Apple is preparing for Tim Cook’s potential departure as CEO in 2026

The prominent name for the CEO position is John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering.

According to information reported by the Financial Times, Apple’s management has accelerated its preparations for the possibility of Tim Cook stepping down from his role as CEO in early 2026. It is stated that internal planning could be activated after the financial results to be announced at the end of January, thus aiming for the new management to adapt to the process before critical events like WWDC in June.

Cook, 65, who took over from Steve Jobs in 2011, grew Apple from a $350 billion company to a $4 trillion level. However, the slow progress in its artificial intelligence strategy in recent years, the criticized launch of the Vision Pro, and the perception that its products are no longer innovative have made Apple’s leadership transition a more current topic of debate.

According to FT and other sources, the prominent candidate for the CEO position is John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, information which has been circulating for a while. Having worked at Apple for nearly 24 years, Ternus has played a critical role in many core product lines, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, M1 chip, and AirPods.

His increased visibility at Apple events in recent years and his leadership in major launches like the iPhone Air have established him as a serious candidate for the post-Cook era.

Craig Federighi, Greg Joswiak, and Jeff Williams have long been among the potential CEO candidates. However, Williams’s departure from his role, Federighi’s more software-centric background, and Joswiak’s marketing-focused role have redirected attention back to Ternus for the technical depth and long-term product strategy the company needs.

Tim Cook’s departure would mean only the third CEO change in Apple’s history and could open a new chapter amid debates about the company’s pace of innovation. A leader with a hardware engineering background taking the helm also strengthens the possibility of Apple evolving in a more aggressive direction in areas like artificial intelligence and next-generation device architectures.