Apple has a new chief executive. John Ternus, the company's longtime hardware engineering chief, became Apple CEO on September 1, ending Tim Cook's 15-year run in the role. Cook is not leaving: he moves up to executive chairman of Apple's board of directors, under the succession plan Apple announced in April that the board approved unanimously.
The timing is tight by design. Ternus takes charge just nine days before Apple's September 9 "Surprise and Shine" event, where the company is expected to introduce the iPhone 18 Pro line and its first foldable iPhone — the event we covered when Apple confirmed the September 9 date. His first product launch as CEO is also one of the most consequential in years.
Who is John Ternus?
Ternus is an Apple veteran of nearly 25 years. He joined the product design team in 2001, became vice president of hardware engineering in 2013, and has been senior vice president of hardware engineering since 2021. Before Apple, he worked as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems, and he holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania. As hardware engineering chief, his organization was responsible for the engineering behind Apple's device lineup — the products that still generate most of the company's revenue — which tells you what kind of CEO the board wanted: a product engineer, not a finance or operations executive.
In the April announcement, Cook described his successor this way: "John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity." Ternus, for his part, said he was "profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple's mission forward."
The board changes go beyond the CEO seat. Ternus joined Apple's board of directors on September 1. Arthur Levinson, the board's non-executive chairman for the past 15 years — who said the board believes "John is the best possible leader to succeed Tim" — becomes lead independent director on the same date.
What Tim Cook leaves behind
Cook took over from Steve Jobs in August 2011 and led Apple for 15 years. In that time the company repeatedly ranked as the world's most valuable, expanded from iPhones and Macs into the Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, and Vision Pro, and built a services business around Apple Music and Apple TV+. MacRumors notes that Apple posted all-time quarterly revenue records in recent quarters, so Ternus inherits a company in strong financial shape.
Cook does not disappear from view. As executive chairman, he will keep assisting with certain parts of the business, including engaging with policymakers around the world — the diplomatic role he has played for years. The handover itself was long and orderly by big-tech standards: Apple announced the plan on April 20, and Cook stayed on as CEO through the summer, working closely with Ternus before the September 1 effective date.
The first test: iPhone 18 pricing
Ternus's first big decision lands almost immediately. Apple's component costs are climbing, with memory prices in particular swelling — a squeeze we detailed in our report on the looming iPhone 18 Pro price hike. Whether Apple absorbs those costs or passes them on will be an early signal of how the new CEO runs the business.
What it means for Filipino Apple buyers
Nothing changes overnight for customers in the Philippines — no local pricing, store, or service changes have been announced as part of the transition. But the context matters: Apple has recently been giving its Philippine store day-one prices for new hardware, as it did when the Mac mini M6 landed at ₱64,990. That means the first iPhone lineup priced under Ternus — and the first sign of whether rising memory costs reach Philippine price tags — should surface within days of the September 9 event.
