Apple is making this major internal shift to gain an edge in AI over rivals like Google

Last year, with the release of iOS 18.1, Apple introduced its artificial intelligence capabilities in the form of Apple Intelligence, first available on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 series. Since then, the company has rolled out incremental updates, adding new features along the way. Today, iOS 18.3 was launched, offering even more functionality. However, Apple still has a long way to go in terms of catching up to competitors, which may explain the move of executive Kim Vorrath to the artificial intelligence and machine learning division, as reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, citing sources familiar with the matter. This change has not been officially announced, and Vorrath will now reportedly collaborate with John Giannandrea, who currently leads Apple's AI division.

Here’s what we know about the move so far

Vorrath has been instrumental in shaping Apple’s program management division and has spent 36 years at the company, contributing to software projects and more. More recently, she was part of the hardware engineering division, where she helped with the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, its first mixed-reality headset, launched last year.

Vorrath was also chosen to lead product management for the original iPhone software in the mid-2000s. Another major highlight was her oversight of project management for the iPhone and product lines like the Mac and iPad. Before finally working on Apple Vision OS, which powers the Vision Pro software.

Apple has been lagging behind in terms of AI, and this move could finally turn things around for the company. John Giannandrea, who currently heads Apple’s AI division, will now work alongside Vorrath. Bloomberg reports that Vorrath will bring Apple’s product development culture to its AI work.

Compared to competitors like Meta, Google, and OpenAI, Apple has certainly fallen behind in launching consumer-grade AI products. Apple Intelligence has already been delayed, and so far, Apple has only been able to launch new features in a staggered manner.

Apple has lagged behind in releasing its AI features

Until now, it hasn’t been able to launch the full Apple Intelligence experience on the iPhone 16, despite marketing the phone with it. Several new features, such as Genmoji and Image Playground, were launched much later after the phone’s initial release, sparking criticism.

As for what is next with Apple Intelligence, in the next few months, Apple is expected to launch iOS 18.4, which is expected to bring further refinements to Siri and introduce even more features. And as WWDC 2025 approaches, Apple is expected to debut even more AI features as part of the Apple Intelligence ecosystem.