Bloomberg’s “Power On” news brief disclosed on June 7 that in early 2025, Apple’s Software Engineering division held a closed-door executive meeting, which triggered a comprehensive reorganization of Apple’s AI business: the Vision Pro development lead, Mike Rockwell, was appointed to lead the Siri project, and the existing Siri leadership team was overhauled.
Apple personnel reorganization: confirmed organizational structure adjustments
Mike Rockwell: appointed as Siri project lead, reporting to Federighi instead of reporting directly to Cook. After taking office, he cleared out the previous Siri leadership team and brought in core talent from the Vision Pro development team.
Amar Subramanya: after a 2025 headhunting process, he became Apple’s second AI leader, responsible for AI model development, and also reports to Federighi.
John Giannandrea: Cook had lost confidence in him, and after this reorganization he no longer leads Apple’s AI business.
Rockwell had hoped to be promoted to senior vice president and report directly to Cook. Federighi insisted that the AI business must remain under the Software Engineering division’s jurisdiction. Ultimately, Rockwell accepted the arrangement of serving as Siri lead while reporting to Federighi.
Google Gemini agreement: confirmed technical roadmap shift
After evaluating that Apple’s in-house AI models were behind the industry standard, Rockwell, Federighi, and Kuyi reached an agreement with Google confirming the adoption of the Google Gemini model and Google Cloud technologies to support the creation and operation of the new Apple foundation model. Eddie Kuyi had previously warned internally that AI could upend iPhone business within a decade.
WWDC 2026 confirmed content and hardware schedule
The WWDC 2026 Monday keynote confirmed it will showcase:
Standalone Siri application: presented in the form of a chat-bot, aimed at ChatGPT, overturning the management team’s previous stance of rejecting chat-bots
Generative photo editing features: overturning the previous stance of rejecting generative retouching
The hardware timeline that had been pushed back due to underlying AI technology bottlenecks has been confirmed as:
Desktop robots: delayed until 2028
Smart displays: delayed until the end of 2026
AI glasses: delayed until the end of 2027
Cook confirmed that he will formally retire on September 1, 2026, with John Ternus taking over as CEO.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Rockwell take over Siri instead of the entire Apple AI department?
At the early-2025 executive meeting, Federighi insisted that the AI business must remain within the Software Engineering division’s scope, opposing Rockwell reporting directly to Cook and being promoted to senior vice president. The final confirmed structure is that Rockwell leads Siri, while Subramanya leads AI models; both report to Federighi.
Why did Apple decide to introduce Google Gemini rather than continue insisting on the in-house approach?
After Rockwell took over, the assessment confirmed that Apple’s in-house AI models were behind the industry. The three executives—Rockwell, Federighi, and Kuyi—together reached a technical agreement with Google to replace Apple’s in-house foundation models with Google Gemini and Google Cloud in order to accelerate the development of the new Siri.
What decisions did Cook change in this AI reorganization?
After the early-2025 meeting, Cook changed his previously relaxed management style, began personally getting involved in the specific details of the AI roadmap, directly adjusting development decisions, and pressured executives such as Federighi to speed things up. This WWDC 2026 is Cook’s last time spearheading major product launches before retiring on September 1, 2026.
