Apple said on April 20 that Tim Cook would step down as CEO and hand over the role to John Ternus, the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, on September 1, 2026. Ternus, who currently oversees the development of the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and the Vision Pro headset, will take charge at a pivotal moment, as Apple navigates intensifying competition in AI and rethinks the balance between hardware and software in its products.