- Ternus is recognized for its cutting-edge product innovations.
- He faces the challenge of integrating AI into Apple products.
- Cook becomes executive chairman after overseeing historic growth.
Apple on Monday named John Ternus as its next CEO, tapping the longtime hardware chief to lead the company after Tim Cook as the iPhone maker prepares for an industry shift driven by artificial intelligence.
Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001 and has played a quiet but steady role behind the scenes improving its products over the years, has been key in boosting sales of products such as Apple’s Mac computers, which have gained market share over PCs.
At 50, Ternus is the same age Cook was when he took over as CEO from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. It most recently introduced the company’s iPhone Air last fall, the biggest iPhone redesign since 2017 and a key testing ground for several new chips.
Despite its low external profile, Ternus contributed to the birth of now ubiquitous products such as iPads and AirPods. He will be tasked with helping Apple navigate a technology landscape disrupted by AI, after losing its crown as the world’s most valuable company to Nvidia.
He also helped solidify distinctions between Apple’s product lines by introducing “Pro” models of Mac and iPhone that pushed their technological capabilities and prices to new heights, while introducing offerings such as the MacBook Neo and iPhone “e” models at some of the lowest prices Apple had ever seen.
Ternus will have to fend off Nvidia, which has announced its own personal computer and is working on chips capable of powering laptops, as well as rivals such as Meta Platforms, whose augmented reality glasses have become a surprise hit with only a fraction of the capabilities – and price – of Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
“Mr. Ternus’ promotion indicates that the company will focus on new devices such as foldable phones, glasses, VR devices and AI pins,” said Gil Luria, chief executive officer of DA Davidson & Co.
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing Ternus will be how to integrate AI into the iPhone – the most successful consumer product in history – and the rest of Apple’s lineup. Earlier this year, Apple struck a deal with its longtime smartphone rival, Alphabet’s Google, to use Google’s Gemini to improve its Siri virtual assistant.
Despite introducing a form of artificial intelligence to the public imagination in 2011 with Siri, Apple has yet to achieve success in hardware or software focused on new AI technologies, while emerging competitors such as OpenAI have attracted hundreds of millions of users.
“I expect its biggest challenge and efforts will be focused on getting a better AI story and an offering that relies more on Apple’s own capabilities and less on those of third parties,” said Bob O’Donnell, director at technology consultancy TECHAnalysis Research.
Cook oversaw historic growth
Cook will become executive chairman of the company, Apple announced in a statement. Apple shares have risen twenty-fold since Cook took over as CEO in August 2011.
Cook was recruited by Jobs to Compaq at a time when that company was in the midst of a PC boom in the 1990s, and Jobs was working to save Apple from the brink of insolvency.
While Cook first made his reputation at Apple growing its sprawling supply chain in China, over the years he became a celebrity CEO himself. He was the first Fortune 500 CEO to come out as gay in 2014 and take a public stand on issues such as workplace diversity and corporate sustainability.
Cook, who presented a personalized gold plaque to US President Donald Trump, will also continue to engage with policymakers, the company said.
By naming Ternus chief executive, Apple is moving from a supply chain guru who helped build Apple into a global brand producing hundreds of millions of units a year, to a leader who has long focused on design and product.
Ben Bajarin, CEO of technology consulting firm Creative Strategies, said Ternus is highly regarded within Apple and will bring new energy. »
Separately, Apple announced that Johny Srouji, who oversaw Apple’s custom chip and sensor design, had been named chief hardware officer. Srouji will continue to oversee this group, as well as the hardware engineering group that Ternus once led, which will now be overseen by Tom Merieb.
