John Ternus takes over Apple as AI challenge looms

John Ternus took over as Apple's chief executive on Tuesday, ending Tim Cook's 15-year run and putting a longtime hardware engineer in charge as the company faces pressure to catch rivals in artificial intelligence.

Ternus, 51, joined Apple's design team in 2001 and rose to senior vice president of hardware engineering, reporting to Cook. He has led engineering teams behind Apple's product lineup, including the iPhone, which generates most of the company's revenue.

He gets barely a week before Apple's annual iPhone event on September 9. AFP reported that Apple is expected to unveil its first foldable handset at the event, making it an early public test for the new chief executive.

A securities filing on Tuesday said Ternus's base salary will be $3 million, the same amount Cook received as CEO. Stock options could raise Ternus's total compensation to $58 million in his first year.

Cook's salary will decrease to $2 million, while his total compensation over the next year could be worth $47 million, according to the filing. Cook's total compensation for 2025 exceeded $74 million.

Dan Ives, partner and senior managing director at Yorkville Ives & Co, said Cook left Apple in “phenomenal order” but that Ternus now has to define the company's “AI chapter”. Ives said he expects Ternus to focus on hardware innovation while keeping Cook's supply chain largely intact.

Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi said choosing a hardware leader does not mean Apple is misreading how consumers adopt AI, because consumers still buy hardware first. She also said Ternus's bigger test will be how he changes as a chief executive.

Cook wrote in a final memo to employees on Monday that “few people understand what it takes to build products that change the world the way John does”.

Ternus also inherits Apple's dependence on a manufacturing network still anchored in China, even as some iPhone assembly has shifted to India and other production to Vietnam. President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded that Apple build iPhones in the United States and has threatened tariffs on those made overseas.

Cook becomes executive chairman of Apple's board, with a role Apple has said includes engaging policymakers around the world. Milanesi said that arrangement could free Ternus from a political role Cook handled for years.