Tim Cook Steps Back as CEO of Apple

The breaking news that Tim Cook was stepping back as CEO of Apple, handing the reins to John Ternus, certainly got me out of bed this morning.

Although long-anticipated, Tim Cook’s decision to transition to executive chairman on 1 September is significant news and marks an important next step for Apple. His contribution to the company has been nothing short of astonishing.

When he took over from Steve Jobs, many people (including myself) wondered whether he could fill such big shoes, but the results speak for themselves. Since August 2011, when Tim Cook took the helm at Apple, revenue has grown by over 300% and the market capitalization is about $4 trillion — up from $300 billion.

Tim Cook embraced Steve Jobs’s greatest creation, the iPhone, and used it as a platform for 15 years of growth. The product has become the “gift that keeps on giving” for Apple, driving numerous lines of ongoing revenue. Most notable is the services business, which contributed over 20% of Apple’s total revenue in calendar 4Q25 (see Apple Results, Fiscal 1Q26).

Under his stewardship, Apple delivered continuous improvements to the iPhone and introduced several new devices, such as the Apple Watch and AirPods, which have become lucrative in their own right. When people own multiple Apple products across iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods, iPads and MacBooks, they become locked in. The iPhone has become the Hotel California of smartphones — once you have one, you’re very unlikely to leave the Apple ecosystem for an Android-powered smartphone.

Other initiatives, such as Apple Silicon, have been game-changers for Apple’s most-important products and most recently extended to modem technology. And let’s not forget Apple Health, CarPlay, Apple Maps, Apple Music, Apple’s efforts in original TV content and more, which often get overlooked when assessing Tim Cook’s achievements.

John Ternus inherits a company that’s in great shape, but he’ll need to make major strategic decisions in several areas — perhaps most importantly in AI.

AI is widely regarded as an area where Tim Cook decided to let others, such as Google with Gemini and OpenAI with ChatGPT, take the lead. All eyes will be on Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2026 to learn more about its plans in this area, particularly what Apple does with Siri and its partnership with Google to harness the Gemini AI foundational models.

A big question for John Ternus will be how much Apple invests in building its AI platform versus relying on other companies’ models and platforms. The decision to let others invest vast amounts of capital expenditure and pursue partnerships with companies like OpenAI, Google and Alibaba points to Apple’s near-term strategy. The timing of the new CEO’s AI strategy is likely to coincide with a correction in the AI market.

One of the few notable misses for Apple under Tim Cook has been the Vision Pro. The broader industry trend toward virtual and augmented reality, primarily driven by Meta, felt like a significant gap in Apple’s portfolio, and there were high hopes when the Vision Pro launched. It’s a spectacular piece of technology, but the high price, lack of content and cumbersome design stifled its success.

I believe Apple has learned many valuable lessons from this and it must consider how to move into related areas. This is another strategic decision John Ternus must address. It’ll be interesting to see whether he builds on the technology developed for the Vision Pro and Apple Silicon to deliver a smart glasses product for the company.

Relatively little is known about John Ternus. He has spent nearly half his life working for Apple and his primary role has been in hardware design. Hardware is central to Apple’s DNA, given the company’s obsessive focus on product materials, quality and best-in-class manufacturing. He has long been rumoured to be a potential successor to Tim Cook and has worked closely with him for many years. This mentorship aims to ensure a smooth transition, and I expect very few initial changes to the company’s strategy.

Given that John Ternus is 15 years younger than Tim Cook, he is likely to serve as CEO for an extended period, echoing the long tenures of his predecessors.

John Ternus has worked on many of the core products launched under Tim Cook’s tenure, including the Apple Watch, AirPods and Apple Vision Pro. Notably, he was involved in the MacBook Neo, one of the most-disruptive devices the company has launched in many years.

As the new CEO, John Ternus will need to navigate a turbulent market amid geopolitical uncertainty and macroeconomic pressures. The consumer electronics industry faces a perfect storm, with memory chip shortages and the conflict in the Middle East having widespread implications for consumer confidence. Apple will also need to decide how much it wants to continue its reliance on China for manufacturing.

The appointment of a new CEO will be a major talking point during Apple’s earnings call on 30 April. We’ll be following with great interest as the company enters a new leadership era.