Apple announced that John Giannandrea, the senior vice president of Machine Learning and AI Strategy, will be stepping down from his role. Giannandrea, who joined Apple in 2018 to lead its AI efforts, will transition to an advisory role before retiring in the spring of 2026. This move comes as Apple continues its push to integrate AI more deeply into its products and services. To fill the void, Apple has hired Amar Subramanya, a former executive from Microsoft and Google, as the new vice president of AI, reporting to software engineering chief Craig Federighi. This leadership shake-up occurs as Apple reportedly intensifies its search for a successor to CEO Tim Cook and seeks to bolster its position in the competitive artificial intelligence landscape, an area where some analysts believe it needs to catch up.