This analysis was first published in SvD Näringsliv, in Swedish, on April 21st, 2026. This piece was translated from Swedish by Claude. Some phrasing may differ from a human translation.
Tim Cook leaves behind a well-run Apple — but without the same lustre. Now his successor John Ternus faces decisive choices.
In a bright atrium at Apple Park, hardware chief John Ternus walks past. It is January 2024 and speculation about the Apple succession is already under way. As he passes, a voice says “there goes Apple’s next CEO, probably.”
Just over two years later, the person was proved right. Tim Cook steps aside and John Ternus takes over as CEO of one of the world’s most important tech companies. And much suggests that more major changes are on the way.
That an internal candidate would take over Apple was expected. Ternus has worked there since 2001 and celebrates his 25th anniversary this summer. The name is probably unknown to most people outside Apple’s walls — and that is the only thing that matters. Given the very particular corporate culture that prevails inside the tech giant, Ternus is a safe pair of hands.
Behind the scenes, there have been further major changes in the leadership tier. Apple’s long-serving CFO Luca Maestri stepped down a little over a year ago. Policy chief Lisa Jackson has left and chief lawyer Kate Adams is on her way out. The internally prominent COO Jeff Williams, Cook’s former closest partner, recently retired.
A new leadership is taking shape at Apple. Eyes are now turning to two grey-haired men who have been there a long time — perhaps too long. The neat Craig Federighi, sometimes jokingly called “Hair Force One,” heads software and has been there for 20 years. Services chief Eddy Cue joined as far back as 1989 and has therefore worked at Apple for 37 years.
Apple likes continuity — but a new CEO will reasonably want to build his own team. If change is to be effected at some point, these two gentlemen will be unavoidable to ignore.
Filling Steve Jobs’ shoes was no easy task for Tim Cook. But looking at the share price during his time as CEO, there is nothing to complain about. Apple is a very well-run and thriving company. The challenge for Ternus will be to maintain that, while trying to recapture some of the lustre and innovation that Jobs once stood for.
The iPhone turns 20 next year — and Apple has not seen anything of that calibre since. There have been attempts: cars (never released), face computers (nobody wanted them), and AI services (not released in time, and nobody wanted those either). Computers and headphones have sold like never before, but there are several competitors that are comparable.
Ternus comes from the hardware side, so a reasonable assumption is that the most exciting things may show up there rather than in new services. Apple’s investment in chips has, for example, positioned them as a potential AI winner in a scenario where models become easier to run on every phone. There has been talk of foldable phones for a while — something that may arrive this year. There is an investment in smart glasses — not yet released — where Apple is likely to have a quite different product from what Meta has done with Ray-Ban, for instance.
Having a more technically refined product is, however, no guarantee of success. Apple Vision Pro is substantially more advanced than Meta Quest — but the latter is considerably more popular.
Tim Cook’s greatest achievement at Apple was establishing the company in China. It is now both an important manufacturing partner and a large consumer market. At the time, China was complex, but nowhere near as geopolitically sensitive as today. Tensions with the US are at their highest for a long time, and the political winds are blowing clearly in the direction of large American domestic investments.
Ternus now inherits this tricky balancing act. Cook remains on the board and can help with the relationships, but major questions for the company remain. Does an Apple without China exist? And if not, how does one navigate the increasingly sensitive political environment?
The above is probably not Ternus’s favourite question. He is an engineer who likes to build things. To feel the materials and ensure they suit their purpose.
Now he is taking over the world’s third most valuable company — and the industry’s overwhelmingly most influential player. Staying in that position requires more than solving engineering problems.
Ternus is neither a Jobs nor a Cook. That suggests a new era for Apple is beginning now.
