Apple News Executive Shakeup 2025: Warum KI in die Software verlagert wurde

For a company that prides itself on secrecy, Apple’s org chart often speaks louder than its keynotes.

Yesterday’s announcement—that John Giannandrea (SVP of Machine Learning) is retiring and his entire division is moving under Craig Federighi (SVP of Software Engineering)—is not just a personnel change. It is a philosophy change.

For the last decade, Apple has been a hardware-first company. The Industrial Design team (led by Jony Ive, then Evans Hankey) ruled the roost. Software existed to make the hardware shine.

This shakeup confirms what we have suspected since the Vision Pro launch: The hardware era is over. The “Intelligence Era” has begun, and in this era, the code is more important than the glass.

The Hook: Why This specific Move Matters

John Giannandrea was hired from Google in 2018 to fix Siri. He was given a standalone silo, reporting directly to Tim Cook. This was Apple saying, “AI is a product.”

By dissolving that silo and moving it under Federighi (who runs iOS and macOS), Apple is now saying, “AI is a feature.”

It might sound like a demotion for AI, but it is actually the opposite. It means AI is being deeply integrated into the OS kernel rather than existing as a separate “app” or service. It is the only way Apple can catch up to OpenAI and Google.

Deep Dive: The Three Pillars of the New Strategy

This reorganization clarifies the three power centers at Apple in late 2025:

1. The Engine Room (Federighi + Subramanya)

Craig Federighi is now effectively the CEO of “Apple Intelligence.” By absorbing the AI team (now led by Amar Subramanya), Federighi controls the entire stack involved in “thinking”:

• The Operating System (iOS 19)
• The On-Device Model (Ajax)
• The Cloud Private Compute relay
• The Developer APIs (App Intents)

This solves the friction that plagued the Siri team for years. Previously, the AI team had to beg the iOS team for access to deep system functions. Now, they are on the same team. Expect Siri’s ability to “control apps” to skyrocket in 2026.

2. The Hardware Foundry (John Ternus)

John Ternus (SVP of Hardware Engineering) remains the golden child of the device side. But his mandate has changed. In the Jony Ive era, the goal was “Make it thinner.” In the Ternus/Federighi era, the goal is “Make it run the model.” Hardware is now subservient to the thermal and memory needs of the AI. This explains the rumored 12GB RAM baseline for the iPhone 18. The hardware exists to serve the Neural Engine, not the other way around.

3. The Operations Core (Jeff Williams)

Jeff Williams (COO) continues to be the “Tim Cook” to Tim Cook. With the supply chain becoming more complex (3nm fabrication at TSMC, new battery chemistry), Williams ensures the trains run on time.

Contextual History: The Fall of the “Design God”

To understand this shift, you have to look at the power vacuum left by Jony Ive.

• 2000-2019: The Industrial Design (ID) team is untouchable. If they say the phone needs to be 6mm thick, Engineering has to figure out how to fit the battery. Form follows Function? No. Function followed Form.
• 2019-2023: The chaotic transition. Ive leaves. The ID team reports to Operations (Williams), effectively killing their veto power.
• 2025: The Software team takes the crown.

The Vision Pro was likely the last product of the old regime—a marvel of hardware engineering that failed because the software ecosystem wasn’t ready. Apple is not making that mistake again.

Forward-Looking Analysis: Project “Ajax” and the iPhone 18

What does this mean for you, the user?

1. Siri is Dead; Long Live Siri: The “Siri” brand will remain, but the backend is now entirely different. Under Federighi, we expect a rapid integration of Generative UI. Instead of Siri showing you a list of links, it will generate a custom interface on the fly using SwiftUI.
2. The “Home Pad” Strategy: With hardware (Ternus) and AI (Federighi) decoupled, Apple is likely to launch a dedicated “Home AI” device in early 2026. It won’t be a pretty speaker; it will be a compute node for the home.
3. Services Revenue: This is the endgame. Apple wants to charge $20/month for “Apple Intelligence Pro.” To do that, the AI has to be good. By putting the guy who ships iOS on time (Federighi) in charge, Tim Cook is betting that shipping something reliable is better than researching everything perfect.

Conclusion

Apple is no longer a maker of “beautiful objects.” It is a maker of “intelligent interfaces.” The firing of the AI silo is the admission that AI cannot be a side project. It has to be the OS itself. And Craig Federighi is now the most important product manager on Earth.