Meet John Ternus: Apple’s Engineer Groomed for CEO Drama

KEY POINTS

•John Ternus has been Apple’s hardware engineering VP since 2013 and joined the company in 2001.
•Tim Cook, aged 65, might step down following the 2025 earnings report, triggering leadership changes.
•Cook said in 2023 he is grooming multiple internal candidates for a smooth CEO transition at Apple.
•Ternus has publicly presented products like thinner iPads and the iPhone Air during various major Apple events.

John Ternus, Apple's hardware chief since 2013 and employee since 2001, might replace Tim Cook soon after Cook's 65th birthday and possible 2025 exit. With his UNO-memorably bland title, 'vice president of hardware engineering,' Ternus boasts the thrilling background of mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 and four pre-Apple years as a mere engineer. His public speaking résumé includes WWDC appearances and debuting thinner iPads and the oddly named iPhone Air, whose durability test video surprisingly racked up 350,000 views. Cook, meanwhile, insists he’s prepping ‘several’ insiders for CEO MVP status but refuses to commit to retirement—telling Dua Lipa he’ll linger like a feature update.