When Tim Cook officially relinquishes his Apple CEO role in September, he’ll leave his successor John Ternus with a $4 trillion dollar house that’s largely in order, but perhaps missing a few key features and upgrades.
Ternus, who has been with Apple for 25 years, most of them in a hardware leadership role, will first have to address a software problem: AI. Apple, which is used to being a tech and innovation leader, is inarguably behind when it comes to artificial intelligence, and whatever Apple does or doesn’t do in the space will likely be laid at the feet of Ternus, even as he’s trying to get those feet under the CEO’s desk.
There isn’t enough Apple in AI
To be fair, Ternus didn’t create this issue, and, as with much of what Apple will do over the next 12 to 18 months, what it does next in the AI field has been preordained. Apple’s Siri solution is based on a pre-arranged agreement with Google to use its Gemini foundational models to produce the vastly improved and more conversational version of its assistant (as well as other parts of Apple Intelligence, I bet).
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We’ll learn more about that at WWDC 2026, which just became far more interesting event than it already was, because it occurs in the liminal space between the Cook and Ternus eras. Cook will surely still be visible and may launch the keynote, but I expect Ternus to pop up in far more videos, especially any that point to a big and bold future.
There are, as I see it, three big initiatives looming in front of Ternus. One is the aforementioned Siri upgrade, a project which Ternus might be least comfortable with, considering his hardware background (I’ve only ever spoken to Ternus about hardware).
The challenges of AR and folding
The second will be iPhone Fold. Most rumors point to this being the year we see it, and to September’s iPhone 18 launch being the occasion of its unveiling. Obviously, this is in Ternus’ wheelhouse. When it was time, last September, for an on-Apple campus podcast about the new iPhone Air, it was Ternus who sat a seat away from me (and Apple Global Marketing lead Greg Joswiak, who playfully threw his Air at me).
Ternus lacks Cook’s charming Alabama accent, Steve Job’s mercurial nature, and the quotability you might want in the leader of one of the world’s biggest companies; but he’s smart, and he knows his stuff. He is interesting.
What I expect to see when Ternus finally unveils the iPhone Fold is a gearhead’s passion. I think he’ll love that moment when he shows the world how Apple did folding better than anyone who’s done it before (if that’s the case).
Ternus’ third big project will be wearables. Not the Apple Watch or even an Apple Ring, but smart glasses — unless Ternus moves away from that arena.
The still-struggling Apple Vision Pro (loved for technology, less so for its price tag, and largely ignored by consumers) was really Cook’s baby, and AR remains, I think, a passion of his.
What if Ternus isn’t as excited about ‘Apple Glasses’ — wearable, lightweight frames that combine AI, info feeds from your phone, and visuals that meld real with virtual? Could Tenrus kill the product before it sees the light of day?
Highly unlikely. Ternus has worked under Cook for more than 15 years (and under Steve Jobs for a decade before that). He’s surely infected with the passions of both men, and I bet he’ll be honored to carry Cook’s AR football into the end zone.
Apple Glasses could become Ternus’ own signature product, since it’ll be a platform on which he and the company can build.
Who is Ternus, really?
There are larger questions, though, about Ternus. I don’t think he’s a supply-chain genius as Cook was, and that’s a skill he’ll need, especially in the face of uncertain geopolitical times, and unceasing pressure from the White House to move even more manufacturing to the US.
Ternus, as far as I know, has never been to the Trump White House, and does not have the same relationship that Cook appears to enjoy with the President. It’s unclear if Ternus shares Cook’s innate diplomacy, and I suspect this will be one of his greatest challenges as he assumes command in September.
No matter what happens, the company is Ternus’ from September, with Cook remaining close by as Executive Chairman, and no doubt whispering in his ear until he’s on solid ground, and truly ready to start building his own Apple legacy.
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
