Apple has announced a new change of direction in its artificial intelligence division. John Giannandrea, head of AI since 2018 and a key figure in the evolution of Siri, is preparing to leave the operational leadership of the team. A decision that comes at a delicate moment for the company, committed to catching up after the postponement of the launch of the new “personalized” Siri, initially scheduled for this year and then postponed due to a more complex development than expected.
The role now passes to Amar Subramanya, who has been appointed Vice President of AI. Subramanya comes from a long experience between Google and Microsoft, where he held top positions in the teams dedicated to artificial intelligence. At Apple, he will be responsible for overseeing the proprietary models, machine learning research and security frameworks that will accompany future Apple Intelligence features. His appointment is part of an internal shake-up that reflects the company’s increasingly centralized AI ambitions, with the division now directly linked to software SVP Craig Federighi.
The slowdown of Siri’s roadmap had a decisive impact on Giannandrea’s exit. In March, Apple itself had publicly admitted that the development of the new version of the assistant was taking “longer than expected”. According to Bloomberg, Tim Cook has lost confidence in the management of the project, delegating part of the supervision to the head of Vision Pro, Mike Rockwell. Giannandrea will however remain as advisor until his final retirement scheduled for spring 2026.
The path towards the new Siri will therefore start again from Subramanya, while Apple prepares the launch of a renewed assistant expected for next spring. Rumors indicate that some advanced features will be powered by a customized version of Google’s Gemini model, a choice that signals the company’s desire to balance internal development and strategic partnerships to regain ground in an increasingly competitive sector.
Tim Cook, commenting on the appointment, underlined how artificial intelligence remains “central to Apple’s strategy”, reiterating Federighi’s decisive role in the technical direction and implementation of the first Apple Intelligence functions. A reorganization that aims to give new impetus to a crucial project for the future of the Apple ecosystem, with Siri called upon to transform from a simple voice assistant to an intelligent interface for the entire platform.