Apple Names John Ternus CEO, Sets September 9 In-Person Event for Foldable iPhone
John Ternus will become Apple's CEO on September 1, 2026, succeeding Tim Cook, who becomes executive chairman. Apple plans a September 9 in-person event to unveil new products, including a foldable iPhone. The company will invite U. S. retail staff via lottery to support the event. Ternus, a hardware veteran who led the Mac's transition to Apple Silicon, has been preparing with Cook. Apple has also recalled former hardware executive Laura Legros to his team. The move marks a return to physical presentations after pre-recorded events since 2020.
John Ternus will officially take over as chief executive officer of Apple on September 1, 2026. The company plans to hold a product launch event in the first half of September, and will open a lottery to U. S. retail employees to invite them to headquarters for the on-site event. According to an internal memo, the program is called "Event Support Experience Program," and employees can apply to organize queues, guest check-in, ushering, and support for the security team. The application deadline is August 8, with results announced on August 17. Employees who attended the 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference or the 2025 iPhone launch are not eligible.
Since the pandemic in 2020, Apple has shifted its launch events to pre-recorded videos. The last time an executive delivered an entire iPhone presentation live was at the iPhone 11 launch in 2019. The camera style at the 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference changed noticeably, with most shots using a plain, straightforward approach, and segment transitions no longer featuring the Hollywood-scale production of previous years.
Apple has made extensive preparations for Ternus's first launch as CEO. Ternus joined Apple in 2001, rising from product design engineer to senior vice president of hardware engineering, and led the transition of the Mac lineup from Intel chips to Apple Silicon. He attended the Los Angeles premiere of Apple TV's fourth season of "Ted Lasso" in late July, and publicly stated that Apple will continue to invest in series, characters, and stories.
Laura Legros, former vice president of hardware engineering, has been brought back to join Ternus's new management team. Legros retired in 2022; during her tenure she led the launch of the 2018 MacBook Air and the 2020 iPad Air. Over the past few months, Ternus has followed current CEO Tim Cook in leading executive meetings, participating in department road map reviews, and dedicating significant time to the design team.
Cook will transition to executive chairman of Apple, continuing to mentor the company after the handover and maintaining a China visit cadence of one to two times a year. In his final period as CEO, Cook handled several matters, including approval of AI models in the Chinese market, supply chain adjustments, and product pricing changes. Apple has also built a product pipeline described as "10 major new categories," and benefited from record-breaking financial results driven by the iPhone 17 series.