Apple chief executive John Ternus said the company will use AI across its products but does not want to ship "AI for AI's sake," in an interview with WIRED's Steven Levy published on October 30, 2026. The conversation took place after Apple's MacBook Pro launch in Los Angeles that week, according to ShiftDelete.Net, which summarized the interview. (ShiftDelete.Net (opens in a new tab); DigitalToday (opens in a new tab))

Ternus said Apple is "absolutely going to leverage AI" in new products. He framed the question as one of usefulness rather than labels, saying that when Apple gets it right, "people won't have to think about whether it was AI that made this happen." DigitalToday reported that he described the real test as whether Apple makes products people truly like. (ShiftDelete.Net (opens in a new tab); DigitalToday (opens in a new tab))

Pushing back on the laggard label

Apple has faced repeated claims that it is behind rivals in generative AI, a perception that ShiftDelete.Net tied largely to Siri. Asked about the competing narratives around the company, Ternus said, "Everyone has an opinion. I really like where we're at." DigitalToday, citing TechCrunch's report on the interview, described the remarks as a direct rejection of outside assessments that Apple has fallen behind. (ShiftDelete.Net (opens in a new tab); DigitalToday (opens in a new tab))

Ternus was also asked whether AI agents could make apps unnecessary and reshape Apple's ecosystem. According to DigitalToday, he said agents could make life much more convenient, while arguing that "the creation of products is a deeply human and personal thing" that Apple loves to do. (ShiftDelete.Net (opens in a new tab); DigitalToday (opens in a new tab))

A product chief in the top job

Ternus, 51, officially took over as chief executive in early September 2026 after 25 years at Apple. Former CEO Tim Cook is now executive chairman, and Ternus said Cook "is available to help wherever I ask him." Apple's hardware engineering and technology groups have been merged under chip chief Johny Srouji, who reports to Ternus, according to ShiftDelete.Net. (ShiftDelete.Net (opens in a new tab); DigitalToday (opens in a new tab))

Marketing chief Greg Joswiak and Srouji both described Ternus as a product person, ShiftDelete.Net reported. Asked which chief executives or business books he admires, Ternus said he had not given it much thought and learns most from his colleagues. On regulation, he pointed to security, saying Apple's focus is on keeping products safe and protecting user data. He also said he has not yet met President Donald Trump. (ShiftDelete.Net (opens in a new tab))

The interview came days after Apple introduced its first touchscreen MacBook Pro. ShiftDelete.Net noted that the return of the glowing Apple logo to the laptop's lid drew the loudest reaction from the audience at the launch event. (ShiftDelete.Net (opens in a new tab))

The comments suggest Apple under Ternus intends to keep competing on finished products rather than on model announcements or chatbot benchmarks. That approach fits Apple's history, but it also puts more weight on how well AI features actually work inside its devices, since Apple is choosing not to market the technology itself. Siri remains the most visible place where that promise will be judged.