Author: Yunpeng, Smart Things
Editor | Xinyuan
Cook bids farewell, but it is not "goodbye."
Smart Things reported on September 1 that early this morning, Apple CEO Tim Cook officially wrote a farewell message and released a letter to all staff on his last day as CEO of Apple. 
Apple is set to complete another core power handover in its development history: Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus officially takes over from Cook, becoming the third CEO in Apple's history.
▲ John Ternus
The farewell tweet was very brief, but the letter to all staff was over a thousand words long, filled with emotion. Cook stated that what made him most proud were the things that could never be recorded in financial reports, which is the corporate culture that uses technology to make the world a better place.
Cook once again mentioned Steve Jobs, who described: "Leaving our mark in the universe."
Cook feels very gratified to hand the baton to Ternus, stating that Ternus knows how to create products that change the world. In the comments section, in addition to gratitude for Cook, many are reminiscing about his "Good Morning," but it’s okay, Cook is not saying "Goodbye."
After ending his 15-year career as CEO, Cook will serve as the Executive Chairman of Apple's Board of Directors. Bloomberg reported that after passing on the CEO position, Cook will still maintain a close relationship with Apple and continue to have good relations with the Trump administration and China, assisting in handling global policy matters.
At the 2026 Berkshire Annual Shareholders Meeting, Warren Buffett praised Cook for inheriting Jobs' legacy.
During Cook's era, Apple’s annual revenue quadrupled, and its market value soared 15 times. Although Cook has never created "the next" iPhone, he launched successful products including AirPods and Apple Watch, as well as Apple Pay and Apple Music, raising service business revenue to surpass the entire profit of Apple when he first took over.
On August 23, Apple held a farewell event for Cook at Apple Park, attended by over 200 people. The widow of Jobs, former COO Jeff Williams, and successor Ternus all delivered speeches. Cook's favorite rock band OneRepublic also performed to celebrate.
After Ternus was promoted to CEO, the hardware engineering department he previously supervised was taken over by assistant Tom Marieb, who will report to the new Chief Hardware Officer Johny Srouji, achieving the unification of chip technology and hardware engineering.
Cook once said at an employee meeting, "No one in the world makes me trust more than John to lead Apple into the future."
Currently, the position information for Cook and Ternus on Apple's official website has not changed; the formal update is expected to wait until September 1 in U.S. time.
▲ Executive information on Apple's official website
Chinese translated version of Cook's letter to all staff:
01. Creating new categories for watches and headphones, building a service "empire," Cook led Apple to new heights
Although we are very familiar with Cook, looking back at his youth and 28 years at Apple is still moving.
On November 1, 1960, Cook was born in Mobile, Alabama, USA, and grew up in nearby Robertsdale. Cook's father was a shipyard worker, and his mother worked at a pharmacy.
In 1982, Cook graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering; in 1988, he earned an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and was honored as a "Fuqua Scholar" for ranking in the top 10% of his class.
▲ Young Cook
Cook is a loyal fan of his alma mater, Auburn University's "Tigers" football team, often attending games in person.
Before joining Apple in 1998, Cook had already accumulated rich practical experience in supply chain management in the technology sector:
IBM: Cook worked at IBM for 12 years, eventually becoming the North American fulfillment executive responsible for the manufacturing and distribution operations of IBM’s personal computer business throughout North America.
Intelligent Electronics: Served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of electronic distributor Intelligent Electronics.
Compaq: In 1998, Cook joined Compaq, then the world's largest personal computer supplier, as Senior Vice President responsible for corporate materials. However, just about six months after joining, he accepted Jobs' invitation to join Apple.
Cook joined Apple in March 1998 as Senior Vice President of Global Operations, was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2005, and took over as CEO on August 24, 2011, after Jobs.
In the early days at Apple, Cook closed several of Apple's own factories, completely outsourcing production to professional contract manufacturers, and compressed inventory management days from several months to just days or even hours.
In 2018, Cook mentioned in an exclusive interview with Axios that he wakes up before 4 AM every day and likes to spend the first hour processing user feedback emails and external messages. After handling emails for an hour, Cook also goes to the gym at 5 AM to work out for an hour.
During Cook's 15 years at the helm, Apple's annual revenue skyrocketed from roughly $108 billion to nearly $416 billion, and the company's market value surged from $350 billion to break the $1 trillion, $2 trillion, $3 trillion, and $4 trillion marks, briefly surpassing $5 trillion this year, making Apple one of the most profitable companies in global business history.
▲ Apple's revenue growth curve over the past 20 years, source: Reuters
Cook proved that Apple still possesses the ability to create categories after the Jobs era. During his tenure, Apple launched the Apple Watch (the world's best-selling smartwatch) and AirPods (leading the trend in the wireless headphone industry), and successfully built a service ecosystem worth billions including iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple Music, and Apple TV+. 
▲ A list of products released during the Jobs era and Cook's leadership, source: Reuters
Cook fully supported the implementation of the Apple Silicon chip strategy, completely eliminating dependence on external chip manufacturers; at the same time, he set strict environmental goals, promoting Apple's global operations to achieve carbon neutrality, and committed to achieving carbon neutrality across the entire supply chain by 2030. 
▲ Overview of some key milestones in Apple's 26-year history, source: Reuters
02. New official "three fires," Ternus faces multiple "big tests" right after taking over
At the time of Ternus's appointment, Apple was not in a “peaceful” state. Ternus will face multiple challenges including Apple’s fall launch event, AI restructuring, and executive team rebuilding right after he takes office.
The event is expected to unveil Apple’s first foldable iPhone and an intelligent display capable of recognizing speaker identities and customizing content; Ternus, as the hardware head, had previously participated in planning a series of products, including AirPods with a camera, AI glasses, smart home security systems, home displays connected to robotic arms, and camera pendants that can be worn as necklaces or clipped onto shirts. 
▲ Rumored render of the foldable iPhone, source: X platform
For Ternus, the most urgent challenge is the upcoming new Siri AI system to be launched in September. After experiencing the pains of developing its own AI model, Apple is currently using Google's Gemini as one of its underlying technology supports.
Bloomberg believes that Ternus needs to prove that the new Siri can reverse past negative impressions, allowing developers and users to truly recognize Apple's AI and be willing to pay for it, and to find a long-term commercialization model for the costly AI infrastructure investment.
Reports indicate that Apple has long planned to launch camera-equipped AirPods and flagship smart home devices with screens, but had to repeatedly postpone releases due to shortcomings in AI software. The new Siri AI is expected to bring changes and support the new version of the Apple TV set-top box and HomePod mini.
Ternus said at an employee meeting, “I am extremely excited to take on this position at this moment because I can tell everyone that we are about to change the world again.” “We have an impressive product roadmap ahead of us.”
In addition to technology and products, another core task Ternus faces is to rebuild Apple's executive team.
Ternus's situation is different from that of Cook 15 years ago when Cook inherited a management team that was extremely loyal to Jobs and most were still in the golden period of their careers. During Cook's 15 years at the helm, his management team remained highly stable.
Bloomberg reports that in the coming years, Apple’s leadership may face “half a turnover.” Several core veterans, including Hardware Technology Chief Srouji, Marketing Chief Greg Joswiak, and Retail and Human Resources Chief Deirdre O’Brien, are expected to retire or step down in the coming years. Many members of Cook's executive team have stayed with the company until their sixties or even close to seventy.
Just today, Phil Schiller, a significant and highly visible executive during both the Jobs and Cook eras, is set to step down from leading the App Store and product launches. The 66-year-old Schiller served as Apple’s Senior Vice President of Marketing until he left in 2022. This is part of a retirement plan and not sudden; Schiller will continue to stay at Apple in a consulting or needed capacity.
▲ Phil Schiller
Foreign media believe that Ternus has less experience in other dimensions of the CEO role, such as financial, sales, legal affairs, government relations, and procurement, and will heavily rely on other Apple executives.
Especially in the current shortage of storage chips, some executives are concerned about Ternus's ability to address supply chain and logistics issues.
Ternus needs to quickly cultivate and establish successors covering hardware, marketing, retail, HR, and the previously weakened design team. During the transition period, Ternus will heavily rely on Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan, Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh, and services head Eddy Cue.
Compared to rebuilding the executive team, the company's talent retention is a more urgent issue; currently, hundreds of former Apple employees are working in OpenAI's hardware department, retaining talent is a top priority.
03. Ternus, who inherits Jobs' "persistence" spirit, who is he?
Compared to Cook, many people are somewhat unfamiliar with the new CEO who is about to take office.
John Ternus was born in May 1975. In 1997, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. While studying at Penn, Ternus was a member of the men's swimming team and won championships in the 50-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley at the 1994 collegiate competition.
Ternus's graduation project was a "mechanical feeding arm" operated by head movements for patients paralyzed in all four limbs.
Ternus is an outdoor enthusiast who is passionate about road cycling and auto racing. He frequently drives his Porsche sports car on California's famous Laguna Seca racetrack and has led his Apple colleagues to experience off-road rally racing in Washington state.
According to reports from Bloomberg and other foreign media, Ternus is described as “very approachable and popular,” having long worked alongside engineers in open office spaces.
After graduation, Ternus's first job was as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems, where he worked on hardware development for early virtual reality (VR) headsets.
In 2001, Ternus joined Apple as a member of the Product Design Team, during the second wave of innovation following Jobs' return to Apple. Ternus's first project was the Apple Cinema Display desktop monitor.
In 2024, Ternus delivered a speech at the University of Pennsylvania's engineering school graduation ceremony, in which he mentioned his first project at Apple—the Cinema Display monitor—and how he wrestled with suppliers over “the number of grooves on the screw head,” whether it should be 35 or 25, stating that it seemed abnormal but was the right thing to do.
Some foreign media reports suggest that Jobs' obsession with product details and strict requirements for interdepartmental collaboration are the roots of Ternus's engineering management philosophy.
iPad and Mac Business Line (2001–2020): Ternus was deeply involved in the hardware architecture of the first-generation iPad and pushed for the realization of the Apple Pencil and its magnetic charging system. To fully unleash the iPad's hardware performance, he personally persuaded software engineering chief Craig Federighi to develop an independent iPadOS for the tablet.
Leading the Apple Silicon Transformation: After being promoted to Vice President of Hardware Engineering in 2013, Ternus became the core leader in Mac development. He led the transition of Mac from Intel processors to self-developed Apple Silicon (M series chips), completing the most successful architectural reconstruction of Apple’s computing platform in nearly two decades.
Overall Control of Hardware (2021–2026): Ternus was promoted to Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering in 2021, succeeding Dan Riccio. Since then, his purview has gradually expanded to include all of Apple's hardware product lines, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Under his leadership, the team launched the ultra-thin iPhone Air.
▲ Ternus's main responsible departments and personnel situation, source: Bloomberg
04. Conclusion: In the AI era, can Apple lead again?
Cook's 15 years as CEO created miracles in business history: Apple's market value soared from $350 billion when he took over to over $4 trillion. Cook left behind abundant cash flow, a vast service business ecosystem, and an efficient global supply chain.
Ternus inherits a financially robust empire, but must answer the market's most pressing question: at this important juncture of AI reshaping the technology industry, can Apple once again lead through technological innovation?
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