Apple is set to mark its fiftieth anniversary in April 2026, and the iPhone maker's CEO promised employees that a celebration would take place.
On Thursday, during a meeting where he promised to lobby lawmakers on immigration policy, Tim Cook took the opportunity to reflect on the nearly five decades of Apple. The company has come a long way, and its CEO revealed there have been discussions about what to do to mark the occasion.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," said Cook. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart sing. It really does. I promise some celebration."
On the surface, it's easy to say that Tim Cook's statements are atypical for Apple, as they go against ideas put forth by Steve Jobs.
In fact, Jobs made it a point never to look back. "Let's go invent tomorrow rather than worrying about what happened yesterday," said Jobs in a May 2007 interview. In an even earlier interview, from 1994, Jobs expressed a similar idea when speaking about his contributions.
"This is not a field where one paints a painting that will be looked at for centuries, or where one builds a church that will be looked at, admired, and looked at in astonishment for centuries."
Jobs preferred to view his contributions as a layer of sediment in a growing mountain, representing a collective building toward a higher goal, rather than a single product or innovation.
Today, Apple appreciates the growth of the mountain, rather than focusing on its individual layers. In other words, the company marks milestones that celebrate the development of Apple and its products as a whole, as it did with its 30th and 40th anniversaries.
In 2016, the celebration included a video that sped through an impressive 40 years of innovation and Apple products in just 40 seconds.
"That video lists some of the amazing products and epic moments in our history, and reminds us just how many times Apple has changed the world, " said Cook at the time.
As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, the iPhone maker revealed it had reached a billion active devices in total. Over the decade that followed, that number has increased to 2.5 billion active devices, as revealed by Apple in January 2026.
We'll likely see another equally impressive video commemorating the iPhone maker's 50th anniversary. Still, that's months away, and it's hardly the only thing in store for Apple going forward.
Tim Cook looks to Apple's future
While a 50th anniversary celebration is part of the plan for Apple in 2026, Tim Cook is already looking ahead. He explained that he often ponders the future of the company and how its leadership will change in the years to come.
John Ternus is a likely candidate for Apple's next CEO.
With the retirement of COO Jeff Williams, VP of Environment Lisa Jackson, and General Counsel Katie Adams, Apple is moving towards a new generation of decision-makers.
The future of Apple will, at some point, no longer involve Tim Cook in his current role. At age 65, he's obviously aware of the fact, as is evident by his comments on Thursday.
"I spend a lot of time thinking about who's in the room five years from now, 10 years from now," said Cook. "I am obsessed with this — who's in the room 15 years from now."
"This is an important part of leadership, is thinking about these things and having plans in place," he continued. "You know, when people get to a certain age, some are going to retire," Cook added, calling it "kind of a natural thing."
Apple already appears to be intensifying work on its succession plans, with current hardware chief John Ternus being a likely candidate for Apple's next CEO.
Ternus already oversees all hardware engineering efforts, and a January 2026 report claimed he had also become the "executive sponsor" for all design work within Apple.
It remains to be seen exactly when Apple's current CEO, Tim Cook, will retire, and what the change will ultimately bring. The company's 50th anniversary celebration is much closer, meanwhile, and we can expect an exciting retrospective in April 2026.
