Apple says John Ternus will become CEO on September 1, 2026

In short: Apple says hardware leader John Ternus will become CEO on September 1, 2026, and Tim Cook will move to executive chairman.

What happened

Apple confirmed a leadership change that it says has been planned for a long time. John Ternus will become Apple’s CEO on September 1, 2026. Tim Cook will step out of the CEO role and become executive chairman, which means he will still be involved in some big company decisions during the handoff.

In the months leading up to the transition, Ternus’s responsibilities expanded. Bloomberg reported in January 2026 that Cook put Apple’s design teams under Ternus’s oversight, making him a key decision maker for how products look and feel. Apple’s leadership information also shows Ternus has been in charge of hardware engineering for major products like the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro.

Apple is also adjusting other top roles. The company said Johny Srouji will become chief hardware officer, taking on broader leadership across hardware. Apple also said Arthur Levinson will shift from non-executive chairman to lead independent director, a board role meant to provide oversight when the chairman is part of management.

Why it matters

For customers, this transition signals that Apple wants tight coordination between the people who design devices, build the chips (the main “brains” inside devices), and engineer the products. Reuters and Bloomberg have described the timing as important because artificial intelligence is becoming a bigger competitive focus. In simple terms, Apple appears to be setting up its leadership like a relay team, with clear handoffs, as it pushes more AI features into its products.

Source: NYTimes