Apple CEO Tim Cook will step down in September, handing leadership to John Ternus, a company veteran who joined Apple's product design team in 2001 and later became senior vice president of hardware engineering. Cook, 65, will transition to executive chairman of the board, a new role, while current board chair Arthur Levinson moves to lead independent director. Cook became CEO in 2011 after Steve Jobs stepped down due to health issues, and under his leadership Apple's market value rose to approximately $4 trillion. He was instrumental in establishing China as the primary manufacturing hub for Apple devices, with most iPhones assembled by Foxconn and other contractors there. Ternus, who worked under Steve Jobs and was mentored by Cook, helped develop the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac computers. Apple marks its 50th anniversary this year amid pressure to innovate in artificial intelligence, a domain where rivals like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are advancing faster. A promised Siri upgrade was delayed, and Apple has since partnered with Google for AI capabilities. Cook oversaw expansions into wearables like the Apple Watch and AirPods but also led a scrapped $10 billion self-driving car project in 2024. The 2012 launch of Apple Maps was heavily criticized for inaccuracies, prompting a public apology from Cook. Apple Vision Pro, priced at $3,500, has seen minimal market adoption despite its technical sophistication.
Tim Cook built Apple into a $4 trillion company while relying on Google for AI — the same Google he helped position as a rival. His legacy rests on scaling products, not creating breakthroughs like the iPhone or Mac. Ternus now inherits a company playing catch-up in a race it once defined. For Nigerian users who rely on Siri and Apple devices, delays and dependence on external tech could mean slower, less tailored innovations.
💡 NaijaBuzz is an AI-assisted news aggregator. This content is curated from third-party sources — NaijaBuzz is not the original publisher and is not responsible for the accuracy of source reporting. The NaijaBuzz Take is AI-assisted editorial opinion only, not established fact. All persons mentioned are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. NaijaBuzz does not endorse the views expressed in source articles.
