Apple AI chief John Giannandrea is out, with Google and Microsoft vet Amar Subramanya taking over many of his responsibilities. Here’s why Apple’s AI strategy should be all about thinking small, to play to the company’s privacy strengths.

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Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades.

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REFERENCES:

Apple’s announcement about Giannandrea’s retirement https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/12/john-giannandrea-to-retire-from-apple/

Apple pulls Apple Intelligence news summaries https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/17/apple-suspends-ai-generated-news-alert-service-after-bbc-complaint

Apple delays big AI Siri update to 2026 https://www.pcmag.com/news/apple-explains-why-it-delayed-ai-siri-confirms-it-wont-arrive-until-2026

DeepSeek’s distillation breakthrough https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/21/deepseek-trained-ai-model-using-distillation-now-a-disruptive-force.html