Tech titan Apple (AAPL) has called in the cavalry and launched an executive shake-up to help get its ailing AI drive back on track.
Cook Has Lost Confidence
As reported by Bloomberg, Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook has “lost confidence in the ability of AI head John Giannandrea to execute on Apple Intelligence product development” and has brought in another top executive to help.
That means, according to the report, current vice president of the Vision Products Group and creator of Apple Vision Pro Mike Rockwell coming in to take charge of the much-maligned Siri virtual assistant.
It is understood that Rockwell will report to software chief Craig Federighi, removing Siri completely from Giannandrea’s command. Apple is poised to announce the changes to employees this week, although it is being stressed that Giannandrea will not be leaving the business. He will continue to oversee research, testing, and other AI-related technologies.
The move follows a reportedly secretive, annual offsite gathering of Apple’s senior leaders – known as the Top 100 – to discuss the future of the company in particular its AI development.
Siri Does Not Have The Answers
But it also follows a raft of problems with Apple Intelligence, particularly the performance of Siri compared to rival the Amazon (AMZN) Alexa. It is feared that a “true modernized, conversational version of Siri” may not be available until its operating system iOS 20 comes out in 2027. That’s despite Amazon unveiling a souped-up GenAI-enabled Alexa voice assistant earlier this year.
The executive shift also came on the same day media articles suggested Siri couldn’t even answer the most basic questions such as ‘What month is it?”
The company’s top executive overseeing Siri, Robby Walker, reportedly called recent AI delays “ugly and embarrassing.” Rockwell has reportedly also not been shy about criticizing Siri. It is said he has pitched senior vice presidents on ideas for overhauling the voice assistant to make it more personalized. He has also, it is said, been advising the AI group in recent weeks.
Is AAPL a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, AAPL has a Moderate Buy consensus based on 17 Buy, 11 Hold and 4 Sell ratings. Its highest price target is $325. AAPL stock’s consensus price target is $249.88 implying an 17.20% upside.
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