AI Earthquake in Cupertino: Giannandrea Resigns, Apple Calls Ex-Google Employee Subramanya to Save Siri

2 December 20257 days babelfish

Apple changes pilot mid-race. As the Cupertino company navigates the troubled waters of Artificial Intelligence, trying to catch up with OpenAI and Google, the news many observers were expecting arrives: John Giannandrea , its head of AI strategy, is stepping down.

Monday's announcement confirms what rumors have been circulating for months: the troubled launch of Apple Intelligence and the constant delays in updating Siri have necessitated a change of pace. Giannandrea, who arrived in 2018 to restore order, will remain as a consultant until spring 2026, but the helm will be passed to Amar Subramanya , a veteran who has breathed the air of Mountain View and Redmond.

Who is Apple's new AI “Savior”?

If Apple needs someone who knows how to build a Large Language Model (LLM) from scratch, Subramanya seems like the right man. His resume speaks for itself:

16 years at Google , where he worked directly on the Gemini project;
A recent move to Microsoft as Corporate VP of AI;
Now, Vice President of AI in Cupertino.

His job will be unenviable: overseeing the development of proprietary AI models, machine learning research, and, above all, security. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Subramanya's experience integrating research into real-world products will be "invaluable." Translated from "corporate-speak," he said: "We need it to work, and fast ."

Why has Siri been left behind?

It's no secret that while ChatGPT was writing poetry and Gemini was analyzing videos, Siri was still struggling to set a timer without getting confused. But why does a giant with unlimited resources find itself having to play catch-up?

Technical analysis (also supported by sources such as TheAIGRID ) highlights a series of structural factors that have held back Apple:

Technical Debt and "Spaghetti Code": Siri wasn't born as a generative AI, but as a massive database of commands and responses. Its architecture, over a decade old, is a tangle of code that's difficult to update without breaking everything. Rebuilding it from scratch is an engineering nightmare that Apple has put off for far too long.
The Privacy Dilemma: Apple has built its brand on privacy ("What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone"). Modern generative AI, however, needs to consume massive amounts of data in the cloud to learn. Apple has found itself caught between its promise of privacy and the technical need for data, slowing development compared to those (like Google) with fewer concerns.
Culture of Secrecy: In Cupertino, teams work in silos to avoid leaks . But modern AI thrives on open collaboration and the rapid sharing of research (papers, shared tests), a model opposite to Apple's modus operandi.
Investments: As absurd as it may seem, Apple has invested a fraction of the capital expenditure (Capex) of Microsoft and Meta in AI infrastructure in recent years, often preferring stock buybacks to investments in server farms dedicated to mass training.

What happens now?

After delaying Siri's major update until March (and beyond), it looks like Mike Rockwell (formerly the head of Vision Pro) and newcomer Subramanya will have to work the miracle by 2025/2026 . Tim Cook promises an improved version next year, but the competition isn't waiting.

The hope of investors and users is that the “Google-Microsoft” DNA graft can finally transform Siri from a 2011 voice assistant into a truly modern artificial intelligence.

Questions and Answers

Why is John Giannandrea leaving now? Giannandrea is paying the price for Apple's delay in the race for Generative AI. Despite arriving in 2018 to improve Siri, the launch of "Apple Intelligence" has been fragmented and repeatedly delayed, while competitors like OpenAI and Google have raced ahead. The change in leadership signals the company's desire to shift its technical approach and accelerate development, relying on those with direct experience in creating the most recent LLM models.

Who is Amar Subramanya and what's different about him? Subramanya is a pure engineer with a background perfectly suited to the current challenge: he worked on Gemini at Google and AI at Microsoft. Unlike traditional Apple managers, he brings specific experience with modern Large Language Models . With him, Apple could seek to overcome the historical limitations of Siri (based on old command databases) to finally integrate true generative and conversational capabilities, similar to ChatGPT, directly into devices.

Will Siri become as smart as ChatGPT anytime soon? Not immediately. Tim Cook has mentioned significant updates for next year (2025-2026). Siri's structural problems (outdated code) and Apple's strategic choice to process data on-device for privacy reasons make the update complex. However, Subramanya's arrival suggests that Apple is working to bridge the technical gap, aiming for integration that is not only "smart," but also secure and private.

The article AI earthquake in Cupertino: Giannandrea leaves, Apple calls ex-Google Subramanya to save Siri comes from Scenari Economici .

This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/terremoto-ai-a-cupertino-giannandrea-lascia-apple-chiama-lex-google-subramanya-per-salvare-siri/ on Tue, 02 Dec 2025 09:00:40 +0000.