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Apple has a new chief executive. And that man – John Ternus , the company’s longtime hardware boss – will be having a busy first day. He is the man now in charge of Apple, and responsible for all of its challenges.
First up, that will include the launch of perhaps its most revolutionary iPhone design change ever, next week ; after that comes a host of no less pressing challenges, from Apple’s mixed history with artificial intelligence to its controversial political relationships. As the calendar changed to 1 September, veteran Apple executive Tim Cook stood down as its CEO and become its executive chairman. It brought an end to a 15-year reign at the top of perhaps the world’s most important company, after he was handed the job by Steve Jobs shortly before he died, and after 13 years of working together before that.
In his place now stands John Ternus. He joined Apple in 2001 – very shortly after graduating – moving up the company to most recently lead its hardware efforts, overseeing the design and introduction of new iPhones, Macs and all of Apple’s other products. That history in product design has been stressed both by commentators and by Apple itself, which is keen to present the move as coming with a new focus on the actual hardware that Apple makes and sells.
In Mr Cook’s final memo to staff, published on his final day, he said that “few people understand what it takes to build products that change the world the way John does and I could not be more excited for his leadership”. That is also just about the only thing that most of the world knows about John Ternus, if they know anything at all. Beyond some details of his biography – he had a brief stint as a mechanical engineer at display company Virtual Research Systems before he joined Apple, and before that studied mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania – he still remains largely mysterious.
That does not mean he has been hidden, or that he is shy about the limelight. Mr Ternus has had an increasing role in Apple’s introductory keynotes and events – introducing high-profile products including new iPhones, arguably the most important part of the company’s most important event. In those videos, he has offered a glimpse of his personality.
He appears genial, detail-focused and straightforward – all of which can be seen in his personal interactions, as well as his public persona. But very little is known about his personal life, his hobbies, or his views. And there is a similar mystery about what he thinks of other parts of Apple’s business, especially its more controversial policy positions, from the company’s crucial but contentious relationships with the political leadership of China and the US, for instance, to less high-profile but still vital parts of the business such as its relationships with developers.
John Ternus, Apple's V.P. of Hardware Engineering, discusses the latest development for the iPad Pro during an event to announce new products Oct. 30, 2018, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File) (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) On his entry on Apple’s official leadership page, which was updated around midnight local pacific time on Tuesday morning, Mr Ternus’s write-up remains largely unchanged from before he took over. But it includes a new paragraph that highlights his work the durability and sustainability of Apple’s products.
“John has led much of the company’s focus in areas like reliability and durability, introducing new techniques that have made Apple products remarkably resilient,” the new paragraph reads. “He has also driven much of Apple’s innovation in materials and hardware design that have reduced the carbon footprint of its products, including the creation of a new recycled aluminium compound that has been introduced across multiple product lines, the use of 3D-printed titanium in Apple Watch Ultra, and advancements in reparability that have increased the life spans of several Apple products.” Notably, apart from a new first paragraph that introduces Mr Ternus as “the CEO of Apple and serves on its board of directors”, his biography still focuses entirely on his work on Apple’s products. It makes no mention of his experience in or beliefs about any of the company’s other concerns, such as its corporate policies, financial operations or even software.
That might be a reflection of where Mr Ternus’s experience lies, and the fact that he is only hours into the job. But it might also indicate the ways that Mr Cook’s influence will still continue to change Apple. Apple CEO Tim Cook holds up a new iPhone 17 Pro during an Apple special event at Apple headquarters on September 09, 2025 in Cupertino, California (Getty) In his final memo as chief executive, Mr Cook stressed that he is “not leaving Apple”.
“I look forward to seeing you in my new role at Apple Park and around the world,” he concluded. It’s unclear exactly what Mr Cook’s role as executive chairman will consist of. But early reporting suggests that his job might be to continue with some of those more controversial parts of the business: maintaining Apple’s relationships with politicians, for instance.
That could allow Mr Ternus to focus on the less complicated if no easier parts of Apple’s work, including its products. As well as giving him more time and resources to spend on the parts of Apple that actually make its money, that could help Mr Ternus avoid some of the reputational trouble that has come with Mr Cook’s relationship with Donald Trump, for instance. As such, Mr Ternus might never have to fully disclose how he feels about those parts of Apple’s operations.
But there are plenty of other ways that he will get to show the world what he wants to do with the company. The first opportunity will be the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra, which are due to happen at an event on 9 September. It will not only be Mr Ternus’s chance to lead the introduction of one of Apple’s most important products in years – the iPhone Ultra is the company’s first foldable device, and perhaps the most radical change to the phone’s design since it was launched – but also an opportunity to introduce himself properly to the world.
Of course, Mr Ternus would always have been central to that process. iPhones take years to design and build, and he led that process in collaboration with Mr Cook; he would always have been expected to play a central role in the introductory video that will show it off to the world. But the keynote presentation also means a chance for Mr Ternus to show the world what Apple looks like under his leadership. Whether that might mean big changes or small – and everything about the carefully planned transition has suggested that it will be relatively modest, at least at first – whatever he says will be understood as the first public intervention by someone who is now not only perhaps the most powerful person in the technology, but one of the most important people in the whole world. (David Phelan/The Independent) Much of Mr Ternus’s mystery – both personal and professional – is likely to remain.
Even as Mr Cook took a larger role on the world stage in recent years, as Apple was dragged into everything from trade wars to political protests, his personal life and views remained mostly unknown. What’s more, the iPhone event is Apple’s most stage managed and comfortable event, if also its most high stakes. Many of the most pressing and controversial things in Mr Ternus’s in-tray – from Apple’s political relationships to its plans for future expansion – would be inappropriate for such an event, if he chooses to address them at all.
But there are other troubles looming, including some that are much closer to Mr Ternus’s areas of expertise and which Mr Cook might not be able to take off its plate. Even before the iPhone event is over, more questions are likely to arrive. Apple was late to embrace AI with the same energy, investment and marketing as some of its rivals, for instance, and when it decided to do so its first attempts were criticised for failing to arrive or work as advertised.
Now, it has committed to fix that with the introduction of Siri AI – a wholly redesigned version of the virtual assistant, which finally claims to do everything that Apple has been promising – which will arrive with iOS 27, alongside the new iPhone. And the new focus on AI has brought other challenges, in the form of the ongoing chip crisis, or “RAMageddon”. Many well-funded AI companies are desperate for chips to power their data centres – pushing up memory prices, which has already led to price increases for some of Apple’s products and warnings from the company that it might struggle to make enough iPhones in the future .
All of those troubles and questions are wrapped up in the iPhone. Mr Ternus will take to the stage next week that will allow him to show what Apple looks like under his leadership – but which could also test that leadership, in a variety of unknown ways that might finally make him a little less of a mystery.
Source: The Independent
