Apple on Monday (Apr 20) named insider John Ternus as its next chief executive officer, tasking the longtime hardware chief with steering the company after Tim Cook, as the iPhone maker prepares for industrywide shifts driven by artificial intelligence (AI).
The leadership change marks the end of an era at one of the world’s most iconic companies, just as rivals bet on products that use AI to loosen Apple’s grip on the consumer electronics market.
Here are some key facts about Ternus:
EARLY CAREER
Before Apple, Ternus worked as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems for four years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.
LONGTIME VETERAN
Ternus, who has been with Apple for 25 years, joined the company’s product design team in 2001 and became a vice-president of hardware engineering in 2013.
He joined the firm’s executive team in 2021, when he took on his current role of senior vice-president of hardware engineering, reporting to Cook.
Analysts say Ternus is widely respected at Apple and enjoys a strong backing across ranks. Ben Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies, said: “Everyone loves him at Apple. All the execs I know speak very highly of him.”
HARDWARE ENGINEERING BETS
Ternus has overseen some of Apple’s most consequential hardware bets in recent years, including the teams behind the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods.
He more recently introduced the ultra-thin iPhone Air and the MacBook Neo, a laptop that retails from US$599 (about S$760), a price made possible by using the same chip as the iPhone 16 Pro.
One of Ternus‘ biggest tests came when he steered the Mac laptop line onto processors Apple designed itself, ending more than a decade of reliance on Intel and marking a big bet by the company often accused of playing it too safe.
The move has boosted Mac performance and battery life, sparking a resurgence in sales in recent years.
VIEWS ON AI
While software rivals at Google and Microsoft are spending hundreds of billions to push AI into every corner of their businesses, Ternus appears to treat AI with a deliberate, almost stubborn pragmatism.
“We never think about shipping a technology,” he said in a recent interview about AI with tech review site Tom’s Guide.
“We always think about how we can leverage technology to ship amazing products.”
Francisco Jeronimo, vice-president of client devices at research firm IDC, said: “The question is whether he has the appetite for the kind of bold, occasionally uncomfortable decisions that defining a new platform requires.
“Building great hardware is a well-defined problem. Building an AI platform that developers and enterprises genuinely adopt is a different challenge entirely.”
PERFECTIONIST STREAK
While returning to the University of Pennsylvania as the engineering school’s undergraduate commencement speaker in 2024, he told them of his own perfectionism.
He recounted how late one night early in his career, he found himself arguing with a supplier over the grooves on a screw that goes on the back of a monitor.
The screw would rarely be seen by customers, but Ternus had noticed it had 35 grooves instead of the 25 Apple specified.
“If you’re going to spend that much time on something, you should put in your very best effort.”
APPLE HANDS REINS TO TERNUS
Ternus will take over as Apple’s CEO on Sep 1, succeeding Cook, who has led Apple since 2011 and will become the company’s executive chairman.
Ternus, 50, is the same age as Cook when he took over as CEO from co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011.
He will also join Apple’s board effective Sep 1.