Updated
Updated · Mashable · Aug 31
Tim Cook Leaves Apple CEO Role After 15 Years, Hands Reins to 50-Year-Old John Ternus
Updated
Updated · Mashable · Aug 31

Tim Cook Leaves Apple CEO Role After 15 Years, Hands Reins to 50-Year-Old John Ternus

3 articles · Updated · Mashable · Aug 31

Summary

  • Aug. 31 marked Tim Cook’s final day as Apple CEO, and he used X to post an emotional farewell before becoming executive chairman on Sept. 1.
  • Cook is ending a 15-year run that began in 2011 after Steve Jobs stepped down, with John Ternus—Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering—taking over as chief executive.
  • Under Cook, Apple launched major product lines including AirPods and Apple Watch, shifted Macs to Apple Silicon, and became a $1 trillion company.
  • Ternus’s first major test comes Sept. 9, when Apple is expected to unveil a new iPhone lineup that could include its first foldable device.

Insights

With Tim Cook stepping down, can a hardware-obsessed new CEO save Apple from falling behind in the fierce generative AI race?
Why did Apple really split its leadership, leaving Cook to battle global regulators while a new CEO focuses strictly on hardware?
As John Ternus takes command today, will his rumored $2,000 foldable iPhone be the revolutionary breakthrough that defines Apple's next era?