Tim Cook has been CEO since 2011. He is synonymous with Apple at this point. | Image by Apple
It’s been rumored for a very long time that Apple CEO Tim Cook was stepping down from his position soon, but nobody expected the move to come this early. Though some reports alleged that Cook would stay as CEO at the company for a couple more years at least, that seems to have now been upended as Apple has announced Cook’s replacement.
Tim Cook will step down
After a long, historic, and exceedingly successful tenure as CEO at Apple, Tim Cook is stepping down later this year. Cook will officially transition to being an executive chairman on Apple’s board of directors on September 1.
As is tradition, Tim Cook will likely stick around as executive chairman for a decent number of years. However, he might not be present at the launch of the iPhone 18 in a few months.
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John Ternus to be new CEO
John Ternus showed off the new iPhone Air. | Image by Apple
Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering — John Ternus — will succeed Tim Cook as CEO of Apple on September 1.
For many people, this will seem like a very obvious choice. Ternus has been in the spotlight a lot more recently and even showed off the iPhone Air. Reports have alleged that this was done deliberately to get the public accustomed to his presence alongside mainstream product launches.
What was the best thing Tim Cook did as CEO at Apple?
Memos to Apple employees
Tim Cook has sent out an internal memo (subscription required) to Apple employees, reminiscing about his time at the company and everything all of them have accomplished.
Team, Fifteen years ago, my friend and mentor Steve Jobs asked me to step into the role of CEO. It was an emotional and challenging moment for all of us at Apple, and I hoped I’d be up for the awesome responsibility I was taking on. I knew then what I know now: that there are certain values embedded in Apple that are bigger than any of us; a belief in the simple, not the complex; a determination to innovate with a focus on those few things that are truly important to the world and meaningful to us; an impatience for anything less than excellence in every group in the company; a commitment to enriching the lives of those we have a privilege to touch with our work; and a resolve to do all that we can to leave the world better than we found it. Those were the values that made Apple what it was then, and I am proud to say that they are the ideals that animate each of us today. Today, we have a truly extraordinary road map, and I have never been more optimistic about Apple’s future. That is why I have decided that now is the right time for me to transition to a new role of executive chairman. And I am thrilled to announce that John Ternus will be our new CEO. Throughout the many years I’ve worked with him, and our many conversations about his becoming Apple’s next CEO, John’s passion and love for Apple shine through. He is a visionary in his own right, a man of remarkable integrity, and the kind of person we can all be proud to follow. John is the right leader to help us innovate into the future, to help us break new ground on big ideas and bold new pathways, and to ensure that the values that have made us so successful and so admired for the past 50 years will remain the core of our identity and our culture in the decades to come. For my part, I will remain CEO through the summer and work very closely with John as we transition roles. In my new role as executive chairman, I plan to support John and Apple in a number of key areas and to be available to offer my experience whenever and wherever it is needed. I want to offer my profound gratitude to the best executive team on the planet for your friendship and your brilliance over the years. And I want all of you, every member of the Apple team, to know how much it has meant to me to work with you. You are the most remarkable people in the world, and it’s because of you that Apple is such a special place. What we built, we built together, and you are why I am incredibly optimistic about the future. I know you will join me in congratulating John as we write this next chapter of Apple’s story. We’ll be hosting a town hall tomorrow in the Steve Jobs Theater at 9 a.m. to talk about this and more. I’m looking forward to it. With gratitude, Tim
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Bloomberg, April 2026
To say that Tim Cook has been a major part of Apple would be an understatement. | Image by AP Images
John Ternus has sent out a memo as well.
Team, As you’ve by now heard, Tim has announced that he will be transitioning into the executive chairman role, and in September, I will become Apple’s new CEO. It has been such a privilege to lead the hardware engineering team, to be part of such remarkable work, and to see all of you in action, determined as ever to do everything we can for our users. I look forward to working with you very closely in my new role. Needless to say, I still plan to be very hands-on. As part of my transition to CEO, starting today, I will be stepping away from my role as head of hardware engineering. And I’m proud to announce that Tom Marieb will become the new leader of the organization. In that role, Tom’s responsibility will be to deliver on executing a truly amazing road map. He will report to Johny Srouji, who is such a talented leader and is taking on an expanded role of Chief Hardware Officer, which will allow us to work even more closely together with the hardware technologies team. As those of you who have worked with him know, Tom is an amazing leader and an incredible mentor to so many people. Tom cares so much about the user experience, and he has been relentlessly focused on making sure we’re delivering at the standards to which we are always aspiring. I very much look forward to our continued work together. I will have more to say when I see you in person. For now, let me simply say thank you for everything you’ve done — and for everything I know you will do. We have such important work ahead of us, and I can’t imagine a more capable team. JT
John Ternus, Bloomberg, April 2026
An end of an era, truly
Tim Cook will be missed. | Image by Wired
It would be very difficult for me to describe how much of an impact Tim Cook has had on Apple and its entire worldwide user base. It was Tim Cook’s clever strategy after Steve Jobs’ passing that prevented the company from imploding in on itself.
Apple’s products have come such a long way. The MacBook is now a fantastic and powerful machine and the iPhone 17 Pro is one of the best flagship smartphones ever made.
It’s going to be difficult to see the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Ultra launch this year if Cook isn’t going to be present. I knew Apple events would be different from now on, but I wasn’t prepared for them to be this different.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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