Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced a new CEO this week, with John Ternus set to take over for current CEO Tim Cook later this year. Wealth manager Ross Gerber tells Benzinga that Ternus should look to secure a key tech partnership and also focus on several new product areas.
Gerber Wants Big Tech Partnership
Asked what Ternus might aim to accomplish in his first 12 months as Apple’s new CEO, Gerber said the company needs to release new products and forge a partnership with Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG).
"What he really needs to do is accept the reality that having great hardware and this great ecosystem that they built, this huge moat around is great, but in the AI era, a lot of things can happen that could really erode that," Gerber said.
Alphabet and Apple are both top 11 holdings in the AdvisorShares Gerber Kawasaki ETF (NYSE:GK), which is managed by Gerber.
"They need to do a deal with Google."
Gerber told Benzinga that Google has "moved into the forefront" for AI. The wealth manager said a partnership could include using Gemini instead of Apple Intelligence and having Waymo self-driving vehicles connected to the Apple ecosystem.
"Apple has not failed in software. Software is pretty good. It's just they haven't innovated in AI or invested in it."
Gerber said Google has failed in hardware outside of Waymo and partnering with Apple could strengthen this area.
"It's a perfect matchup if they combine their forces to build, just killer software and hardware products."
New Apple Product Wishlist
Gerber's biggest hope is that Ternus focuses on Apple smart glasses going forward. Gerber says he uses the Meta glasses from Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), but he doesn't love them. He also calls Apple Vision Pro a "failure of a product."
Glasses seem like a natural tech advancement, Gerber said, with almost everyone wearing glasses or sunglasses at some point.
"The AI product killer is having glasses that you don't need to walk around looking at a phone anymore."
Gerber said if Apple releases smart glasses in the next 12 months, it could be "a very exciting product."
The second product Gerber hopes Ternus focuses on at Apple is a health tracker, like an Apple Watch without a face.
"They should have that out by tomorrow because they're losing share big time right now to Whoop."
Gerber said Apple is at the forefront of health care, but "yet they're not dominating." He would love to see Apple focus on watches and glasses, especially the ability to pair without needing a phone.
Photo Courtesy: Ross Gerber
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