Apple's CEO Unveils the iPhone as the Ideal AI Device
Apple’s new chief executive built up to unveiling the ideal AI device, then said it was the iPhone. The actual new hardware is a smaller Echo Show, planned since 2024 and held back until Siri worked. Mark Gurman reports it could arrive next month.
The New Hardware: A Smaller Echo Show
September 20, 2026 - 5:07 pm
Headshot of John Ternus, who became Apple CEO on 1 September 2026. Credit: Apple
John Ternus opened his first keynote as Apple chief executive by describing the ideal AI device, then said it already exists and is the iPhone. Mark Gurman reports that people inside Apple expected him to introduce the home hub instead, and that the hub, codenamed J490, is being tested in employees’ homes and could ship as early as next month.
Ternus' Keynote and Strategy
Ternus asked the audience to imagine designing an AI device from scratch, requiring an always-on connection, a decent display, good cameras and microphones, long battery life, and easy interoperability. Gurman writes in Power On that people inside Apple thought he was about to introduce the home hub. Instead, Ternus said the ideal AI device already exists, and that it is the iPhone.
Gurman’s take is clear:
Ternus is playing his only hand. OpenAI is close to launching an AI-first computer, and Apple has no revolutionary new mobile product, so the current iPhones are the best showcase it has for Siri AI.
A Strategy for Keeping the iPhone Central
Everything else Apple is building ties back to the phone, including the smart glasses expected next year and the camera-equipped AirPods reported for 2027. This framing serves a second purpose; it underscores Apple's strategy for keeping the iPhone central rather than describing where AI hardware is going.
The Home Hub: Details Emerge
The home hub, known internally as J490, is being tested widely in employees’ homes and could be released as early as next month. Gurman describes it as a roughly square screen, either on a stand resembling a HomePod mini cut in half or mounted on a wall. Its notable hardware feature is facial recognition through the front camera, personalizing what appears on screen for whoever is looking at it.
A Long-Awaited Release
Apple planned to introduce this as far back as 2024 and could not until the assistant was good enough. TNW reported that the hardware had been finished for months and that Siri was the hold-up. Siri AI was released this month with iOS 27, which unblocked it. It shipped with a waitlist, indicating uncertainty about capacity.
Siri AI and Cost-Cutting at Fitness+
Siri AI was rebuilt on a custom Google Gemini model, reportedly costing around $1bn a year. Gurman reports Apple cut a handful of employees working on Fitness+, mainly on the audio side behind Time to Walk and Time to Run. New audio content will appear less often rather than stop. He clarifies that he does not believe the service is on the chopping block, but sees these cuts as the beginning of more serious cost-cutting at Fitness+.