Apple announced on April 20, 2026, that longtime CEO Tim Cook will step down from the role on September 1, 2026, transitioning to Executive Chairman. John Ternus, currently Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering and a 25-year Apple veteran, will become the company’s fourth CEO. The move, long anticipated as part of Apple’s succession planning, marks a generational shift at the 50-year-old tech giant while signaling strong continuity in its core values, engineering obsession, and product excellence.

In an emotional open letter to Apple users, Cook reflected on his daily ritual of reading customer emails and expressed deep gratitude for the profound ways Apple products have touched lives. “This is not goodbye,” he wrote, while lavishly praising Ternus as “a brilliant engineer and thinker who has spent the past 25 years building the Apple products our users love so much, obsessed with every detail… He is the perfect person for the job.” Cook added that the company “will reach such incredible heights under his leadership.”

Who Is John Ternus?

John Ternus, 50 (turning 51 in 2026), is a low-profile but highly influential mechanical engineer who has spent nearly half his life at Apple. He joined the company in 2001 as part of the product design team, shortly after earning a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was also a competitive swimmer. Before Apple, Ternus worked as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems (1997–2001), designing virtual reality headsets and related products—an experience that gave him early exposure to cutting-edge hardware innovation.

At Apple, Ternus started with work on the Apple Cinema Display and quickly rose through the hardware ranks. He played key roles in the development of the original iPad, multiple generations of iMacs (including the G5 series), and broader Mac hardware. By 2013, he was promoted to Vice President of Hardware Engineering, serving as a key lieutenant to then-head Dan Riccio.

His ascent accelerated in the 2020s: In 2020, he took charge of iPhone hardware engineering; in late 2022, he added oversight of Apple Watch hardware. In 2021, he was elevated to Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, replacing Riccio. Under his leadership, Ternus has overseen the engineering of products that generate roughly 80% of Apple’s revenue, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro. He has been instrumental in the successful transition of the Mac to Apple Silicon (starting with the M1 chip in 2020), which dramatically improved performance, battery life, and efficiency across the lineup.

By late 2025, Ternus gained even broader responsibilities, including oversight of both hardware and software design teams, as well as strategic input on product roadmaps, feature prioritization, and long-term planning. He has increasingly appeared as a presenter at Apple events, introducing updates to the iMac, MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, Mac Pro, and newer devices like the iPhone Air.

Tim Cook has repeatedly endorsed Ternus with high praise. In his open letter, Cook called him “obsessed with every detail, focused on every possible way we can make something better, bolder, more beautiful, and more meaningful.” In the internal employee memo, Cook described Ternus as “a visionary in his own right, a man of remarkable integrity,” and “the right leader to help us innovate into the future… and to ensure that the values that have made us so successful… will remain the core of our identity.”

Ternus is known internally as well-liked, detail-oriented, and focused on reversing any dips in product quality while emphasizing functional improvements in battery life, performance, and connectivity. He has a reputation for hands-on leadership and deep care for the user experience. In his own memo to employees, Ternus announced he would step away from day-to-day leadership of hardware engineering immediately (with Tom Marieb taking over, reporting to new Chief Hardware Officer Johny Srouji), but emphasized: “I still plan to be very hands-on… We have such important work ahead of us.”

As Apple’s next CEO, Ternus inherits a company at the forefront of hardware innovation, with a pipeline that includes potential AI-powered smart glasses, a foldable iPhone, in-house cellular modems, and expanded smart home offerings. His engineering-first background positions him well to guide Apple through the intersection of hardware and AI.

Cook’s Legacy: Explosive Growth and a Strong Foundation

Tim Cook took over as CEO in August 2011, shortly before Steve Jobs’ passing, at a time when Apple’s market capitalization stood at approximately $348–350 billion and annual revenue was about $108 billion. By fiscal 2025, under his nearly 15-year leadership, Apple’s market cap had surged to roughly $4 trillion—a more than 1,000% increase—making it one of the most valuable companies in history. Annual revenue more than quadrupled to over $416 billion, while the services business (including Apple Music, iCloud, App Store, and Apple TV+) exploded from roughly $12.9 billion to $85.2 billion (approaching $100 billion in some reports).

Cook’s tenure is widely credited with professionalizing and scaling Apple’s operations without losing its innovative edge. Key achievements include:

• Masterful Supply Chain and Operational Excellence: Cook, who previously served as COO, turned Apple’s supply chain into one of the most efficient in the world, slashing inventory days and building deep manufacturing partnerships (particularly in China). This enabled unprecedented scale for iPhone production and global distribution.
• Product Expansion and Category Creation: While the iPhone remained the core engine, Cook oversaw the launch and massive growth of entirely new categories. The Apple Watch became the dominant smartwatch with nearly 25% global market share, AirPods popularized truly wireless audio, and the Apple Silicon transition (M-series chips) revitalized the Mac lineup with superior performance and power efficiency. Other milestones include the Vision Pro and steady iPad/Mac refreshes.
• Services and Ecosystem Monetization: Cook transformed Apple from a hardware-centric company into a services powerhouse, creating high-margin, recurring revenue streams that now contribute significantly to profitability.
• Financial Discipline and Shareholder Returns: Apple became the first company to reach $1 trillion (2018), then $2 trillion, and briefly surpassed $4 trillion in early 2025. Aggressive share buybacks and consistent profitability (net income reaching peaks near $100 billion) rewarded investors handsomely.

Cook also navigated complex challenges, including intense global regulatory scrutiny (such as EU Digital Markets Act compliance, App Store disputes, and fines), supply chain disruptions, and the shift toward AI with the rollout of Apple Intelligence. He institutionalized Apple’s culture of simplicity, excellence, and user focus while maintaining strong privacy principles.

In his internal memo, Cook reflected on the values he inherited from Jobs—innovation, simplicity, excellence, and making the world better—and expressed “never been more optimistic” about Apple’s extraordinary roadmap. He will remain involved as Executive Chairman, focusing on policy, regulation, and supporting Ternus during the transition.

The board unanimously approved the succession plan, with Arthur Levinson moving to lead independent director and Ternus joining the board. Market reaction was muted, with shares dipping slightly over 1% in after-hours trading—an indication that investors view the long-planned handover as orderly and low-risk.

Ternus steps into the role with a robust foundation: a cash-rich balance sheet, loyal customer base, and a pipeline primed for the AI era. As Cook wrote to users: “Every day we get up and think about what we can do to make your life a little bit better. And every day, you’ve made mine the best I could have asked for.”

This transition keeps Apple rooted in its engineering-driven culture while positioning it for the next 50 years. As both leaders emphasized, the best chapters may still lie ahead.

You can read the full text of Tim Cook’s letter below.

Community Letter from Tim
To the Apple community:

For the past 15 years I’ve started just about every morning the same way. I open my email and I read notes I received the day before from Apple’s users all over the world.

You share little pieces of your lives with me and tell me things you want me to know about how Apple has touched you. About the moment your mom was saved by her Apple Watch. About the perfect selfie you captured at the summit of a mountain that seemed impossible to climb. You thank me for the ways Mac has changed what you can do at work and sometimes give me a hard time because something you care about isn’t working like it should.

In every one of those emails I feel the beating heart of our shared humanity. I feel a sense of deepening obligation to work harder and push further. But most of all, I feel a gratitude that I cannot put into words, that I somehow got to be the person on the other end of those emails, the leader of a company that ignites imaginations and enriches lives in such profound ways it defies description. What an honor and a privilege it has been.

Today we announced that I’m taking the next step in my journey at Apple. Over the coming months I will be transitioning into a new role, leaving the CEO job behind in September and becoming Apple’s executive chairman. A new person will be stepping into what I know in my heart is the best job in the world. That leader is John Ternus, a brilliant engineer and thinker who has spent the past 25 years building the Apple products our users love so much, obsessed with every detail, focused on every possible way we can make something better, bolder, more beautiful, and more meaningful. He is the perfect person for the job.

John cares so much about who we are at Apple, what we do at Apple, who we reach at Apple, and he has the heart and character to lead with extraordinary integrity. I am so proud to call him Apple’s next CEO. This company will reach such incredible heights under his leadership, and you will feel his impact in every bit of delight and discovery that grows out of the products and services to come. I can’t wait for you to get to know him like I do.

This is not goodbye. But at this moment of transition, I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you. Not on behalf of the company, this time, though there is a wellspring of gratitude for you that overflows inside our walls. But simply on behalf of me. Tim. A person who grew up in a rural place in a different time and, for these magical moments, got to be the CEO of the greatest company in the world. Thank you for the confidence and kindness you’ve shown me. Thank you for saying hi to me on the street and in our stores. Thank you for cheering alongside me when we unveiled a new product or service. Thank you, most of all, for believing in me to lead the company that has always put you at the center of our work. Every day we get up and think about what we can do to make your life a little bit better. And every day, you’ve made mine the best I could have asked for.

Thank you.

Tim Cook

You can read the full text of John Ternus’ letter below.

John Ternus’ Memo to Employees:
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