According to Inc, Apple has parted ways with its head of AI, John Giannandrea, who joined the company in 2018. The move follows a report from The Information detailing internal conflicts and project delays under his leadership. Specifically, Giannandrea was reportedly removed earlier this year from a crucial project aimed at giving Siri a powerful AI upgrade, a project his team’s indecision pushed into 2026. His group, which handled proprietary AI models and research, was nicknamed “AIMLess” internally due to a perceived lack of urgency post-ChatGPT. Resentment also reportedly built with Craig Federighi’s software engineering team over pay and promotion disparities. Giannandrea’s departure marks a significant shift in Apple’s AI strategy execution.
The Siri Stalemate
Here’s the thing: this isn’t just about one executive leaving. It’s a symptom of a much bigger, more frustrating problem for Apple users. Siri has been a punchline for years, lagging far behind modern AI assistants. And now we learn that the internal effort to fix it was so bogged down by indecision and turf wars that it got punted to 2026. That’s a lifetime in AI years. Basically, while Google and Microsoft were shipping and iterating, Apple’s key team was stuck in neutral. The nickname “AIMLess” says it all, doesn’t it? It paints a picture of a group that lost its way, or at least its momentum, at the worst possible time.
Turf Wars and Culture Clash
The reported resentment between Giannandrea’s AI group and Craig Federighi’s software engineering squad is a classic Silicon Valley story. You have the research-focused, future-looking AI team, and the product-focused, ship-it-now software engineers. When one group is seen as getting better pay and faster promotions, of course tensions flare. But this goes beyond office politics. It likely created massive friction in actually getting AI features out the door. Should a feature be perfect, or should it be shipped? That philosophical debate can paralyze a project, and it seems like that’s exactly what happened with the Siri overhaul. Now, with Giannandrea gone, Federighi’s influence over AI’s integration into Apple’s core software probably just got a lot stronger.
What This Means For Everyone Else
For users, the immediate impact is more waiting. A 2026 timeline for a revamped Siri means we’re stuck with the current, limited version for a good while longer. Apple will have to rely on its upcoming iOS 18 AI features, which are rumored to be more about on-device smarts than a Siri revolution, to prove it’s still in the game. For developers, it signals potential instability in Apple’s AI roadmap and APIs—not great when you’re trying to build for the future. And for the broader market? It’s a gift to competitors. Every month of delay is another month for ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and others to entrench themselves. Apple’s brand is built on seamless integration, but you can’t integrate what you haven’t built. This leadership change is a clear attempt to hit the reset button, but the clock is ticking louder than ever.
