Tim Cook’s parting message: Apple is in the hands of a product builder

On his past time arsenic Apple CEO, Tim Cook offered a rousing endorsement of his successor: John Ternus, the company’s elder vice president of hardware engineering. In a memo to employees, Cook reminded unit that he’s “not leaving Apple,” conscionable stepping distant from the relation of CEO, portion declaring that “few radical recognize what it takes to physique products that alteration the satellite the mode John does.”

Ternus’ elevation to the apical occupation suggests that Apple’s adjacent epoch volition spot a renewed absorption connected hardware and merchandise execution. Under Ternus, Apple shipped a fig of notable products, astir recently, the caller ultra-thin iPhone Air, the lower-cost MacBook Neo, and AirPods with proceeding wellness features. He besides led the hardware engineering squad crossed Apple’s afloat instrumentality lineup.

Hardware volition play an important relation successful the AI era, not lone successful presumption of chips, but besides the devices radical usage to tally endeavor AI. Apple this year, for instance, offered earlier releases of its caller Mac models, the Mac mini and Mac Studio, compared with years past, driven by AI demand.

Cook’s memo, reported by Bloomberg and others, people says small astir Apple’s aboriginal erstwhile it comes to AI, services, regulation, China, oregon the different challenges that prevarication ahead. Instead, Cook focuses connected his gratitude for the accidental to pb Apple and exalts the company’s civilization arsenic yet what matters most.

“We stock a content that what we physique matters and that we person some the accidental and the work to permission the satellite amended than we recovered it,” Cook wrote. He besides referenced the celebrated Steve Jobs punctuation astir leaving a “dent successful the universe,” saying that Apple makes that imaginable due to the fact that of “who we are and what we believe,” arsenic good arsenic “what we worth and however we spot the world.”

Cook volition stay astatine Apple arsenic enforcement president and volition proceed to negociate governmental relationships, including those with President Trump and the Chinese government.

On X, Cook besides wrote: “Sending tons of emotion to the Apple assemblage connected my past time arsenic CEO. My rubric changes tomorrow, but the emotion I person for the Apple assemblage ne'er will. Thank you for being a changeless root of inspiration. My gratitude is endless, and I’m excited for the adjacent chapter!”

The afloat memo is beneath (via Bloomberg):

Team,

Today is my past time arsenic CEO of Apple. This is simply a infinitesimal I ever knew would travel 1 day, and yet it is inactive hard to judge it has arrived and I americium penning these words. I emotion this institution and the squad down it, and I couldn’t fto this time walk without sending a enactment to you to archer you however grateful I americium for the outpouring of affection you’ve sent my way, for the mode you’ve shown up each and each day, and astir of all, for the privilege of a beingness serving arsenic your leader.

The information is, immoderate determination is to accidental astir my success, I cognize it is each due to the fact that of you. You person brought retired the champion successful me. In each my life, I person ne'er seen oregon been with specified an bonzer squad of radical before, and each time I get to spot much examples of that.

There is thing genuinely peculiar astir Apple. I americium astir arrogant of what an yearly study could ne'er capture. This spot is impervious that civilization triumphs implicit everything. We stock a content that what we physique matters and that we person some the accidental and the work to permission the satellite amended than we recovered it. That intent is portion of what makes this spot extraordinary. Apple helps nurture it, but I judge it lived wrong each of you agelong earlier you arrived here. It is what brought you to this institution and what continues to thrust the enactment you bash each day.

Together, we person created thing acold greater than immoderate 1 of america could person imagined oregon accomplished alone. And that’s the concealed to our success. We bring retired the champion successful each other. We assistance each different up. We person made it imaginable to permission our “dent successful the universe,” arsenic Steve erstwhile described it, due to the fact that of who we are and what we believe, due to the fact that of what we worth and however we spot the world. How fortunate we are. How fortunate I am.

As you know, I americium not leaving Apple. But I americium stepping distant from a relation that I person loved deeply. I volition miss this enactment successful ways I tin lone statesman to imagine, adjacent arsenic I stay wholly astatine bid with my decision. I volition miss starring you and being with you for each step, adjacent arsenic I instrumentality tremendous comfortableness successful handing the helm to idiosyncratic arsenic superb and fantastic and susceptible arsenic John. Few radical recognize what it takes to physique products that alteration the satellite the mode John does and I could not beryllium much excited for his leadership.

I anticipation you cognize however overmuch I admit you and what an grant it has been to beryllium your CEO. Most of all, I anticipation you volition proceed to beryllium arrogant to beryllium portion of this singular spot we telephone Apple and ever springiness it your precise best. When we bring our full selves to this work, with attraction for 1 different and for the radical we serve, determination is nary bounds to the profound quality we tin make.

I look guardant to seeing you successful my caller relation astatine Apple Park and astir the world.

With each I person and each I am, I americium always.

Yours,

Tim