Overview
- Tim Cook completed his final day as Apple’s CEO on Monday, August 31, 2026.
- John Ternus, a 25-year Apple hardware veteran who led the company’s engineering teams, will officially take the CEO title on September 1, 2026.
- Cook sent a farewell memo to staff and a public post backing Ternus and Apple held internal tributes at Apple Park that included remarks from executives and a performance by OneRepublic.
- Reporters say Ternus will lead Apple’s Sept. 9 product event where new iPhone models and a possible foldable device are widely expected, but those product details have not been confirmed by Apple.
- Ternus inherits immediate operational challenges—pressure to close Apple’s AI gap and rising memory and chip costs that have driven recent price increases—while Cook becomes executive chairman focused on policy and government relations.