Apple is returning its top job to a product-focused executive: John Ternus, the company's senior vice-president of hardware engineering, will become chief executive after 25 years at Apple. Ternus, 50, joined the company in 2001 and rises from leading hardware engineering to head the company through its next phase.

A product-focused hand at the helm

Apple said it will install John Ternus as its next chief executive, shifting the company's top job back to an executive whose career is built on product development. Ternus, 50, has spent 25 years at Apple since joining the company in 2001 and rises from his role as senior vice-president of hardware engineering to lead the company through its next phase.

He steps into a seat shaped by two very different eras at Apple. The company grew into a global hardware and services giant under Tim Cook, who emphasised operations and supply-chain mastery. Ternus's background is the design and engineering of devices — the visible side of Apple that customers touch and hold.

How he got here

Ternus began at Apple as a mechanical engineer and moved into product design early in his career. He became a manager a few years after joining and is known for a hands-on leadership style. He was promoted to vice-president of hardware engineering in 2013 and to senior vice-president in 2021, replacing Dan Riccio on the executive team. In that span, Ternus has been the public face on stage for many of Apple's major product launches and has overseen fundamental hardware transitions.

Products tied to his tenure

  • First Macs running Apple Silicon (2020)
  • 15-inch MacBook Air (2023)
  • iPhone Air launch (September 2025)
  • Original AirPods (2016)

His hardware teams have been credited with materials and manufacturing innovations and with changes intended to reduce environmental impact and improve repairability and product lifespans.

Not every step has worked

Ternus's record also includes notable setbacks. A March profile described him as a driving force behind the MacBook Pro Touch Bar and the butterfly keyboard — two design choices that proved unpopular and were eventually abandoned. Those missteps are part of the trade-off when a company prioritises daring or radical design; Apple has shown it will reverse course when features don't meet users' needs.

What this shift means for Apple

Placing a product engineer at the company's top job signals a renewed emphasis on the devices that anchor Apple's business. Hardware still drives large parts of the company's revenue and remains central to ecosystem lock-in for services like iCloud, the App Store and subscriptions. Expect renewed prioritization of device design and hardware innovation under his leadership.

This matters because Apple's devices are the primary way users access its services and subscriptions, and hardware remains central to the company's revenue and ecosystem.

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Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and has spent 25 years at the company.

This article was created with AI assistance.