The world is about to meet Apple’s new CEO. Here are his biggest challenges

When Apple holds its annual iPhone event on September 9, it'll be the first time in more than a decade that Tim Cook won't introduce the company's latest products.

Instead, John Ternus will debut as Apple's new chief executive during the company's most important event of the year.

Expectations are high. Ternus takes over as Apple faces pressure to evolve its products for the AI era. In July, the iPhone maker became the second company in history to reach a $5 trillion market capitalization, raising the bar for what analysts and investors expect from product advancements and financial performance.

Ternus' background in hardware engineering led many to believe his tenure is likely to usher in a new age of innovation for Apple. Many will be watching for signals of Ternus' vision this week, especially as the company is expected to follow rivals into a new product category with a foldable iPhone.

Ternus will need to quickly cement his direction for Apple beyond the fanfare of this week's event. The company faces a string of pressing challenges, including regulatory obstacles in Europe and a memory shortage.

Ternus's engineering experience could be a big advantage for Apple, which has suffered criticism over its approach for the last two years.

Last year, the company delayed a new version of Siri that is now set to launch this fall.

"It was a huge miss," Gene Munster, managing partner for tech investment firm Deepwater Asset Management. "Thankfully, they're on the right path, but it could have been so much bigger of a win for them."

Apple often tailors its devices and chips for its own services and software, and Ternus' deep background in hardware could be critical in designing new devices that are optimized for AI.

In the near term, Apple is banking on Siri to help gain ground in the AI race. The revamped AI assistant will leverage data – like text messages and photos – from a user's iPhone to answer questions in a personalized way. For example, you could ask Siri to reference your text messages to find your upcoming doctor's appointment or dinner reservation.

Apple says the new Siri will be able to complete tasks in certain apps and answer questions about what's shown on screen, a feature that could help it catch up to Google's Gemini.

Nabila Popal, a senior director for tech market research firm International Data Corporation, told CNN that two things could give Apple an edge: its traditional focus on user privacy as well as the way it incorporates AI directly into iOS tools like the camera and messages apps.