Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO, John Ternus Named Successor
Tim Cook will leave the chief executive role at Apple after 15 years, becoming executive chairman, while senior hardware executive John Ternus will assume the CEO position on Sept. 1.
Apple announced that Tim Cook, who has led the company since 2011, will step down as chief executive this week and transition to the role of executive chairman. John Ternus, the senior vice president of hardware engineering since 2021, will take over as CEO on Sept. 1. Cook praised Ternus in his farewell letter, describing him as a "brilliant engineer and thinker" and noting his attention to detail.
Industry observers note that Ternus may steer Apple toward a major design overhaul, a shift from Cook’s historically limited involvement in product design, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. Cook is expected to retain responsibilities such as managing relationships with the White House.
The leadership change occurs ahead of Apple’s scheduled product event on Sept. 9, where the company could unveil the iPhone 18 Pro series, a rumored foldable iPhone, and a next-generation Apple Watch. Apple continues to face challenges from rising component costs linked to a global memory shortage, which has prompted price increases across its product lines. Despite these pressures, the iPhone 17 remained the best-selling smartphone worldwide in the second quarter of 2026, holding a 6% share of global sales, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Pro ranking second and third, respectively.