Apple has officially entered a new era.
On September 1, 2026, John Ternus became Apple’s new CEO, replacing Tim Cook after almost 15 years at the top. Cook is not leaving the company completely. He is moving into the role of executive chairman, giving Apple some continuity while Ternus takes control of its day-to-day leadership.
That makes this more than a change of name on Apple’s leadership page.
Ternus is a longtime hardware executive who has spent more than two decades at Apple. He has been closely involved with products including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods.
So what does the new Apple CEO 2026 actually mean for the products you use?
The short answer: probably not much immediately. But over the next few years, you could notice a difference.
Who Is John Ternus?
Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and eventually became senior vice president of Hardware Engineering.
His background is important because he isn’t primarily a finance or operations executive. He is an engineer and product leader.
During his time at Apple, he has worked on major hardware lines and played a role in the company’s transition to Apple silicon in the Mac. He has also overseen hardware development across several of Apple’s most important product categories.
That gives him a very different profile from Cook.
Cook’s Apple became known for operational efficiency, supply-chain management, services growth and turning existing products into enormous businesses. Under his leadership, Apple’s annual sales reached $416 billion in 2025, while the company’s value grew to more than $4.5 trillion.
Ternus inherits that enormous machine.
His challenge is figuring out what comes next.
Don’t Expect Your iPhone to Suddenly Change
If you’re wondering whether the new CEO means your current iPhone will suddenly work differently, don’t worry.
A CEO change doesn’t rewrite iOS overnight.
Apple’s product roadmaps are planned years in advance, and teams responsible for hardware, software, services and operations will continue working on projects that were already underway.
That means your:
- iPhone
- iPad
- Mac
- Apple Watch
- AirPods
will continue receiving software updates and support according to Apple’s existing plans.
The bigger changes will likely appear in future generations of products, rather than today’s devices.
The iPhone Could Become More Important to Apple’s AI Strategy
This is probably the biggest area to watch.
Apple has been under pressure to catch up with competitors in artificial intelligence. Its Apple Intelligence rollout has moved more cautiously than some rival AI efforts, while more advanced Siri capabilities have taken longer than originally expected.
Ternus takes over at a time when Apple needs to make AI useful without abandoning its emphasis on privacy and tightly integrated hardware and software.
That could eventually change what your iPhone does.
Instead of simply adding another chatbot, Apple appears to be pursuing AI that is built into the operating system and connected to the apps and devices you already use.
The important question isn’t whether your next iPhone will have more AI.
It almost certainly will.
The question is what Apple will make that AI capable of doing for you.
Siri Is One of the Biggest Things to Watch
Siri has arguably become one of Apple’s biggest opportunities—and one of its biggest challenges.
Apple has been working on more capable Siri functionality that can understand personal context and perform actions across apps.
That could eventually mean asking Siri to do something more useful than setting a timer or checking the weather.
For example, an assistant could potentially understand your schedule, messages and other information available to it and perform multi-step tasks on your behalf.
Apple’s challenge is delivering that functionality while maintaining the privacy protections that have become a major part of its brand.
For users, a genuinely useful Siri may be one of the clearest signs of what changes under Ternus.
The Mac Could Get Even More Interesting
Ternus has deep experience with Apple’s Mac hardware.
Apple’s transition from Intel processors to its own Apple silicon has already transformed the Mac lineup, giving Apple much greater control over performance, power consumption and hardware-software integration.
That strategy is unlikely to disappear.
Instead, Ternus could push it further.
Future Macs could increasingly be designed around:
- On-device AI
- More powerful neural processing
- Better battery efficiency
- Tighter integration with iPhone
- New form factors
Apple has already been building AI capabilities into its chips. The next step is making those capabilities genuinely useful to everyday users.
What About the Apple Watch?
The Apple Watch is another product worth watching under Ternus.
Apple has increasingly positioned the Watch around health, fitness and safety rather than treating it simply as an iPhone accessory.
That direction could continue.
Future models may become more independent from the iPhone, while offering more sophisticated health and AI-related features.
However, don’t expect Apple to suddenly turn the Watch into a miniature smartphone.
Battery life, sensor accuracy and regulatory requirements remain important limitations.
AirPods Could Become Smarter Too
AirPods have already evolved beyond simple wireless headphones.
They now sit within Apple’s broader ecosystem, with features such as spatial audio, device switching and hearing-related capabilities on supported models.
Ternus’s hardware background makes products like AirPods particularly interesting.
Apple is reportedly exploring AI-powered wearables and other devices that could work closely with the iPhone. These possibilities are not guaranteed products, but they point toward a future where Apple’s hardware works together more closely around AI.
That could eventually make AirPods more like an interface to Apple’s AI rather than simply headphones.
Could Apple Finally Make a Foldable iPhone?
This is one of the most interesting possibilities.
Apple has reportedly been working on foldable devices for years while competitors have already released several generations of foldable phones.
Reports have suggested that a foldable iPhone could arrive around this transition period, although Apple’s plans and launch timing can change.
Ternus would be taking over at exactly the moment Apple is expected to make some significant hardware decisions.
If Apple does launch a foldable iPhone, it would be one of the clearest examples of a product direction that could define his early tenure.
But it is important to distinguish reported plans from confirmed products.
Until Apple announces a device, treat specific specifications, prices and launch dates as speculation.
Could We See More New Categories?
Possibly.
Apple is reportedly exploring areas including smart glasses, AI-focused wearables and smart-home devices. There have also been reports of robotics research.
None of these should be treated as guaranteed products.
But they reveal something important about the opportunity in front of Ternus: Apple is looking beyond the traditional iPhone-Mac-Watch ecosystem for its next major growth areas.
And because Ternus comes from Apple’s hardware organisation, there’s a reasonable argument that physical products could receive renewed attention.
What Won’t Change
Despite the leadership change, don’t expect Apple to suddenly abandon the strategy that made it successful.
Some things are likely to remain central:
The Apple Ecosystem
Apple’s biggest advantage isn’t just individual products.
It’s how those products work together.
Your iPhone connects to your Mac. Your AirPods switch between devices. Your Apple Watch works with your iPhone. iCloud keeps information synchronised.
That ecosystem is too important to Apple’s business to abandon.
Privacy
Apple has spent years positioning privacy as a major selling point.
Even as AI becomes more important, privacy is likely to remain part of the company’s differentiation.
Services
Cook significantly expanded Apple’s services business, which includes areas such as iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Pay and the App Store.
That revenue stream isn’t going away.
In fact, services have become too important to Apple’s overall business for the company to ignore them.
The Biggest Challenge Isn’t the iPhone
It’s AI.
Apple enters Ternus’s era with an unusually strong hardware business but faces intense competition in AI.
Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Meta and other companies are moving quickly.
Apple needs to show that it can turn AI into something consumers actually use and not simply something it talks about during product launches.
Reuters reports that Ternus inherits challenges including Apple’s AI position and its dependence on Chinese manufacturing. Apple has already been expanding production in countries including India and Vietnam as it tries to reduce supply-chain risk.
Those issues could influence products just as much as the CEO’s personal preferences.
What This Means If You’re Buying an Apple Product Now
Don’t delay a purchase simply because Apple has a new CEO.
If you need an iPhone, Mac, iPad or Apple Watch today, buy based on your actual needs.
A leadership change doesn’t make existing Apple products obsolete.
However, if you’re considering buying an expensive device and don’t urgently need it, it can make sense to watch Apple’s upcoming product announcements particularly during major launch periods.
The new leadership makes the next generation of Apple products especially interesting.
