Apple's Ternus to Succeed as CEO on September 1, AI Listed as Top Priority

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 1, John Ternus will officially succeed as Chief Executive Officer of Apple, with Tim Cook transitioning to Executive Chairman of the Board. This leadership transition was unanimously approved by Apple's Board of Directors, and Ternus will also join the Board. Cook will continue to be involved in certain company matters in his new role, including engagement with global policymakers.

Ternus previously served as Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, with over 25 years at the company. He has been long involved in the development of hardware products such as Mac, iPad, AirPods, and iPhone, and has been responsible for product reliability, durability, materials, and hardware design. Apple has previously confirmed that he led the development of multiple product reliability and repairability technologies and drove the adoption of materials and processes such as recycled aluminum and 3D-printed titanium across various product lines.

As Ternus assumes the role of CEO, artificial intelligence will be among his first key priorities. Apple already released the next-generation Siri AI in June this year, featuring a new Apple Intelligence architecture that can access personal context, on-screen content, and web information, while supporting cross-app actions, visual understanding, and a standalone Siri app. The related features have entered developer testing, and Apple plans to roll out the next generation of Apple Intelligence features this fall with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27. Siri AI is planned to first become available as a beta to supported devices in English later this year, with expansion to more languages and regions to follow.

Ternus has also been involved in the development of Apple's next-phase AI hardware products. Current development projects include smart display devices capable of recognizing user identity and delivering personalized content, as well as AirPods equipped with cameras that can perceive the external environment. These products are still in the development stage, and not all of them will be released this fall.

Apple has confirmed that its fall product launch event will be held on September 9 at Apple Park. This will be the first major product event following Ternus's official assumption of the CEO role. The first foldable iPhone is among the anticipated new products in this fall's product cycle, but as of now, Apple has not confirmed its specific product name or specifications in the official event announcement.