With Tim Cook's departure, Apple is betting again on a technical profile. John Ternus, vice president of hardware engineering, will take the reins. With 25 years at the company, he has been the public face of launches like the iPhone Air and the first Macs with Apple Silicon. His rise marks a turn towards pure product.
The return of the engineer to the helm in Cupertino 🔧
Ternus started in 2001 in product design and climbed to manager. His management of the transition to Apple Silicon was key: Macs moved from Intel to proprietary chips without major hiccups. He also led the development of the iPhone Air in 2025, a team that prioritizes weight over battery. His focus is technical, not logistical. The question is whether he can maintain the supply chain that Cook left running smoothly.
Tim Cook leaves, but leaves the calculator well stored 💰
Cook leaves with the reputation of having turned Apple into a money-making machine. Ternus, on the other hand, comes from soldering chips and testing prototypes. The irony is that he will now have to deal with what Cook avoided: explaining why the next iPhone costs 200 euros more. That said, at least he'll know how to open it without breaking it.