Apple AI strategy: Ternus rules out AI for AI's sake before first earnings

John Ternus has run Apple since 1 September, and tonight he faces analysts for the first time as CEO. In an interview with Steven Levy of Wired, reported by TechCrunch on 31 October, he put Apple AI strategy in one line: "We don't want to ship AI for AI's sake."

What Ternus said

Apple has a reputation for being behind in AI. It delayed the more capable Siri, which launched this summer. Ternus admitted that "everyone has an opinion" about this and added: "I really like where we're at."

He said Apple is "absolutely going to leverage AI" in new products and that users judge the product they hold: "What matters is, did we build something that they really love?"

“We don't want to ship AI for AI's sake.”

— John Ternus, Apple CEO, to Wired, as reported by TechCrunch on 31 October 2026 · techcrunch.com

Levy asked whether an AI agent could make apps unnecessary. Ternus answered that this "could make life really easy, I suppose", then argued that "the creation of products is a deeply human and personal thing".

Tonight's numbers

Apple publishes results for the September quarter at 21:30 UTC, and the call with Ternus and CFO Kevan Parekh starts at 22:00 UTC. LSEG consensus, as cited by Reuters:

• Revenue: $113.39 billion, up nearly 11%.
• Net profit: $29.04 billion, up about 6%.
• iPhone: $56.54 billion, up about 15%.
• Services: $31.56 billion, up nearly 10%, the slowest annual growth in more than three years.

Our count

In July Apple guided for 9% to 11% revenue growth. Applied to $102.5 billion a year earlier, that gives $111.7 billion to $113.7 billion. Analysts sit $0.3 billion below the top of the range, so they expect Apple to land at the high end of its own forecast.

Profit grows at about half the pace of revenue, and memory is the reason. In July Tim Cook said: "For September, we expect to pay even higher memory costs." Apple guided gross margin to 47% to 48%, down from 50.1% in the June quarter, and tariff refunds had added about 2 points to that June figure.

The Associated Press linked the memory chip shortage to the AI boom when Apple raised some Mac and iPad prices in June. Apple pays for other companies' AI data centres in its own component bill before it earns much from AI itself.

Where the AI is missing

The new Siri ships on the iPhone Duo, but Apple's product page says the features are not available in China and not yet in the EU, as we wrote about the iPhone Duo launch. If you own an iPhone in Shanghai or Berlin, the AI part of Ternus's pitch has not reached you.

Tonight, listen for how Ternus describes Siri usage, whether he gives dates for China and the EU, and what memory costs do to holiday-quarter guidance.

Consensus figures are forecasts by LSEG as cited by Reuters, not reported results. Not investment advice.