For several years now, there has been an open question surrounding Apple – will this be the year Tim Cook retires? How will that impact on the future of the company? Cook turned 65 last year and it turns out we didn’t have to wait too long to find out what happens next. As has been rumored for months, John Ternus will succeed him as CEO, 15 years after Cook himself succeeded the late Steve Jobs just weeks before his death in 2011.
Ternus takes up the post on 1 September, meaning we’ll probably see him first at Apple’s September iPhone launch event – which is strongly rumored to include the iPhone Ultra or iPhone Fold.
Apple says Ternus’ appointment “follows a thoughtful, long-term succession planning process” and comes just weeks after Apple’s 50th anniversary which surely played a part in the thinking.
The main reason it’s great news is that Ternus is a product person. He’s not a sales guy. He’s not a bean counter. And as such you’d expect that we’ll get some very interesting new products over the next few years to follow up Ternus’ work on the recent MacBook Neo and many more. Could we see the long-rumored Apple Vision glasses? The touchscreen MacBook Ultra? What about the foldable iPad? It will be fascinating to find out if the Mac and iPad remain so separate over the coming years when their underlying systems and apps are so similar.
Ternus has spent almost his whole career at Apple after a stint at Virtual Research Systems, during which he has worked on most of Apple’s key product lines.
At Apple, he’s been a vice president of Hardware Engineering since 2013 (and on Apple’s board since 2021). Apple’s press release to announce the move uses the word ‘instrumental’ three times to press home his involvement with many of the company’s key products: “He was instrumental in the introduction of multiple new product lines, including iPad and AirPods, as well as many generations of products across iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch.” Though there’s no mention of some of Apple’s more innovative yet commercially unsuccessful products like Vision Pro.
He has led a lot of Apple’s work on product reliability and durability, working to improve materials as well as its sustainability efforts.
As part of this, Ternus is credited with the “creation of a new, recycled aluminum compound that has been introduced across multiple product lines, the use of 3D printed titanium in Apple Watch Ultra 3, and innovations in repairability that have increased the lifespans of several Apple products.”
Ternus’ work on the Mac is also particularly highlighted, crediting him with “helping” Macs to be “more popular globally than at any time in its 40-year history”. He was a key figure in Apple’s decision to move Macs away from Intel chips to Apple Silicon. While Johny Srouji is the key figure in the history of Apple’s chip tech itself, Ternus lead the teams responsible for deciding how the chips are used and of course what products Apple should launch.
At your service
One thing Apple will miss from Cook’s time in charge is his crucial decision-making around improving Apple’s processes, supplier partnerships and the rapid development of services like Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple News+ (make sure you follow Stuff!), iCloud and more. Although some have argued that Cook has played it safe with some product lines, history will deem his time as a success. After all, Apple is worth a lot more as a company than when he started – $350 billion to $4 trillion – and revenue has gone from $108 billion in 2011 to $416 billion in 2025. Crucially, Cook has overseen Apple’s growth into services and regular subscriptions, which is worth more than a huge $100 billion a year to the company.
In an open letter to Apple’s users and employees, Cook also paid tribute to his long-standing colleague: “John cares so much about who we are at Apple, what we do at Apple, who we reach at Apple, and he has the heart and character to lead with extraordinary integrity. I am so proud to call him Apple’s next CEO. This company will reach such incredible heights under his leadership, and you will feel his impact in every bit of delight and discovery that grows out of the products and services to come. I can’t wait for you to get to know him like I do.”
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