Overview
- A New York Times profile, citing people close to Apple, says Tim Cook has told senior leaders he wants to reduce his workload and would likely shift to board chair if he steps down.
- Hardware chief John Ternus, 50, is described as the leading internal candidate, with prior reporting from Bloomberg and the Financial Times pointing to the same trajectory.
- Ternus has helped steer major hardware efforts, including the Mac transition to Apple silicon, the slimmer iPhone Air, and exploratory work on foldable phones.
- Inside Apple, some view Ternus as a steady, operations-focused leader with limited policy exposure, fueling debate over whether the company needs continuity or a more risk-seeking visionary.
- Other internal names under consideration include Craig Federighi, Eddy Cue, Greg Joswiak, and Deirdre O’Brien, while prediction markets have priced Ternus as the favorite, and Apple has made no announcement.