# Apple's new CEO faces an early test > Source: > Published: 2026-09-01 11:14:15+00:00 **It's day one for John Ternus.** He has eight days to settle in as Apple's new CEO. On September 9, Apple will stage its annual iPhone pageant. The reported headliner: its [first foldable iPhone](https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-2026-expected-product-launches-2026-1). No pressure, then. Further out, reports point to an AI home hub, camera-equipped AirPods, smart glasses, and a robotic assistant. It seems Apple has no shortage of places to put AI. It still has to make AI worth putting there, though. That is [Ternus' problem](https://www.businessinsider.com/new-apple-ceo-john-ternus-challenges-ai-talent-new-products-2026-4). Apple had a [head start](https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-intelligence-siri-delay-ai-race-assistant-2025-3) in the AI-assistants race. Now it is playing catch-up. Apple [delayed its AI overhaul of Siri](https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-intelligence-siri-delay-ai-race-assistant-2025-3), then [turned to Google's Gemini](https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-siri-bet-ai-models-commodities-google-gemini-2026-1) for the next generation of Apple Intelligence. You can read that as a way to avoid paying Google-sized bills for research and development. You can also read it as an admission of weakness. **Then there is the people problem.** Apple has suffered a talent exodus. Foundation-models leader Ruoming Pang, engineering head Frank Chu, and design VP Alan Dye all left Apple for the same rival. Yes, Meta has become something of an [Apple alumni association](https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-execs-and-researchers-left-apple-mostly-for-meta-2025-12). Ternus needs to convince Apple's best people that the future is still being built in Cupertino. He also inherits one of Tim Cook's specialties: the tightrope walk between China, tariffs, and Washington. Cook was pivotal in expanding [Apple's presence in China](https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-china-apple-ceo-step-down-legacy-2026-4) and helping the company navigate tariffs and supply chain challenges by getting on [President Donald Trump's good side](https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-apple-trump-relationship-future-john-ternus-2026-4). Ternus won't have to handle it alone. Cook is staying on at Apple as executive chairman, a role that includes "engaging with policymakers around the world," the company said. Still, for Ternus, a [hardware man](https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-apple-ceo-john-ternus-replacing-tim-cook-2026-4), diplomacy is a rather different type of engineering.