Overview
- Gurman wrote he would be shocked if Cook steps down between late January and June next year, calling such a scenario unlikely based on recent reporting.
- The Financial Times, echoed by Reuters, previously suggested Apple could name a successor as soon as next year, potentially after January earnings and before WWDC.
- Gurman labeled the FT timeline premature and simply false and dismissed the notion that the story was a market-testing "test balloon."
- Hardware chief John Ternus remains widely viewed as the leading internal candidate to succeed Cook whenever a transition is decided.
- Separately, Gurman reported OpenAI’s Jony Ive–led hardware effort hired about 40 Apple engineers in the past month, underscoring ongoing talent movement from Cupertino.