John Ternus Takes Over as Apple CEO, Succeeding Tim Cook

John Ternus has officially become Apple's new chief executive, taking over from Tim Cook after Cook's 15-year tenure at the helm of one of the world's most valuable technology companies.

Ternus assumed the role on Tuesday after spending more than two decades at Apple, most recently as senior vice president of hardware engineering, a position he had held since 2021.

Cook, who became Apple CEO in 2011 after succeeding the late Steve Jobs, will remain with the company as executive chairman. Apple announced the leadership transition in April, describing Ternus as the successor best positioned to lead the company into its next phase.

The new CEO is a long-serving Apple executive. He joined the company's product design team in 2001 after previously working on virtual reality headsets at Virtual Research Systems. He became vice president of hardware engineering in 2013 before being promoted to senior vice president eight years later.

During his time at Apple, Ternus has played a key role in the development and introduction of several major products, including the iPad and AirPods.

His promotion has been viewed by analysts as a signal that Apple intends to place renewed emphasis on hardware innovation while incorporating artificial intelligence more deeply into its devices.

Babak Hafezi, a professor of international business at American University, described Ternus's appointment as a renewed focus on hardware innovation rather than a rejection of the strategy pursued during the Cook era.

The leadership change comes at a critical moment for Apple, with the company preparing to unveil its latest generation of products.

Apple is expected to introduce a new iPhone on September 9, along with a foldable model that would mark its entry into a smartphone category that remains relatively small but has been expanding. Samsung has been a major player in the foldable-phone market since launching its first models in 2019.

Research firm IDC expects Apple to make rapid gains in the segment, forecasting shipments of about 17 million foldable iPhones and a 40 percent share of the global foldable-phone market by the end of next year.

Artificial intelligence will also be a major focus for Ternus. Apple is preparing an upgraded version of Siri alongside its latest iOS software, with the assistant expected to become more conversational and provide users with more personalised responses.

The new Siri is designed to work with information contained in a user's personal communications, potentially allowing it to locate information such as a restaurant recommendation mentioned in a message or a hotel confirmation contained in an email.

Apple has faced increasing criticism over what some analysts regard as its slower progress in generative artificial intelligence compared with rivals including OpenAI and Anthropic.

Aleksandar Tomic, associate dean for strategy, innovation and technology at Boston College, said Apple's strength in hardware and its custom-designed chips could nevertheless provide an important advantage as AI becomes increasingly integrated into consumer devices.

Apple has developed its own processors for Macs and other products, enabling users to run some AI applications locally rather than relying entirely on cloud-based computing. The iPhone could similarly become an important gateway for consumers accessing AI-powered services.

However, Apple faces challenges in bringing advanced AI capabilities to its large installed base of older devices. Morgan Stanley analysts warned in June that hardware limitations could make it difficult for the company to deliver its most ambitious Siri improvements across older iPhone models.

The company is also dealing with rising costs and continuing supply-chain pressures. Apple increased prices for some MacBooks and iPads in June as higher demand for memory and other components, driven partly by the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, pushed up costs.

Apple must also navigate growing tensions between the United States and China. China remains a major market for the company and an important part of its manufacturing network, although Apple has increasingly expanded production in countries such as India and Vietnam.

The company has announced billions of dollars of planned investment in the United States, while US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for Apple to manufacture more iPhones domestically.

For Ternus, succeeding Cook represents a formidable challenge. During Cook's leadership, Apple's share price surged by about 2,258 percent, while the stock has continued to perform strongly over the past year.

Apple shares were up about 37 percent from a year earlier and more than 16 percent since the beginning of 2026.

On Tuesday, Apple stock rose 2.2 percent in midday trading as Ternus officially began his tenure as CEO.