According to Thurrott.com, Apple’s AI chief John Giannandrea is leaving the company, a move widely linked to the failure to modernize Siri. The company announced that AI researcher Amar Subramanya, previously of Google and Microsoft, is joining as vice president of AI and will report to software chief Craig Federighi. Giannandrea, who was hired from Google in 2018 and reported directly to CEO Tim Cook, had Siri development taken away from his team in March 2025 after they couldn’t adapt it for Apple Intelligence as promised at WWDC 2024. Since then, Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell has overseen Siri, while Giannandrea worked on foundational AI models—a role Subramanya will now assume. Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that Federighi has been “instrumental” in AI efforts and will oversee bringing “a more personalized Siri to users next year.”
A Coup That Fizzled
Remember when Apple poached John Giannandrea from Google? It was 2018, and it felt like a huge win. Here was a top AI mind coming to finally inject some cutting-edge intelligence into the Apple ecosystem, especially Siri. He got a seat on the executive team and reported straight to Tim Cook. That’s a big deal. But fast forward to now, and what’s really changed? Siri is still, frankly, an embarrassment compared to the competition. Apple was first to market with a digital assistant, and now it’s a punchline. That’s a brutal reality for a company that prides itself on polish.
Federighi’s Consolidated Power
Here’s the thing: the real story isn’t just Giannandrea leaving. It’s about Craig Federighi’s growing empire. The guy already runs all of software engineering. Now, with Subramanya reporting to him and the official statement highlighting his “expanded oversight,” it’s clear AI strategy is being consolidated under the software umbrella. This makes sense on one level—AI is fundamentally software. But it also signals a shift from having a dedicated, high-level AI guru to baking it directly into the core OS development process. The question is, will this lead to faster, more integrated features, or will it just mean more bureaucracy?
The Siri Problem Remains
Let’s not sugarcoat it. The press release talks a big game about “the next generation of AI technologies” and “profoundly personal experiences.” But the elephant in the room is Siri. It’s been broken for years, and handing it off to Mike Rockwell’s team is an interesting, if desperate, move. Rockwell built the Vision Pro—a hardware marvel with a software platform still searching for its purpose. Is he the right person to fix a purely software-based assistant? Apple is promising a better Siri “next year,” but we’ve heard variations of that promise for a decade. The pressure is absolutely on, and the clock started ticking loudly when Apple announced this leadership change.
What Success Looks Like Now
So what does “winning” look like for Apple AI now? It’s not about foundational research papers or owning the largest model. It’s about seamless, reliable, and private integration. Federighi’s team needs to prove that baking AI into the OS—with Subramanya’s model expertise in the engine room—can make Siri actually useful and make features like Apple Intelligence feel essential, not just tacked on. The beneficiary here is clearly Federighi, whose influence keeps growing. But for users, it’s a wait-and-see game. They’ve swapped out the head mechanic, but the car’s still making the same sputtering noise. The real test comes when they finally deliver the promised update and we see if it actually drives.
