Tim Cook Is Stepping Down As Apple CEO, But He's Not Leaving
Apple's Tim Cook is stepping down as chief executive officer, and will be replaced by John Ternus, currently senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, the Cupertino company announced today. Cook will step into a new role as executive chairman of Apple's board of directors on September 1st, 2026. It'll bring to an end fifteen years of Cook as Apple CEO, a position he took after Steve Jobs' resignation.
It proved to be a controversial — though lucrative — period. Apple's massive growth, during similar boom periods across the technology industry, saw the iPhone-maker double revenue and profit.
Cook also became known for a less intense management style than Jobs, though the products Apple released while he has been at the helm have not been universally successful. Although the Apple Watch and AirPods have undoubtedly helped shape the company's fortunes, other — more ambitious — projects like Apple Vision Pro are yet to pay off in the same way.
A hardware guy at the helm
Cook will be replaced in September by John Ternus, who has spent more than 25 years with Apple. Currently senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, Ternus will work with Cook over the summer before taking over full CEO responsibilities.
"As executive chairman," Apple said today, "Cook will assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world." That policy involvement has proved divisive in recent years, not least as Apple and the rest of the tech industry has attempted to navigate the whims of the Trump Administration in the U.S.
In August 2025, Cook visited the White House to deliver a statue — made of 24 karat gold and the same Corning toughened glass that protects the iPhone and other Apple products — with the meeting taking place shortly after Trump threatened tariffs on imported electronics like microchips.
John Ternus, meanwhile, will be replaced by Johny Srouji, currently senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. Srouji is credited with helping Apple's wildly successful push into developing its own silicon, chips that have come to power not only the iPhone and iPad, but Mac products such as the most recent MacBook Neo.