Apple’s head of AI likely not long for Cupertino following WWDC
Apple's head of AI was missing from WWDC, and may be leaving the company soon.
This year’s WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) event had one person curiously missing from the show: John Giannandrea, head of AI at Apple. Industry insider Mark Gurman — in today’s edition of his newsletter Power On — shares his fears that Giannandrea might not be long for Cupertino.
Apple’s AI failure exposed many internal happenings at the company, including the fact that Giannandrea has always felt like an outsider. His approach to AI has also remained quite different from other Apple executives, and he was recently demoted after Apple Intelligence had failed to improve.
However, at last year’s WWDC event, Apple’s head of AI was very much present and even participated in a few interviews. WWDC 2024 was also the event where the company had proudly shown off upcoming Apple Intelligence features, which were nowhere near ready for launch. These features — in particular the hotly anticipated revamped Siri digital assistant — are still incomplete and missing.
This year, Apple took the much more cautious approach. Apple executive Craig Federighi made a small mention of how the company’s AI still needed a little more time to be perfected. Most of the event was instead spent showcasing the stunning new Liquid Glass overhaul for iOS 26 and other operating systems.
This cautious approach also included keeping John Giannandrea out of sight. Whether this is because Apple thought that he wouldn’t have much to add, or whether because the company has lost faith in him, is unclear. Gurman believes that Giannandrea’s absence from WWDC may be a clear sign that he won’t be around at Apple for long.
Giannandrea previously worked at Google, and served as the Chief of Search and Artificial Intelligence. His work was indispensable, part of why Apple hired him in the first place. Unfortunately, he just never felt at home in the company, and it’s shown with how Apple Intelligence has been handled.
Other Apple executives, like Craig Federighi, also delayed the company’s foray into AI because they believed it wouldn’t be as important as it turned out to be. Federighi only really saw the potential of AI after he used OpenAI’s ChatGPT to help code a small personal project for him.
The entire Apple Intelligence ordeal has been a disappointment for many, but if Giannandrea is let go, he’ll hopefully find another lucrative offer soon after.
Apple’s AI failure exposed many internal happenings at the company, including the fact that Giannandrea has always felt like an outsider. His approach to AI has also remained quite different from other Apple executives, and he was recently demoted after Apple Intelligence had failed to improve.
This year, Apple took the much more cautious approach. Apple executive Craig Federighi made a small mention of how the company’s AI still needed a little more time to be perfected. Most of the event was instead spent showcasing the stunning new Liquid Glass overhaul for iOS 26 and other operating systems.
Apple’s new Liquid Glass redesign extends to all of its operating systems. | Video credit — Apple
This cautious approach also included keeping John Giannandrea out of sight. Whether this is because Apple thought that he wouldn’t have much to add, or whether because the company has lost faith in him, is unclear. Gurman believes that Giannandrea’s absence from WWDC may be a clear sign that he won’t be around at Apple for long.
Giannandrea previously worked at Google, and served as the Chief of Search and Artificial Intelligence. His work was indispensable, part of why Apple hired him in the first place. Unfortunately, he just never felt at home in the company, and it’s shown with how Apple Intelligence has been handled.
Other Apple executives, like Craig Federighi, also delayed the company’s foray into AI because they believed it wouldn’t be as important as it turned out to be. Federighi only really saw the potential of AI after he used OpenAI’s ChatGPT to help code a small personal project for him.
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