TECH NEWS – After a long run, Tim Cook is stepping away from the chief executive role at the Cupertino giant, and that move will trigger major changes inside Apple.

In what was largely an unexpected announcement, Apple confirmed that current CEO Tim Cook will step down in September. That does not mean he is disappearing from the company altogether, however, because he will remain on Apple’s board in an advisory and representative role. Back in November, both Reuters and the Financial Times reported that Cook was likely to depart in 2026 after spending more than a decade leading one of the world’s biggest corporations. At the time, those claims were strongly disputed by Bloomberg editor Mark Gurman, who insisted Cook was not going anywhere just yet. Interestingly, Gurman was at least partly right in another sense, because he had already identified John Ternus, Apple’s head of hardware engineering, as the leading successor.

Now Apple itself has confirmed that Tim Cook will move into a much quieter role this fall. According to the company’s statement, Cook will become chairman of Apple’s board, while John Ternus will take over as Apple’s next CEO on September 1, 2026. Cook will remain chief executive through the summer and work closely with Ternus to ensure a smooth transition. As chairman, Cook will stay active in selected strategic areas, including engagement with policymakers in different countries around the world.

Ternus being chosen is not especially surprising. Cook has been preparing him for this moment for quite some time. By the end of 2025, Ternus not only remained Apple’s key hardware leader, but also took over responsibility for the company’s design team. Even then, that move looked like a very clear signal. It also carried serious symbolic weight, because throughout Apple’s history, leadership of the design organization has always been one of the most influential positions inside the company.

The management shake-up does not end there. Johny Srouji, one of the central figures behind Apple Silicon, will become the company’s new chief hardware officer. Tom Marieb, currently the vice president of hardware in charge of product quality, will take over Ternus’s former engineering role. Marieb will report directly to Srouji.

Source: WCCFTech, Apple, Apple