Apple has officially entered a new leadership era, with John Ternus taking over as chief executive officer from Tim Cook after Cook spent 15 years leading the company. The transition took effect on 1 September in the United States, bringing one of the most important management changes at Apple in more than a decade.
The change is already reflected on Apple's leadership page, where Ternus is now listed as CEO. Tim Cook, meanwhile, has moved to Apple's Board of Directors as executive chairman, meaning he will remain involved with the company rather than stepping away completely. Cook is expected to continue handling selected responsibilities, including engagement with governments and policymakers around the world, while day-to-day leadership now sits with Ternus.
From Hardware Engineering to the Top Job
Ternus comes into the CEO role with a background that is very different from Cook's. While Cook became known for his expertise in operations, supply chains and execution, Ternus has spent most of his Apple career much closer to the products themselves.
He joined Apple in 2001 as part of the Product Design team before becoming vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013. In 2021, he was promoted to senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, putting him in charge of some of Apple's most important product-development work.
Over nearly 25 years at the company, Ternus has overseen hardware engineering across products including the iPhone, iPad, Mac and AirPods. He also played an important role in Apple's transition away from Intel processors toward the company's own Apple silicon, one of the biggest technological shifts in the Mac's history.
That background could shape how Apple operates under its new CEO.
Apple May Become More Product-Focused
Cook's tenure transformed Apple into one of the world's most valuable companies. His leadership strengthened Apple's supply chain, expanded its services business and turned products such as the Apple Watch and AirPods into major categories of their own.
Ternus, however, comes from the engineering side of the organisation. His appointment could therefore signal a greater emphasis on hardware innovation and product development, particularly as Apple explores technologies that go beyond the traditional iPhone, Mac and iPad lineup.
The timing is also significant because Apple is currently under pressure to strengthen its position in artificial intelligence. Rivals including Google, Microsoft and Samsung have moved aggressively to integrate generative and agentic AI into their products, while Apple has been working to expand AI capabilities throughout its own ecosystem.
With a hardware engineer now leading the company, Apple may try to combine AI more closely with future devices rather than treating it purely as a software feature.
AI and New Device Categories Could Define the Ternus Era
Reports suggest Apple is exploring several new categories that could become important during Ternus' tenure.
Among them are smart glasses and other AI-focused wearable devices, which could eventually provide users with a new way to interact with Apple's services without constantly looking at an iPhone screen.
Apple already has experience with wearable computing through the Apple Watch, AirPods and Vision Pro, but AI could make future devices far more context-aware and proactive.
The challenge for Ternus will be turning those experiments into products that feel genuinely useful rather than simply following an industry trend.
Apple has traditionally preferred to enter new product categories only when it believes it can provide a polished experience. Whether that philosophy changes under the new CEO will be one of the most interesting things to watch.
Tim Cook Remains as Executive Chairman
Although Cook is no longer CEO, he is not leaving Apple completely. Moving to the role of executive chairman allows him to remain involved in major strategic and governance matters while giving Ternus responsibility for leading the company.
Cook's continued presence could also provide some stability during the transition. Leadership changes at a company as large as Apple can affect everything from investor confidence to relationships with governments and suppliers, so retaining Cook at board level provides continuity while Ternus establishes himself.
Cook is also expected to continue engaging with policymakers, an area that has become increasingly important as Apple faces regulatory scrutiny in multiple markets over issues involving the App Store, competition, privacy and platform control.
In practical terms, Apple now has a new CEO while still retaining the experience of the executive who guided it through the previous 15 years.
A Major Change in Executive Compensation
The transition also brings a substantial compensation package for Apple's new chief executive.
Apple has reportedly set a target compensation package of around US$58 million, approximately RM234 million, for Ternus in fiscal 2027. That includes a US$3 million salary together with approximately US$55 million in stock awards.
Cook's new executive chairman position carries a target package of roughly US$47 million, or about RM190 million.
As with many large technology companies, most executive compensation comes from stock rather than salary. This ties a significant portion of the executive's earnings to Apple's longer-term performance and shareholder value.
For Ternus, that means expectations will extend far beyond simply maintaining the company's current position. Investors will want to see evidence that Apple can continue creating major new sources of growth.
His First Major Test Comes Almost Immediately
Ternus will not have much time to settle quietly into the CEO position.
His first major public appearance as Apple's leader is expected at the company's fall product event on 9 September 2026, just over a week after taking charge.
That makes the upcoming event considerably more important than a normal annual launch.
Apple's September events are already among the most watched technology presentations in the world, usually serving as the stage for new iPhones, Apple Watches and other major products. This year, however, attention will also be focused on the person presenting Apple's future.
The event will provide the first real opportunity to see how Ternus communicates as CEO, how prominently he appears during product announcements and whether Apple begins signalling any broader strategic changes.
A Different Kind of Apple CEO
Apple has now moved from one leadership style to another.
Cook's strengths were rooted heavily in operations, logistics, services expansion and disciplined execution. Ternus comes from hardware engineering and product development, with decades of experience directly involved in building Apple devices.
That does not necessarily mean Apple will suddenly change direction overnight. Companies of Apple's size operate through enormous teams and long-term product roadmaps that were established years in advance.
Still, leadership matters.
A CEO influences which projects receive investment, how aggressively the company enters new markets and what kind of risks it is willing to take.
Ternus' engineering background could therefore gradually shape Apple's priorities over the coming years.
Final Thoughts
John Ternus officially taking over as Apple CEO marks the beginning of one of the company's most significant leadership transitions since Tim Cook succeeded Steve Jobs. Ternus brings nearly 25 years of Apple experience to the role, including responsibility for hardware engineering across the iPhone, iPad, Mac and AirPods, as well as involvement in the company's move to Apple silicon. His appointment places a longtime product and engineering executive at the top of Apple at a time when the company is exploring AI, wearables and potentially entirely new device categories.
Tim Cook's move to executive chairman should provide continuity while Ternus takes full responsibility for the company's direction. But the new CEO will not have long before facing his first major public test, with Apple's September product event arriving just days after the transition. For Apple watchers, the next question is no longer who will succeed Tim Cook. It is what kind of Apple John Ternus intends to build.
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