Tim Cook stepped down as Apple CEO after 15 years, and John Ternus, the former head of the hardware division, became the new CEO. Cook will remain at the company as Chairman of Apple’s Board of Directors.
Ternus’s first launch as CEO will take place on September 9. The event is expected to feature the iPhone 18 Pro models, a foldable iPhone, new AirPods and Apple Watches. Component supply problems caused by artificial intelligence, along with global economic and political uncertainties, are among the main challenges the new CEO will face. Born in 1975, Ternus graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 and joined Apple in 2001.
Why it matters
The change shows that day-to-day management responsibility at Apple has passed to a longtime hardware executive within the company, while Tim Cook will retain his influence as chairman of the board. For this reason, the transition is not merely a change of roles but marks a period in which the new CEO’s responsibility in decision-making becomes more clearly defined. Ternus’s first test will come at the first product launch he manages as CEO; alongside the company’s new product agenda, pressures arising from supply issues and external conditions will also be monitored. The central open question is how Cook’s institutional experience and Ternus’s hardware background will shape the division of responsibilities and Apple’s approach to the challenges it faces.
Background
Apple is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 16 reports mentioning it in the last 90 days; the most recent is dated September 1, 2026.