• Source:JND
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Apple is reportedly losing one of its most senior artificial intelligence leaders, Robby Walker, in what appears to be another sign of internal turbulence within the company’s AI division. According to a Bloomberg News report, Walker plans to depart the tech giant next month.

His exit comes at a time when Apple is facing criticism for being overly cautious with its AI strategy — raising concerns that the company may be falling behind in one of the fastest-growing areas of tech.

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Despite recently unveiling its Apple Intelligence suite — which includes ChatGPT integration — Apple’s AI rollout has been relatively slow. A major upgrade to Siri, which was highly anticipated, has now been postponed until next year.

Walker has been a key figure in Apple’s AI efforts. He took over as senior director of the Answers, Information and Knowledge team in April 2025. Prior to that, he was responsible for overseeing Siri, Apple’s voice assistant. That responsibility was later handed over to Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior VP of Software Engineering, earlier this year.

Apple has not issued a public statement about Walker’s departure, and Reuters noted that the company did not respond to its request for comment.

Walker’s planned exit follows a wave of departures from Apple’s AI teams in recent months — with several key figures leaving to join Meta Platforms. According to an earlier Bloomberg report, Ruoming Pang, who led Apple’s AI model development, joined Meta, along with AI researchers Mark Lee and Tom Gunter, both of whom worked closely with Pang. The trio is now part of Meta’s Superintelligence Labs.

Meanwhile, Apple’s internal restructuring has also raised eyebrows. In March, Bloomberg reported that CEO Tim Cook had lost confidence in the company’s AI chief, John Giannandrea, and shifted responsibility for Siri to Mike Rockwell, the executive overseeing Apple’s Vision Products Group.

At Apple’s recent launch event, the company introduced new iPhone models and a thinner iPhone Air, while keeping pricing steady despite ongoing trade tariffs. However, the event offered little insight into Apple’s long-term AI plans—especially compared to competitors like Google, which recently showcased advanced AI features using its Gemini model in new Pixel phones.

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As Apple continues to face pressure to accelerate its AI development, the departure of another top executive could further complicate the company’s efforts to catch up with rivals.