Industry insiders, speaking to a leading news outlet today (April 21), shared what they believe is the real reason for Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO after 15 years.
John Ternus, the current head of hardware engineering and a 25-year company veteran, will replace Cook.
Apple said that the move “follows a thoughtful, long-term succession planning process,” but sources disagreed.
One of them described Cook’s departure as a “stunner,” noting it was not expected to occur until late next year.
Tim Cook’s exit as Apple CEO is reportedly linked to the company’s escalating AI ambitions
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The Daily Mail, citing industry experts, reported that Cook’s decision to hand over his position to Ternus may be linked to the underwhelming rollout of Apple’s suite of generative AI features, branded Apple Intelligence, across its operating systems, including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, and watchOS.
The system was announced in 2024 and was hailed by the company as a “new chapter in Apple innovation.”
Image credits: Unsplash
However, it soon faced significant criticism for slow implementation and the absence of advanced capabilities.
Per industry experts, Apple executives felt the 65-year-old CEO did not have what it takes to lead the company through the AI transition.
Image credits: Apple
Rebecca Crook, head of tech consultancy MSG DX, said, “Apple’s setbacks in AI have been a consistent focal point, with analysts pressing Cook repeatedly on whether the company was prepared for a future beyond the iPhone.”
“When a CEO finds themselves on the back foot about the most strategically critical technology of the decade, that’s always going to be tough.”
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Ben Wood, chief marketing officer at CCS Insight, said, “AI is widely regarded as an area where Tim Cook made a decision to let others, such as Google Gemini, and OpenAI with ChatGPT, take a lead.”
According to him, with Cook now stepping down, “all eyes will be on Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June to learn more about the company’s plans in this area, particularly what it does with Siri.”
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Dan Ives, global head of tech research at Wedbush Securities, was the one who called Cook’s departure surprising, adding that he was expected to hold the position for at least another year and a half.
Cook, notably, will not be leaving Apple Inc. entirely.
He will stay on as executive chairman of the company’s board of directors, handling its geopolitical connections with world leaders.
Experts have expressed high expectations for Apple’s incoming CEO
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Crook told the Daily Mail, “The AI era requires a different kind of leadership — one that’s closer to the product and the engineering.”
“Choosing John Ternus, a hardware engineer with 25 years at Apple, signals the company believes the future of AI will run through tightly integrated devices, not software,” she added.
Analysts suggested that Cook may share this sentiment, choosing to focus his attention where it would be more useful while leaving innovation to Ternus.
“Cook is too smart and too controlled to be pushed, but he’s also astute enough to know when the era that suits him best has passed.”
Crook said. “Stepping aside now, while Apple is a $4 trillion company, is the power move that protects his legacy far better than clinging on through a difficult AI cycle.”
Image credits: Getty/David Paul Morris
Ternus is expected to take a much more centralized position as a decision-maker, given his tendency to choose one of the two solutions presented. This is a quality Cook allegedly lacked.
A person who had worked with both executives told Bloomberg: “If you go to Cook with A or B, he won’t pick. He’ll ask a series of questions instead.”
Image credits: Getty/Bloomberg
Ternus, on the other hand, picks one. “It could be right or wrong, but at least it’s a decision,” they said.
Within Apple, there is reportedly a feeling that Ternus’s leadership style could bring the company back to something resembling its organization under co-founder Steve Jobs.
Cook wrote an emotional letter to the Apple community following the announcement of his departure
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Cook opened up about his time at Apple the same day (Monday, April 20) it was announced he would be succeeded by John Ternus.
He admitted that, in his heart, the role of Apple CEO was the “best job in the world.”
He recalled receiving emails and messages from Apple users who loved using the company’s products, writing, “You share little pieces of your lives with me and tell me things you want me to know about how Apple has touched you.”
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The Apple chief noted he was grateful to lead a company that had made consumers’ lives better.
“I feel a gratitude that I cannot put into words, that I somehow got to be the person on the other end of those emails, the leader of a company that ignites imaginations and enriches lives in such profound ways it defies description. What an honor and privilege it has been,” he penned.
Image credits: Apple
Cook went on to say John Ternus was “the perfect person” to replace him, given his vast experience at the organization.
He called the soon-to-be Apple CEO “a brilliant engineer and thinker who has spent the past 25 years building the Apple products our users love so much, obsessed with every detail, focused on every possible way we can make something better, bolder, more beautiful, and more meaningful.”
Cook insisted Apple would reach new heights in its new era with Ternus at the helm, expressing, “I can’t wait for you to get to know him like I do.”
“Tim Cook was most likely one of the greatest CEOs of our era,” a netizen said
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