Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced he will step down from the role on September 1 and will hand over the reins to current Apple head of hardware engineering John Ternus.
Cook took over as Apple CEO after the death of Steve Jobs in October 2011 and he has guided the company through one of its most successful periods.
Cook oversaw new releases like the larger iPhones, Apple Watch, AirPods, a wider iPad range and the Apple Vision Pro.
And he was also at the helm when Apple transitioned its entire Mac desktop and laptop line-up from Intel processors to Apple’s very own silicon and introduced the powerhouse Mac Studio and expanded the popular iMac desktop range.
Cook will not be lost to Apple – after he steps down as CEO he will take up a new role as Apple’s Executive Chairman and work in an advisory capacity.
Ternus will take up his new post as Apple CEO on September 1, 2026 – that’s a just a few days before the iPhone launch which this year promises to be like no other.
At that time we will see the introduction of Apple’s first foldable iPhone and a reorganisation of releases windows for the rest of the iPhone line-up.
Cook shared a community letter in which he expressed the honour and gratitude of holding the position as CEO of Apple.
Here is what he said:
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.
