John Ternus’s first Apple launch puts AI at the center

Apple’s annual iPhone hardware event marked new CEO John Ternus’s first major product launch after taking over from Tim Cook less than two weeks earlier. It also introduced the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable smartphone.

In an interview with The Verge, Bloomberg chief Apple correspondent Mark Gurman said the event felt largely interchangeable with a Tim Cook presentation. He identified one notable difference: Ternus opened with a clear point of view on artificial intelligence, including Apple’s intelligent personal hub.

Gurman described Ternus as more willing to make a decision and express an opinion, while Cook often emphasized collaborative decision-making. He said people may disagree with Ternus’s approach and may consider the OpenAI or Anthropic approaches stronger, but Ternus had presented a defined position.

According to Gurman, Apple has been working on artificial intelligence for two years since introducing Apple Intelligence at WWDC in 2024. He characterized the company’s efforts as a mishmash of developments that had lacked a strong narrative, and said the event offered a clearer view of Ternus’s direction as Apple moves from the iPhone era toward the AI era.