John Ternus takes over as Apple’s new CEO – The Verge

Tim Cook did alright by the environment — but AI could upend his climate legacy

2026-09-01T19:09:19-04:00

As he steps down from his post as Apple CEO today, Tim Cook leaves behind a mostly positive environmental record. As far as billionaire tech moguls and the environment go, Cook will likely be remembered as one of the better ones - certainly far from the worst. But it will become harder for the company to meet the climate goals Cook set in place as Apple tries to catch up in the AI race.

Under his watch, Apple set industry-leading goals for reducing the amount of pollution created by its products and suppliers. It has managed to keep its carbon footprint from growing while other tech giants see their emissions rise with the energy needs of …

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John Ternus sends first memo as Apple CEO teasing a ‘huge launch next week’

2026-09-01T14:24:16-04:00

New Apple CEO John Ternus sent out his first staff memo, thanking his predecessor Tim Cook, and quickly turning to what the company will do next, reports Bloomberg.

"We have a huge launch next week that's going to be phenomenal. Thanks for everything you've all done to make it possible," writes Ternus, referring to the September 9th event where Apple's expected to unveil new iPhones including the rumored foldable iPhone Ultra and iPhone 18 Pro models. Ternus also hints at "incredible products already in the works and the ones we haven't even imagined yet," presumably moving beyond camera-equipped AirPods, home robots, and even more OLED di …

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Tim Cook’s legacy isn’t just phones, it’s politics

2026-09-01T09:51:02-04:00

As much as any Apple product released during his time as CEO, Tim Cook's tenure will be remembered for its ruthlessly efficient tight-rope walk between an autocrat in China and a would-be autocrat in the US.

During his 15 years as CEO, Cook steered Apple through relations with both Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, including escalating conflicts between the two. As Apple's enmeshment in China raised serious questions about reports of forced labor and censorship, Cook managed to appease Xi while maneuvering around political blowback in the US. And when Trump launched a trade war against China, Cook managed to soften …

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A day-one briefing for Apple’s new CEO

2026-09-01T08:10:46-04:00

Big J has his work cut out for him. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

Executive Summary, Day One
ðŸ“ Inbox 5:05AM
To: Ternus, John
Reply-to: CEO-transition-team@apple.com

Welcome to your first day as CEO! Hopefully you're finding your new office spacious and comfortable. If you have trouble with any of the doors just ping us - being a Jony Ive design, you won't find anything as unsightly as a door handle here!

Today's memo includes a summary of the business, broken out by division. The day's schedule is also attached; please note that the Apple Intelligence team needed to delay the new Siri discussion until a later date, but they promise they're "for real" this time.

Hardware
Everything …

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Tim Cook’s Apple: his 10 biggest wins and misses

2026-09-01T08:51:37-04:00

Expectations for Tim Cook were almost impossibly high when he stepped in to replace Apple's visionary cofounder in 2011. He inherited a company on a blockbuster run, after Steve Jobs returned and revitalized the Mac, launched the iPod, and oversaw the launch of the iPhone.

Now, after 15 years in the CEO role, Tim Cook is stepping down. He's replaced today by hardware leader John Ternus. Over the course of Cook's tenure, Apple accomplished a lot, with the launch of plenty of new products, features, and services that the company just wouldn't be the same without. There were plenty of ups and downs, but Cook helped cement the company as one of …

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John Ternus is now the CEO of Apple

2026-09-01T06:50:09-04:00

Apple SVP John Ternus takes over as CEO from Tim Cook. | AFP via Getty Images

For the first time since 2011, one of the world's most valuable companies has a new leader, as today marks John Ternus' first day as Apple's CEO. He's replacing Tim Cook, who will continue on as the executive chairman on Apple's board and departed with a letter to employees that remarked, "This place is proof that culture triumphs over everything. We share a belief that what we build matters, and that we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to leave the world better than we found it."

Ternus is taking over a company dealing with the rise of AI, shortages of RAM and other components due to that growth in AI, and a political and e …

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Phil Schiller is leaving his biggest jobs at Apple

2026-09-01T01:17:39-04:00

Longtime Apple executive Phil Schiller is stepping down from his role as the head of the App Store and Apple events, according to a report from Bloomberg. Following the change, Schiller will keep his Apple Fellow title and continue "working on unspecified initiatives," Bloomberg reports.

Schiller initially joined Apple in 1987 and became the company's head of marketing in 1997. He helped launch the App Store alongside Steve Jobs in 2008, but only started heading up the store in 2015. Over the years, Schiller has played a role in the development of many of Apple's products, including the iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Macs, and has presented severa …

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Read Tim Cook’s final message to Apple staff as CEO

2026-09-01T01:16:28-04:00

Steve Jobs' successor carried the torch of the iPhone and built Apple into a global powerhouse with few rivals. Since becoming CEO in 2011, Tim Cook has led the company to become one of the most dominant forces in the daily lives of billions of people. Today is his last day as CEO.

Sending lots of love to the Apple community on my last day as CEO. My title changes tomorrow, but the love I have for the Apple community never will. Thank you for being a constant source of inspiration. My gratitude is endless, and I'm excited for the next chapter!
- Tim Cook (@tim_cook) August 31, 2026

We'll have a lot to say about new Apple CEO John Ternus a …

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Tim Cook’s departure is the start of a new era at Apple

2026-04-22T18:05:10-04:00

Apple is about to become a very different company. This September, Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down and will be replaced by John Ternus, the current head of hardware. But the shift is bigger than just a CEO transition - it's the most significant move yet into a world where Apple's executive team isn't handpicked by Steve Jobs.

With the departure of Cook, who became CEO in 2011, the list of leaders who were in Jobs' inner circle is dwindling. There's still Apple's senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, who joined in 1989, and has said that Jobs was like a "family member" to him. There's also longtime marketing exec Phil Schiller, wh …

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Will a new CEO help realize Apple’s smart home potential?

2026-04-22T13:03:37-04:00

It took Tim Cook years to launch Apple into major new hardware categories, such as the smartwatch. But John Ternus could start his tenure right away with an ambitious new project: smart home hardware.

All signs point to a strong lineup of new smart home devices coming potentially this fall, putting Apple back in the game in a category where it has been painfully slow to ship new devices.

With a hardware man at the helm in Ternus, the chances of Apple fully committing to the smart home feel far higher than under Cook. And while, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Ternus was reluctant to invest deeply in the smart home a decade ago - tak …

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