Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

[MacAddict1978]

Gurman explains that there has been "a broader collapse within Apple's artificial intelligence organization" triggered by AI models chief Ruoming Pang departing earlier this year, along with colleagues such as Tom Gunter and Frank Chu. Apple lost Siri and search overseer Robby Walker, as well as his replacement, Ke Yang, to Meta.

Apple's AI group is apparently suffering from low morale and there is growing worry over the increasing use of external AI technology such as Google Gemini. Around a dozen of Apple's leading AI researchers have also now departed.

This is a case of if you can't beat em, buy em. Apple is not capable of having any meaningful in-house AI - they were already a decade behind when they started. Some of the AI companies are struggling yet have great tech - Apple should just buy one. Anthropic is a major acquisition target. Eventually, there will be consolidation in the AI space.

Pair being inept and behind with their "on-device" processing and privacy stance - they are dead in the water. How can an iPhone or Mac manage on device AI processing that doesn't suck when other companies are building out power draining server farms galore to answer basic prompts much less anything advanced?

Apple Stupidity - er, Intelligence - remains nearly unusable lest you want to practice your swear words. I leave notification summaries on because they are an endless assortment of comedy to share.

Siri? Give it up already! It does not, never has, and likely never will work. They already had to allow 3rd party assistants in some coutnries - just let everyone do that. Samsung learned this quickly with Bixby - people couldn't switch to Google Assistant fast enough. Leave dumb Siri as an option for the privacy people and let everyone else pick something else. The new Alexa is so good I tossed the last of my Google Homes.

 

[Dark_Omen]

screwing up constantly? Such as delivering record profits every quarter? Folks forget Apple is the only one of the Mag 7 that HAS TO release new products yearly. Google and Meta are are advertising companies that use the boatloads of advertising money as play money for everything they do. They wouldn't be able to dabble in AI without it. Amazon is a shopping monopoly and Microsoft is a software company. I would say Apple is the only true tech company of the seven with all the products, services, computer chips, cellular chips that they deliver on a yearly basis like clockwork and funding directly from profits from said products, not advertising. I don't know what folks are smoking when they dismiss that.

The software engineers don't deliver record profits every quarter.

Nobody is holding a gun to Tim's head and forcing him to release major updates yearly.

 

[rosuna]

Apple needs an intelligent control of its devices, to be able to execute complex tasks from user commands, verbal or gesture. And I'm not just referring to the Mac and the iPhone, but to future devices like robots, which are "the next big thing", although we don't know now how they will be. Siri is only the name we interact with, but behind it there must be a whole system that works on our devices and servers. That's Apple Intelligence, and it's key to Apple's future. For whatever reason (it is something new and complex, different from an AI chat) Apple has difficulties despite all its resources and that it has been working on it for years.

 

[MacAddict1978]

The Apple marketing strategy is successful; however, creative employees are perhaps not as successful in their personal pursuit of 'Apple Excellence'. Too many Apple loyalists are leaving; that says a lot. When they exit before retirement age, that says even more.

The bulk of the posters on this board lack the creative talents of those working for Apple; otherwise, they would be working for Apple. Speculating that Apple is successful, based on its enormous profits, is foolhardy. Arguing who failed and where is senseless, as we generally do not know the whole story about any aspect of Apple. But I do know this.

Creative people are loyal as long as their creativity is honored. When management fails to permit that creativity to flourish, to blossom, to take a chance on it...then creative people become disillusioned and look for somewhere else to express themselves. This is what we see happening.​

Creative people never retire...at any age. They stay involved in something creative to help others and improve some aspect of humanity. Leaving a company such as Apple at age 60 indicates a level of dissatisfaction, with the exception of health or family reasons.

Apple has taken a handful of full-on, broadside impacts. Someone on the board needs to seriously question what has happened under their guidance and Tim Cook's stewardship.

Being a creative individual contributor is a moot point.
Apple at a leadership and product level has really lost its way and grasp. Who still expects innovation out of Cupertino and watches a Keynote event expecting some jaw dropping new tech or feature?

We are in an age where devices are popping up left and right in new categories largely driven by AI... and Apple can't even summary notifications without laughable results.

Look at the Plaud devices - simple, purposeful, genuis, and a godsend to my work. The thing is, if Apple's AI implementation didn't suck, this should have been IOS 25 (forget 26's) killer App.... record calls, meetings, get AI summarries with to-do lists and follows ups and then embedded into notes apps for quick finding later.

One example of thousands. History is our greatest teacher. Let's not forget Apple was once a juggernaut that then nearly found themselves out of business and bankrupt. For all the money they have, they should be innovating new product catagories galore - or at the very least, outputting much higher quality than they are in software.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

For the love of all things - DO NOT PROMOTE A TECHNOLOGY BRAIN TO #2 AND BEND THE KNEE.

Tim - retire. Promote a marketing/product/design brain to CEO. You can find anyone to lead a technology organization. They command thousands of talented minds. #1 and #2 at Apple command broad strokes. Broad strokes should apply to how you market and tell a story that relates to an end user. A marketing/product/design brain understands human psychology. If you go bean counter or technology brain, the company will lose it's story even more than it already has. While Apple may have a perceived value of 4T today - a few major mistakes will gut the psychological connection people have with Apple... and down goes the empire. DO NOT repeat the mistakes of Intel and IBM. Your product IS NOT it's stock or how fast the chip is in the next iteration.

The answer whether some want to hear it or not is Fadell. He's the only person outside of Apple from Apple who has changed a tech product industry—the thermostat industry—he took a boring industry and made it cool. When it comes to products results speak. Steve would take him on walks to discuss future Apple products such as an Apple car (in 2005) for a reason. Steve understood that Fadell could also look ahead and knew how to build stuff. That Fadell is passionate about something, such as his mechanical watch collection, speaks volumes. Ternus is Apple's safe bet, but no real talent is attracted to a company with a safe leader. Talented young product people either build themselves or go to companies who want to make products better. A safe leader doesn't inspire.

 

[Ctrlos]

The flaw here is the assumption that people want a smartphone replacement.

People LOVE their smartphones.

I, myself, would love to have smaller screens and/or go watch only, but I'm basically a Neo-luddite in many ways.

Just like my laptop example I suppose. They tried to offer a replacement with tablets and people moan because they're not laptops!

 

[turbineseaplane]

Just like my laptop example I suppose. They tried to offer a replacement with tablets and people moan because they're not laptops!

I'd be into an iPad Pro if I could run full blown macOS on it, perhaps even just optionally or with dual booting.

Apple hasn't gone far enough here (for me) and it's really frustrating give how amazing the actual iPP hardware is!

 

[Ctrlos]

Being a creative individual contributor is a moot point.
Apple at a leadership and product level has really lost its way and grasp. Who still expects innovation out of Cupertino and watches a Keynote event expecting some jaw dropping new tech or feature?

We are in an age where devices are popping up left and right in new categories largely driven by AI... and Apple can't even summary notifications without laughable results.

Look at the Plaud devices - simple, purposeful, genuis, and a godsend to my work. The thing is, if Apple's AI implementation didn't suck, this should have been IOS 25 (forget 26's) killer App.... record calls, meetings, get AI summarries with to-do lists and follows ups and then embedded into notes apps for quick finding later.

One example of thousands. History is our greatest teacher. Let's not forget Apple was once a juggernaut that then nearly found themselves out of business and bankrupt. For all the money they have, they should be innovating new product catagories galore - or at the very least, outputting much higher quality than they are in software.

It needs laying to rest that the iPhone, span off from the iPad before it was ready were both were 'crux' products, epoch-defining launches that built on all sorts of technologies going back to the Victorian age into a singular convergence product. You can't just magic another one of those out of a hat.

Consider the Bicycle or Automobile, similar products that redefined the world. A century later they still look like Bicycles and Automobiles. Laptops are still derivitive of the Typewriter family tree invented in 1868. Christopher Stoles would see his QWERTY keyboard and be impressed in how well adopted it was.

The iPhone is as important as those products but is unlikely to be superceded by anything any time soon. In all likelihood there is no better phone than a phone. The future will probably look more like The Expanse where (space travel excluded) people still have phones. And cars. And Bicycles.

The only people wishing for new product catagories are a tech-enthusiast audience starved of the entertainment of exciting product launches. Maybe we all just need a new hobby.

 

[Ctrlos]

I'd be into an iPad Pro if I could run full blown macOS on it, perhaps even just optionally or with dual booting.

Apple hasn't gone far enough here (for me) and it's really frustrating give how amazing the actual iPP hardware is!

Even Apple can't reinvent the laptop!

 

[mlayer]

As Apple Park turns…

 

[turbineseaplane]

Sounds like a new pay package got worked out.

Crisis averted.

 

[lovehateapple]

What’s “the nature future”? lol
MacRumors staff, can you please start proofreading your articles?

yeah, that's what apple intelligence is for

 

[AAPLbuyback]

Fake news.

 

[code-m]

I don't know if this category is going to work.

Way too many super dorks are out there being HYPER creepy in public with these and it's creating a strong backlash to the category, perhaps rightfully so.

I loved the story last week about the woman on the subway who smashed a pair of MetaPervGlasses after some creep was scoping her.
Bravo 👏

It wouldn’t surprise me if some app developer created an AI overlay to make people in public seem nude/naked for whatever perverse reason but call it fun.

Google GlassHoles returns to Meta.

Wearing glasses is not an go to option for most hence like AVP besides the price I don’t see it taking-off as a successful product category.

 

[vantelimus]

Sounds like a new pay package got worked out.

Crisis averted.

As I said in the forum thread on Apple Bleeding Talent to OpenAI: "Or he could be trying a power play to increase and/or secure his position in a post-Cook Apple."

With other people leaving and the rumor mill swirling about Cook as well, it is a perfect time for someone in Srouji's position to pull the power play. Now, the question is, when do we see the rumor about Federighi and will Cook be smart enough to tell him "Don't let the door hit your butt on the way out"?

 

[JMalone]

You think Bloomberg is manipulating stocks with their news stories?

🧐 😵‍💫

Srouji has just released a statement debunking the article and false rumor. He says he loves Apple and is not going anywhere.

Welcome to reality. It’s about time you learned that no media outlet, especially finance media, is your friend.

 

[citysnaps]

Maybe the reason of their departures is the fact that they can’t actually free their ideas and skills due to high control and religion like work environment. Gurman is right, ever since Apple Watch/Airpods Apple did not make any new breathtaking hardware. I was waiting for HomePod like device with screen but it’s not here and probably never be

You may not be aware that many successful people in tech decide to retire in their 60s and enjoy life doing things they couldn't do while employed.

 

[citysnaps]

Srouji has just released a statement debunking the article and false rumor. He says he loves Apple and is not going anywhere.

Welcome to reality. It’s about time you learned that no media outlet, especially finance media, is your friend.

That's great and so funny with many here clutching their pearls while going non-linear about Apple being so doomed, relying on an unsourced rumor (as has been the case for the last 20 years).

 

[DJC631]

I'm kinda getting concerned now, this is a lot of high ranking people leaving.

 

[Rogifan]

Hmm…so who was Gurman’s source for the first story. Presumably he ran with it because he trusted the source.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1998064266390478872

 

[justanotherdave]

apple is sinking

we need a complete renovation, a new CEO. get rid of Apple Intelligence, Vision Pro, iPhone air, iPhone fold.

focus on making good devices.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard this the past 20 years…well I’d have enough Apple Stock to retire on.

As Apple Park turns…
View attachment 2585975

Oh no. 14 pages of “Apple is doomed” all washed away by a single comment from Srouji.

My prediction? If he was going to leave it wasn’t over money. He strikes me as someone always reaching for the top and I bet he wants to take Apple Silicon even further.

As in processors that can beat Threadrippers and GPUs that challenge Nvidia’s best.

In other words, Mac Pro hopefuls might have something to look forward to. Except the price tag.

 

[kotaKat]

Hmm…so who was Gurman’s source for the first story. Presumably he ran with it because he trusted the source.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1998064266390478872

It obviously doesn’t matter, because whatever he says gets trusted out of the gate even when he’s been blatantly wrong time and time again. The needle moved on the stock, just as planned.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Srouji has just released a statement debunking the article and false rumor. He says he loves Apple and is not going anywhere.

Welcome to reality. It’s about time you learned that no media outlet, especially finance media, is your friend.

Just to be clear, nothing he said refutes the rumor that he was considering leaving.

You realize, I assume, that it's very plausible he was considering it and ended up getting retained through a pay and/or responsibility increase.

This is textbook way to angle for what you want.

 

[Sasha-1]

Starlink has deployed over 9,000 satellites, serves 6 million users in 140 countries. It generates $15.5 billion in projected 2025 revenue. Starlink including direct to cellphone services (voice, internet and text) could see $40-100 billion in revenue in 2026 and $100-200 billion in 2027.

Okay, 9,000 satellites @ $100 per 6 million customers would be $600,000,000 per month with a cost of (just in launch IF the satellites last 5 years) $391 million per month. That leaves $200 million per month x 12 months with is $2.4 billion, not $15.5 billion. And that's IF they last for 5 years. If they last for 2.5 years, then it loses money, just in launch. No other costs are known to me so I didn't take those away. Your numbers do not hold water at all. It's a pipe dream. Anyone can make any prediction that they want. Do some real math.

How many customers would be needed to make a profit of $40 - $100 billion. Go ahead, DO THE MATH. And then look up how many customers are supported by the constellation size.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It obviously doesn’t matter, because whatever he says gets trusted out of the gate even when he’s been blatantly wrong time and time again. The needle moved on the stock, just as planned.

Guys, not everything is a conspiracy.

This stock manipulation concept has no credibility to it.