The Intelligence from The Economist Mac daddy: Apple’s new boss
45 snips
Apr 21, 2026 
Tom Lee-Devlin, a business editor dissecting Apple’s leadership shift and AI challenges. Moeka Iida, a Japan reporter on demographics, explores rural depopulation and efforts to lure women back. Catherine Nixey, a culture correspondent, traces the rise and decline of boredom in Britain. They cover Apple’s strategic bets, grassroots campaigns in Japan, and boredom’s cultural history in short, punchy discussions.
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Hardware First Bet For Apple’s AI Era
- Apple chose John Ternus, head of hardware engineering, as CEO despite AI shortcomings to double down on hardware-led innovation.
- Tom Lee-Devlin argues the bet is on seamless hardware+AI products like smart glasses rather than pure software pivots.
Apple’s AI Reliance On External Models
- Apple has lagged in foundational AI and plans to rely partly on Google's models for phone features.
- Tom Lee-Devlin notes Apple Intelligence has been "a bit of a flop" and the company will integrate external models like Gemini.
Legacy Of Jobs And The Need For New Breakthroughs
- Apple's historic transformational products were developed under Steve Jobs; Tim Cook excelled at operations rather than breakthrough product invention.
- The company now needs new category-defining hardware native to the AI era, a challenge for John Ternus.