly transition.

And he'll have more time because again, Cook's departure doesn't seem imminent. And per Gurman's reporting, design is still technically reporting up to Cook on paper. This also gives the company some cover in not tipping their hand that Ternus is the heir apparent, even though it's widely reported now. Certainly if Ternus was announced to be formally taking oversight of design, that would be the absolute indication he was the next CEO of Apple – and for whatever reason, Apple clearly isn't ready to do that. So instead we'll have to just go with the reporting. But yes, it's the most clear cut sign yet that Ternus is the guy.

If it's not fully settled yet, this could be a final "test" of sorts for Ternus. Again, design is in a sort of state of disarray post-Dye. Can he stabilize that ship and set them back on the right path? And if he can't in the next few months, does it in some way encumber his path to CEO?

The AI Path Forward

Honestly, probably not, but humor me. What if Craig Federighi is on a similar path with AI? It is interesting that given how forward-facing Federighi has been for years on stage at Apple's keynotes, and how vital he has been to the company, that he hasn't been the front-runner for the CEO job. The only obvious explanation may be that he simply doesn't want it. And if so, fair enough. But are there many people that rise to the level of SVP at large companies that don't ultimately aspire to the top job? And especially at Apple, one of the most powerful and important companies in the world?²

Federighi is older than Ternus – 58 versus 50 – but he's seemingly still in that "Goldilocks" zone for corporate CEOs: not too old, not too young. And given his aforementioned stage presence, he seems to be a young 58. Certainly he can give Apple another decade of work, if not more.

Despite the age difference, Ternus has actually been at Apple longer – about 25 years – versus Federighi who first came over (with Steve Jobs) in 1996 with the NeXT acquisition. But he left in 1999 before coming back a decade later, and he's been at Apple ever since – 17 straight years, and about 20 in total.

Anyway, again, Ternus seems to be the chosen one, and it's hard to see that changing. And interestingly enough, in Gurman's latest report, he notes that Sabih Khan, Apple's new COO (though a 31 year Apple veteran himself) after Williams, is "the other internal CEO candidate" – no mention of Federighi, despite other recent reports still naming him as a would-be candidate.³

All I'm saying is that if Federighi still has any shot – and again, if he even wants any shot – he's getting the other, and arguably far more challenging and daunting task at Apple right now: fixing AI.

The Information report is full of tidbits, notably including Federighi's initial reluctance to lead such an effort for Apple, which seemingly led directly to John Giannandrea coming on board. And how Mike Rockwell, then overseeing early Vision Pro efforts, went to Federighi to implore him to use AI more within iOS, which Federighi apparently rejected worried about the unpredictable and chaotic nature of the (still early) technology. That changed, of course, with ChatGPT, as has been widely cited by now. Once Federighi had his come-to-Jesus moment there, he seemingly had a fire lit under him, like Rockwell, to get Siri straightened out. And now, of course, the two are working hand-in-hand post-JG, with Rockwell leading the Siri efforts directly, reporting to Federighi.

But the report also notes that it was Federighi who ultimately made the call to outsource Apple's AI efforts – which likely sealed the fate of much of Apple's current AI team, including JG. And the resulting internal bake-off led to Google being crowned the winner. Now it's on him to make it actually all work. For real this time. And the stakes could not be any higher, any faster. The first revamp to Siri is due in a couple short months with iOS 26.4.

Meanwhile, Federighi is also overseeing the broader AI push across all of Apple's products – including the new 'HomePad' device which has been delayed due to Apple's AI struggles – which should culminate, once again, with announcements at WWDC. Seemingly without many new features planned for iOS 27 (and the other new OSes), and with "Liquid Glass" likely in place for at least the next iteration – your move, Ternus – all eyes will be on AI. And not just developers, but the public, and yes, Wall Street. Will we finally get the true "AiPhone" this Fall?

There's obviously not a lot of time, but if Federighi can pull this AI course correction off and show Apple to be on the right path... It will be a big mark in his favor, is all I'm saying. Yes, even if they're outsourcing much of the heavy-lifting to Google. It still took someone with, dare I say, courage, to make that call.

Plus the knowledge that it's a temporary fix until Apple's AI house can be truly put in order. And there's still very much a world in which Apple benefits from not being in the middle of the current LLM arms race, depending how things shake out over the next year or two...

Two Roads Diverge...

So that's two tall tasks and two new taskmasters. Maybe it all has some bearing on the CEO job or maybe not. But both paths will certainly be key to where Apple goes from here. A true new era for the company.

¹ Yes, there were a couple years there where Ive had stepped back into a less operational – or certainly less managerial – role and Cook was technically overseeing the design teams then too. ↩

² And with Tim Cook likely stepping into the Chairman role eventually, the next CEO can hopefully avoid giving out golden trinkets to you-know-who... ↩

³ Khan could very well be the "backup plan", sort of the role Williams seemingly filled under Cook – someone who could step in at a moment's notice. Something Apple learned the hard way during Jobs' unfortunate illness. ↩