AIBRIEF
Cook moves to executive chairman as the new CEO faces Apple's Sept. 9 launch event, likely featuring the iPhone 18 Pro and a long rumored foldable, in his first week.
Tim Cook's 15-year run as Apple CEO ends this week. Hardware chief John Ternus takes the seat on Sept. 1, with Cook moving to executive chairman, a non-CEO chair role on Apple's board, per the company's April announcement and an SEC 8-K filing. The handover, reported this week by PCMag, is Apple's first CEO transition since Cook succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011.
The iPhone 17 was the world's best-selling smartphone in Q2 2026 at 6% of global sales, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Pro ranking second and third, per Counterpoint Research. An ongoing memory supply shortage has already pushed prices up across Apple's product lines. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing via PCMag, reports that Ternus "knows a major design shake-up is needed" at Apple and that Cook had a "historically limited presence" on design, citing sources within the company. Gurman has also reported Cook will retain several key duties in the chairman role, including relations with the White House.
Ternus's first public test arrives eight days into the job: Apple's next launch event is set for Sept. 9, expected to feature the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, a long-rumored foldable iPhone, and a next-gen Apple Watch.