Apple CEO John Ternus held a closed-door meeting with software chief Craig Federighi in recent weeks and pushed Federighi to accelerate the company’s AI road map and move beyond improvements to Siri, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported in the Power On newsletter on November 8. Gurman writes that Ternus was frustrated by “a reluctance to embrace AI with the same urgency as competitors”.
Apple’s annual report for fiscal 2026, filed on November 3, shows research and development spending of $45.765 billion, up 32% from $34.550 billion, while net sales rose 15% to $478.834 billion. By our arithmetic, R&D grew more than twice as fast as sales and reached 9.56% of net sales, from 8.30% a year earlier.
Business Pill · AI Agents Explained
An evergreen Business Engineer explainer on what AI agents are and how they work. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss Apple or Siri.
The key insight: Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple CEO John Ternus held a closed-door meeting with Craig Federighi and pushed the software chief to accelerate Apple’s AI road map and move beyond Siri improvements. Gurman also writes that Apple lacks the Computer Use feature that OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude offer. Apple’s fiscal 2026 10-K shows R&D up 32% to $45.765 billion against 15% sales growth, 9.56% of net sales by our arithmetic.
On Apple’s earnings call, Ternus said Apple now has “the kind of Siri that we always wanted”. Gurman writes that in private Ternus delivered a different message, “knowing full well that Apple remains far behind rivals”.
Federighi “became Apple’s AI czar following last year’s dismissal of its former AI leader”, according to Gurman, and still “carries a reputation for having been an AI skeptic”. Gurman reports that Federighi prefers planning over periods of “typically 12 to 18 months”, against the multiyear road maps of Apple’s hardware organization.
Gurman also reports that Mike Rockwell, who led the development of Siri AI, “continues to seriously consider stepping down”. If that happens, more responsibility would likely fall to Amar Subramanya and Sebastien Marineau, according to the newsletter.
Apple’s research and development spending, fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2026 ($31.4B, $34.6B, $45.8B), with its share of net sales (8.02%, 8.30%, 9.56%), and fiscal 2026 growth: R&D +32%, net sales +15%. Data: Apple Form 10-K for fiscal 2026. Shares and growth rates are our arithmetic.
Mark Gurman’s post at 15:17 UTC on 8 November introducing this week’s Power On newsletter: Apple CEO John Ternus held a closed-door meeting with Craig Federighi in recent weeks and pushed the software chief to accelerate Apple’s AI road map and move beyond Siri improvements. The account comes from Gurman’s reporting; the newsletter includes no Apple comment.
Apple has another major AI gap to close: Computer Use. OpenAI and Anthropic already have agents that can operate software, click buttons and complete tasks on your behalf. Apple controls the Mac, iPhone and iPad, but still lacks a comparable capability. Why that needs to change-
Gurman’s follow-up post at 15:28 UTC names what Gurman calls another major AI gap for Apple, Computer Use: the post says OpenAI and Anthropic already have agents that can operate software, while Apple, which controls the Mac, iPhone and iPad, still lacks a comparable capability. Apple has not announced such a feature.
The Computer Use Gap
In a post on X, Gurman wrote that “Apple has another major AI gap to close: Computer Use”. The newsletter says “OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude have Computer Use, a feature that can understand what is on a screen, move a cursor, click buttons and type into applications”, while Apple “doesn’t have an AI tool that can operate those operating systems on a user’s behalf”.
Google’s Gemini Computer Use reached general availability, as we reported on October 31 in Gemini Computer Use Reaches GA 388 Days After First Preview. Gurman compares Siri with ChatGPT’s Dots, Meta’s Muse and Grok, which Gurman describes as tools that “can be handed an ongoing responsibility and continue working between conversations”.
According to Gurman, Apple’s iOS 27.3 beta activates more precise Siri control inside Apple’s own apps, and Apple calls support for third-party apps a “preview”. Gurman expects support for Apple’s apps “as early as December” and writes that third-party support “probably won’t arrive until the spring”. “I believe the company could make Siri more like an agent as early as next year”, Gurman wrote.
On the earnings call, Ternus said Siri is “primarily request-based today” but built on “a modern orchestrator-driven architecture that gives us real room to expand its capabilities over time”.
What Apple Is Spending
Apple’s 10-K says R&D “increased during 2026 compared to 2025 primarily due to higher infrastructure-related costs, including investments in artificial intelligence, and headcount-related expenses”. It adds that Apple has made “significant investments in artificial intelligence technologies, infrastructure and personnel, including commitments to secure data center capacity, components, equipment and energy resources”.
The $11.215 billion rise in R&D is our arithmetic from the 10-K. Gurman writes that Apple’s Siri team created new AI models “based on technology the company is licensing from Google”. The newsletter also notes Apple is reducing internal budgets for AI tokens, as we reported in Apple, Goldman Limit AI as OpenRouter Token Prices Fall 57%.
The Business Lever: Devices Versus Agents
Gurman frames the stakes this way: “Apple’s advantage today is that it owns the devices, operating systems and chips. That gives it control over the current computing platform but not necessarily the next one unless it acts fast”.
As we read the 10-K and the newsletter together, Apple is raising R&D, which it says rose mainly on infrastructure costs including AI investments, faster than sales, while the new Siri runs on models Apple created from technology it licenses from Google, according to Gurman. Earlier this month Ternus called memory prices unprecedented, as we reported in Apple’s Ternus Calls Memory Prices ‘Unprecedented’ Twice.
The Structural Read
As we read the newsletter, Gurman separates what Ternus said in public, on the earnings call, from the private message to Federighi.
As we read the 10-K, Apple names infrastructure costs, including investments in artificial intelligence, as the main driver of higher R&D, but does not say how much of the $11.215 billion increase went to AI.
As we read Gurman’s timeline, the iOS 27.3 features are in-app actions on request, while the agent features Gurman describes for ChatGPT’s Dots, Meta’s Muse and Grok keep working between conversations.
Mark Gurman, Bloomberg Power On
“Apple has another major AI gap to close: Computer Use”
Three Implications
FOR APPLE Its 10-K says R&D rose mainly on infrastructure costs, including investments in artificial intelligence, and Gurman reports the CEO wants the AI road map to move faster.
FOR OPENAI AND ANTHROPIC Gurman writes that ChatGPT and Claude already have Computer Use, which Apple lacks on the Mac, iPhone and iPad.
FOR GOOGLE Gurman writes that Apple created new AI models for Siri based on technology it licenses from Google, and Google’s own Gemini Computer Use is generally available.
The essay puts it this way: “The conversation was scaffolding; the harness is the building.”
As we read it, Gurman’s contrast between a request-based Siri and agents that keep working between conversations fits that line. The essay discusses OpenAI and Anthropic and does not discuss Apple or Siri.
What Is Not Established
The account of the meeting comes from Gurman’s reporting; the newsletter does not include a comment from Apple. Apple has not announced a computer-use feature or a date for an agent version of Siri; the timing above is Gurman’s expectation. The 10-K does not break out how much of R&D went to AI.
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Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple CEO John Ternus pressed Craig Federighi to move faster on AI and beyond Siri improvements, and that Apple still lacks the computer-use feature OpenAI and Anthropic offer. Apple’s fiscal 2026 R&D rose 32% to $45.765 billion while sales rose 15%, which by our arithmetic puts R&D at 9.56% of sales, from 8.30%.
A note on sourcing. The account of the Ternus-Federighi meeting, the Computer Use gap and the timing expectations are from Mark Gurman’s Bloomberg Power On newsletter of 8 November 2026, which we read in full via the gift link Gurman posted on X, and from Gurman’s posts on X. Apple’s R&D and net sales are from its Form 10-K for fiscal 2026, filed on 3 November 2026; the shares of sales and growth comparisons are our arithmetic. We did not contact Apple.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
