John Ternus

All about John Ternus

John Ternus became the Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering in January 2021, taking over for Dan Riccio. His rise to Apple CEO was obvious as he stepped into the spotlight through 2025.

After nearly 15 years, Tim Cook will step down and become Apple's Executive Chairman. John Ternus takes over as CEO on September 1.

It's a really important transition for Apple, as it will be the first proper CEO turnover in the history of the company. Tim Cook has worked wonders for Apple since Steve Jobs' death, but many are hoping for a change of pace from a person with firsthand engineering experience.

Compare Ternus' history to Cook's and you couldn't get more different individuals. Cook has been called a bean counter thanks to his background in supply chain efficiency, even though that background is what made Apple the prosperous company that it is today.

John Ternus' history

John Ternus was born in California and went to college at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. His first job out of college was at Virtual Research Systems, an early VR company.

Ternus reveals the thinner iPad Pro models in this library

He moved to Apple in 2001 and joined the Design Team. His first big project at Apple was helping develop the Apple Cinema Display.

Ternus moved up to a managerial position in about three years and led the hardware engineering team working on G5-series iMacs. He made it to VP of Hardware Engineering in 2013.

He managed the Mac and iPad team while reporting to Dan Riccio. He reportedly also influenced the move to using higher-end components in pro iPhones and helped develop the AirPods.

An iPad Air reveal that took place on a fake train set

In January 2021, Apple announced that Dan Riccio was stepping down and being replaced by John Ternus. He has served in the role since and has appeared publicly much more frequently as a result.

Since taking over, the robotics division joined Ternus' hardware division after being pulled from John Giannandrea. It is expected to result in some kind of robotic arm that operates to keep a portable display in view for Apple Home users.

Future Apple CEO

John Ternus will be Apple's new CEO on September 1, 2026. While all signs pointed to him being Cook's successor, the official announcement wasn't made until April 20.

John Ternus has become another repeat presenter during Apple events

Apple is a giant company that is run by a multitude of people and ideas. No single person can change Apple without some serious effort, and even in the CEO role, it would be tough to change Apple by much.

That said, there isn't any sign that Ternus would want to change Apple from what it is in the first place. One of the reasons people make it to executive positions at Apple is their alignment with the general mission.

Cook helped build the efficient supply chain that made Apple what it is today. John Ternus will most likely be a CEO that helps strengthen Apple's hardware offerings while still relying on the foundation Tim Cook and Steve Jobs built.