Apple is heading into one of the biggest leadership shakeups in its recent history. After 15 years as CEO, Tim Cook steps down from the role on August 31, handing the reins to longtime hardware executive John Ternus, who becomes Apple’s chief executive on September 1.
Cook moves into the role of executive chairman, while Ternus, 50, takes charge of steering the world’s most valuable tech company into its next phase.
The timing couldn’t be tighter. Just eight days into the job. Ternus is set to make his first major public appearance at Apple’s September 9 product event where the company is widely expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone.
From Cook’s Apple to Ternus’ Apple
Cook took over from Steve Jobs back in 2011 and spent the next decade and a half scaling Apple’s global footprint and financial muscle. Under him, Apple grew into a multitrillion-dollar company, with Services emerging as a major growth engine alongside the iPhone.
Ternus brings a different profile to the top job. He’s spent roughly 25 years at Apple and has run its hardware engineering organization since 2021, putting him at the center of some of the company’s biggest product bets which makes this handover especially timely as Apple gears up for its next hardware cycle.
Cook is expected to stay involved with the company, particularly on government and regulatory matters.
A Foldable iPhone Could Define Ternus’s First Week
There’s no easing-in period here. Apple’s September 9 event is expected to bring new iPhone models, headlined by the long-rumored foldable iPhone. Early reports point to a book-style design a smaller external display paired with a much larger interior screen.
Rumored specs include a roughly 5.4-inch external display, an interior screen between 7.6 and 7.8 inches when unfolded, a titanium frame, and engineering aimed at minimizing the visible crease. Pricing could start around $2,000, putting it squarely in Apple’s premium tier.
If it ships, this would be one of Apple’s biggest hardware design shifts since the original iPhone.
Apple’s Hardware Strategy Is Shifting
The foldable likely won’t be the only headline. Apple is also expected to introduce new Apple Watch models and possibly updated AirPods, while its Mac lineup keeps evolving with chips built for heavier on-device AI workloads.
That broader push matters. Apple is under pressure to prove it can still lead on hardware, not just ship incremental yearly upgrades. A foldable iPhone gives Ternus an immediate opening to make that case.
The Challenge Facing Apple’s New CEO
Ternus inherits serious financial strength and a deeply entrenched ecosystem, but also a tricky balancing act: keep the operational discipline and Services growth Cook built, while delivering hardware that can spark the kind of excitement Apple hasn’t reliably produced in years.
The foldable iPhone is shaping up to be the first real test, and its success will hinge less on the hardware itself than on whether Apple can convince people its take on the foldable format is genuinely different from what’s already on the market.
A New Chapter Begins
Cook’s exit closes one of the longest chapters in Apple’s modern history. Ternus steps in just as AI, new computing platforms, and shifting consumer expectations are reshaping the entire industry and his first major product event arrives almost immediately.
If Apple unveils the foldable iPhone on September 9, its new CEO will open his tenure by introducing one of the company’s most consequential products in years. For Apple, this isn’t just a change of leadership it’s the start of a new hardware era.
