Apple's 15-year Cook era ends this week

Fifteen years ago today, Tim Cook was appointed Apple's chief executive following Steve Jobs's resignation on August 24, 2011. That era closes on September 1, when hardware chief John Ternus formally takes over as CEO, a transition Apple's board approved unanimously back in April.

Who is John Ternus?

Ternus first joined Apple’s product design team in 2001, progressed to become vice president of hardware engineering in 2013, and became senior vice president in 2021, during which time he was responsible for developing iPhones, Macs, iPads and AirPods.

Unlike Cook, who had an operations background, Ternus will take charge of the company after his role as a product engineer for Apple for all his career.

Cook, 65, isn't leaving the company. He moves into the newly created role of executive chairman, where he'll continue engaging with policymakers and helping Apple navigate regulatory pressure across markets, including the US and EU.

Arthur Levinson, the former chairman of Apple, becomes the new lead independent director on the very same day.

This comes right before the scheduled hardware event by Apple, which is expected to launch the new iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the foldable iPhone.

According to the reports, Apple does not plan to launch an ordinary iPhone 18 this September and will be launching the same next year in spring. This would make Ternus's first keynote as the new CEO the launch of one of Apple's biggest design changes since the iPhone X.