Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO, John Ternus taking over (2 minute read)
Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down after 15 years, with hardware engineering chief John Ternus taking over on September 1 as the company transitions leadership at its $4 trillion valuation.
What: Tim Cook will transition from CEO to executive chairman after leading Apple since 2011, while John Ternus, the 51-year-old Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering who has been at Apple since 2001, becomes the new CEO effective September 1, 2026.
Why it matters: This marks the end of one of the longest and most successful CEO tenures in tech, as Cook quadrupled Apple's revenue and expanded services to over $100 billion annually, while Ternus brings a focus on hardware innovation, sustainability, and repairability that could signal Apple's priorities for the next era.
Deep dive
- Cook inherited Apple in 2011 after Steve Jobs' death, facing uncertainty about whether anyone could follow the company's legendary founder, and leaves behind a company worth $4 trillion with revenue that quadrupled during his tenure
- Originally hired in 1998 to fix Apple's disastrous supply chain, Cook was a methodical operations expert rather than a product visionary, but proved himself during Jobs' health-related absences in 2004, 2009, and 2011
- Cook's biggest stumble was Vision Pro, the mixed-reality headset that consumers largely ignored due to its several-thousand-dollar price tag and heavy form factor
- Under Cook, Apple Services grew to exceed $100 billion annually and the Apple Watch captured roughly 25% of global smartwatch sales
- Ternus joined Apple's product design team in 2001 after studying mechanical engineering at Penn and briefly working on VR headsets at a small firm
- He was promoted to SVP of Hardware Engineering in 2021 when his predecessor Dan Riccio moved to oversee Vision Pro, making him the youngest member of Apple's executive team at the time
- Ternus has overseen key products including iPad, AirPods, and multiple generations of iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch, plus recent releases like the iPhone 17 lineup and MacBook Neo
- His team developed AirPods into an over-the-counter hearing health system beyond just headphones
- Ternus has made durability and repairability major priorities, introducing recycled aluminum compounds and manufacturing techniques that reduce carbon footprint while extending device lifespans
- Arthur Levinson, who served as non-executive chairman for 15 years, will become lead independent director while Cook remains as executive chairman
Decoder
- Executive Chairman: A senior role where Cook will remain on Apple's board and provide strategic guidance but won't handle day-to-day operations as CEO
- Vision Pro: Apple's mixed-reality headset that combines virtual and augmented reality, launched as Cook's bet on the next major computing platform but failed to gain consumer traction
- SVP: Senior Vice President, a top executive position at Apple reporting directly to the CEO
Original article
Apple CEO Tim Cook will step down after 15 years in the role, transitioning to executive chairman while hardware chief John Ternus becomes CEO on September 1. Cook leaves behind a $4 trillion company with massively expanded services and wearables businesses, despite some product missteps like Vision Pro. Ternus, a longtime Apple engineer, is expected to continue shaping the company's hardware and sustainability efforts as he takes over leadership.