Report: John Ternus pushing Craig Federighi to speed up Apple software engineering

In recent months, Apple's new CEO John Ternus has reportedly been urging software chief Craig Federighi to expedite the company's software development roadmap, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Ternus, who recently took on the role of AI leader at Apple, feels that Federighi has been hesitant to embrace AI with the same urgency as competitors.

During a closed-door meeting, Ternus pushed for faster progress beyond merely enhancing Siri. Federighi, known for his hands-on approach in meetings and decision-making, has been seen by some as limiting the influence of software engineering and design teams. Additionally, Federighi plans to focus on a 12-18 month timeframe, contrasting with the more prolonged roadmaps typically used in hardware engineering.

The management concerns extend beyond Federighi, as Mike Rockwell, the visionary behind the Vision Pro headset and Siri AI, is also contemplating stepping down. This potential departure would be a significant loss, considering his crucial role in developing Siri after its delayed release. Apple is reportedly testing a new development pipeline, allowing engineers 50% more time to code and innovate, with less emphasis on integration.

It remains to be seen if further changes will be implemented to enable quicker development timelines at Apple, but it seems likely that Federighi may need to loosen his grip on software engineering to allow other leaders to emerge and take charge.