John Ternus has officially taken over as Apple’s chief executive officer, succeeding Tim Cook after 15 years at the helm. Ternus, Apple’s former senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, assumed the role on September 1, 2026, while Cook became executive chairman of Apple’s board, according to Bloomberg and Financial Times.
Ternus inherits a company valued at roughly $4 trillion, with more than 2.5 billion active devices worldwide and a hugely profitable services business. His appointment represents a carefully planned internal succession, but he takes charge at a moment when Apple faces mounting pressure to strengthen its position in artificial intelligence, where competitors such as Google, Microsoft and OpenAI have moved faster.
AI is expected to be Ternus’s most immediate strategic priority. Apple has been working to improve Apple Intelligence and its delayed next generation Siri while increasingly relying on external technology partners, including Google and OpenAI. At the same time, the company is preparing new hardware designed around the AI era, including its upcoming iPhone generation and potentially its first foldable iPhone.
The leadership change also gives Apple a chief executive with deep hardware credentials. Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and played a major role in products including the Mac, iPad, iPhone and AirPods. His challenge now is to translate that product expertise into a broader technology vision while restoring Apple’s AI momentum without sacrificing the privacy, integration and hardware ecosystem that have defined the company.
