John Giannandrea’s Final Days at Apple: Insider Reveals Shocking Details!

John Giannandrea is entering his final week at Cupertino, reports Mark Gurman from Bloomberg. In December, Apple announced that he would retire in spring 2026 after stepping down to take on an “advisory role”. His sidelining began as early as March 2025, following the announcement of a delay with Siri. The Senior Vice President in charge of Machine Learning and AI Strategy at Apple had then lost the trust of Tim Cook. In a swift move, Mike Rockwell took over the responsibility for Siri. A few weeks later, Giannandrea also lost his duties in Apple’s robotics division. His various roles have since been distributed among Craig Federighi (software), Eddy Cue (services), and Sabih Khan (operations).

At such a high level of responsibility, Apple avoids dismissals that could negatively resonate in the media, highlighting the failures of the individual and, by extension, the company. Hence the well-known “advisory role” which appears to lack a clearly defined function but coincides with the periods of stock option grants, periodically given to employees to boost their loyalty. The next grant is scheduled for April 15, and John Giannandrea is expected to depart shortly after, marking eight years at Apple. Mark Gurman concludes:

John Giannandrea joined Apple from Google, and he will likely be remembered as yet another external hire by Tim Cook that failed to assimilate. However, here’s the reality: I don’t believe the issue lies with Cook’s inability to recruit externally. The truth is, Apple’s leadership operates much like a small family business, with very few decision-makers. If you’re not within that tight-knit circle – which is nearly impenetrable – you simply don’t have the authority to drive significant changes within the company.