KALLEY HUANG, TRIPP MICKLE2026年4月21日Note: Apple named John Ternus as its next chief executive on April 20.注：苹果公司于4月20日任命约翰·特纳斯为下一任首席执行官。Around 2018, Apple considered adding a tiny laser to its iPhones. The part would allow consumers to take better photos, more accurately map their surroundings and use new augmented reality features. But it would also cost Apple about $40 per device, cutting into the company’s profits.2018年前后，苹果曾考虑为iPhone加装一款微型激光器。这个部件能让用户拍出更优质的照片、更精准地测绘周围环境，并使用全新的增强现实功能。但它也会让苹果每台设备的成本增加约40美元，从而压缩公司利润。John Ternus, Apple’s head of hardware engineering, suggested adding the component to only the more expensive Pro models of the iPhone, said two people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Those devices, Mr. Ternus reasoned, tended to be purchased by Apple’s most loyal customers, who would be excited about new technology. Average consumers, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t care.据两位不愿具名的知情人士透露，时任苹果硬件工程主管约翰·特纳斯建议，仅在更高端的iPhone Pro系列上搭载该组件。他的理由是：该机型的购买者往往是苹果最忠实的用户，会为新技术感到兴奋；而普通消费者大概率并不在意这些功能。Threading the needle between adding new bells and whistles to Apple’s products while watching the bottom line has defined the careful, low-profile style of Mr. Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001. He is now considered by some company insiders to be the front-runner to replace Tim Cook, Apple’s longtime chief executive, if Mr. Cook decides to step aside.在为苹果产品增添花哨新功能与守住利润底线之间寻求平衡，这正是2001年加入苹果的特纳斯一贯谨慎低调的行事风格。如今，多位公司内部人士认为，如果长期执掌苹果的CEO蒂姆·库克决定卸任，特纳斯将是接替他头号热门人选。Apple last year began accelerating its planning for Mr. Cook’s succession, according to three people close to the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity about Apple’s confidential deliberations. Mr. Cook, 65, has told senior leaders that he is tired and would like to reduce his workload, the people said. Should he step down, Mr. Cook is likely to become the chairman of Apple’s board, according to three people close to the company.据三位了解苹果机密决策的不具名知情人士透露，苹果已于去年加速推进库克的继任计划。三人称，现年65岁的库克已向高层表示，他感到疲惫，希望减少工作量。三人还称，若库克卸任，他很可能将出任苹果董事会主席。Despite his low profile, Mr. Ternus appears to have shot to the front of the pack to be Apple’s next C.E.O., according to four people close to the company. But Mr. Cook is also preparing several other internal candidates to be his potential successor, two of the people said. They could include Craig Federighi, Apple’s head of software; Eddy Cue, its head of services; Greg Joswiak, its head of worldwide marketing; and Deirdre O’Brien, its head of retail and human resources.四位接近公司的消息人士表示，尽管行事低调，特纳斯已在潜在接班人中脱颖而出。但另有两位知情人士称，库克同时也在培养其他几位内部候选人成为潜在继任者，包括苹果软件主管克雷格·费德里吉、服务主管埃迪·库伊、全球营销主管格雷格·乔斯维克，以及零售与人力资源主管迪尔德丽·奥布赖恩。Mr. Ternus, 50, is the same age that Mr. Cook was when he took over for Steve Jobs in 2011. Like Mr. Cook, Mr. Ternus is known for his attention to detail and his knowledge of Apple’s vast supply network. Both men are also considered even-tempered collaborators, capable of navigating the bureaucracy of one of the world’s wealthiest companies without ruffling feathers.现年50岁的特纳斯与2011年接替史蒂夫·乔布斯时的库克同龄。和库克一样，特纳斯以注重细节、熟悉苹果庞大的供应链网络著称。两人也都被认为是性情温和、善于合作的领导者，能够在这家全球最富有的公司的官僚体系里从容周旋，同时极少得罪人。Mr. Ternus’s rising profile has caused debate among Apple alumni and rank-and-file employees about whether he would lead like Mr. Cook, who succeeded by making the company more predictable and incremental, or Mr. Jobs, who laid the foundation for the company’s success with risky bets and visionary products.特纳斯声望日隆，也在苹果前员工和普通员工中引发了争论：他究竟会怎样领导公司，是更像库克还是更像乔布斯？——前者通过让公司运营更具可预测性并采取渐进式发展而取得成功，后者凭借大胆的赌注和富有远见的产品奠定公司的成功基石。“If you want to make an iPhone every year, Ternus is your guy,” said Cameron Rogers, who worked on product and software engineering management at Apple from 2005 to 2022.2005年至2022年在苹果负责产品与软件工程管理的卡梅伦·罗杰斯说：“如果你想每年迭代一款iPhone，特纳斯就是最佳人选。”The question for Apple is whether the company needs an innovator or another deft manager. While it has been years since the quick success of the iPhone and iPad, Apple has had many small hits under Mr. Cook and continues to be one of the most profitable companies in the world. Apple also faces tricky challenges, like navigating President Trump’s frequently changing tariff plans and its dependence on Chinese manufacturing.苹果面临的问题是，公司现在需要的是一位创新者，还是另一位精明的管理者。尽管距离iPhone和iPad的快速成功已过去多年，库克治下的苹果取得了众多小胜利，至今仍是全球最赚钱的公司之一。不过，苹果也面临着棘手的挑战，比如应对特朗普总统频繁变动的关税政策，以及对中国制造的依赖。Apple’s plans for artificial intelligence are also a big question. While other giant technology companies have spent tens of billions of dollars on developing A.I., Apple has largely been on the sidelines, and it has pushed off making major changes to its products with new A.I. technology.苹果的人工智能布局也是一个巨大的问号。当其他科技巨头已投入数百亿美元研发人工智能时，苹果基本上处于边缘位置，迟迟未对产品进行基于人工智能新技术的重大改造。It will be up to Apple’s board of directors to decide who will eventually replace Mr. Cook, who also sits on the board. The rest of the company’s eight board members did not respond to requests for comment, and Apple declined to comment and to make Mr. Ternus available for an interview. The Financial Times and Bloomberg previously reported on aspects of Apple’s succession planning.最终谁将接替库克将由苹果董事会决定（库克本人也是董事会成员）。公司其余八位董事均未回应置评请求，苹果也拒绝发表评论，并拒绝安排特纳斯接受采访。《金融时报》和彭博社此前已报道过苹果继任计划的部分内容。去年9月，蒂姆·库克在加利福尼亚州库比蒂诺的苹果公司园区举行的活动中发表演讲。Mr. Ternus, the youngest member of Apple’s executive leadership team, would be Apple’s first chief executive in three decades to have spent his career working on hardware. Unlike some of the other candidates to replace Mr. Cook, Mr. Ternus has worked on many of Apple’s devices as well as the global operations that manufacture those products.作为苹果高管团队中最年轻的成员，特纳斯将成为苹果30年来首位职业生涯始终专注于硬件的首席执行官。与其他几位潜在接班人不同，特纳斯参与过苹果众多产品的研发，也深度参与了这些产品的全球制造业务。But he would take over as a relative unknown outside Apple. Inside the company, he is known more for maintaining products than developing new ones, according to six former employees. And Mr. Ternus, who has been an engineer in Silicon Valley for all of his adult life, has limited exposure to the policy issues and political responsibilities associated with Apple’s corner office.但若他接任，在苹果之外也是相对默默无闻的。据六位前员工透露，在公司内部，他更多以维护现有产品而非开发全新产品为人所知。而且，对于苹果最高职位所附带的政策议题和政治责任，这位成年后一直在硅谷从事工程师工作的高管接触十分有限。A California native, Mr. Ternus received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was on the varsity swim team. For his senior project, he designed a device that allowed quadriplegics to use head motions to control a mechanical feeding arm.特纳斯是加州本地人，拥有宾夕法尼亚大学机械工程学士学位，大学期间曾是校游泳队队员。他的毕业设计是一款能让四肢瘫痪者通过头部动作控制的机械喂食臂。In the four years after his graduation from Penn in 1997, Mr. Ternus designed headsets and other products at a virtual reality start-up. He then joined Apple, first working on screens for Macs as the company transitioned away from the colorful iMacs of the late 1990s.1997年从宾大毕业后的四年里，特纳斯在一家虚拟现实初创公司设计头戴设备及其他产品。随后他加入苹果，最初负责Mac电脑的屏幕研发，当时苹果正逐步告别上世纪90年代末的彩色iMac机型。Within about three years, he became a manager, said Steve Siefert, Mr. Ternus’s first boss at Apple. During that time, their team moved office floors, switching from a closed office plan to mostly open seating with a few offices. When he was promoted, Mr. Ternus had the option to move into one of those offices but declined.特纳斯在苹果的第一任老板史蒂夫·西弗特说，入职约三年后，他就晋升为经理。那段时间，他们的团队搬了办公楼层，从封闭式办公室改成了以开放式工位为主、仅保留少数独立办公室的布局。升职后，特纳斯本可以搬进其中一间独立办公室，但他拒绝了。Mr. Ternus was “a man of the people,” Mr. Siefert said, adding that the decision to sit with his team likely helped Mr. Ternus manage and motivate his staff. When Mr. Siefert retired in 2011, freeing up his office, Mr. Ternus once again said he wanted to remain in the open space.西弗特说，特纳斯“平易近人”，选择和团队坐在一起的决定很可能帮助他更好地管理和激励员工。2011年西弗特退休，空出了自己的办公室，特纳斯再次表示希望留在开放办公区。By 2005, Mr. Ternus had been promoted to lead Apple’s hardware engineering team for iMacs as it made the G5 series, said Michael D. Hillman, who helped hire Mr. Ternus and worked with him at Apple for more than a decade.曾参与招聘特纳斯、并与他共事十多年的迈克尔·希尔曼说，到2005年，特纳斯已晋升为苹果iMac硬件工程团队负责人，主导了G5系列iMac的研发。That team was working on using magnets to hold the computer’s glass screen in place, Mr. Siefert said. The technique was unusual for its time and faced skepticism, but Mr. Ternus still pushed for it.西弗特回忆，当时团队正在研究用磁铁固定电脑玻璃屏幕的技术。这种技术在当时非常新颖，遭到了不少质疑，但特纳斯依然力推。“When presented with such an out-of-the-box idea, he would champion it,” Mr. Siefert added.“每当遇到这种突破性的想法，他都会全力支持，”西弗特还说。Mr. Ternus spent extended periods of time working with manufacturers in Asia, Mr. Hillman said. Mr. Ternus traveled between the continent and Silicon Valley and learned how difficult it could be to have a manufacturing supplier deliver on Apple’s design expectations. Apple also paired Mr. Ternus with an external consultant to advise him on leadership.希尔曼说，特纳斯曾长期在亚洲与制造商合作，往返于亚洲和硅谷之间，深刻体会到让供应商满足苹果严苛设计要求的难度。苹果还曾为他配备了一位外部顾问，专门指导他提升领导力。2019年，约翰·特努斯在苹果全球开发者大会上讲解Mac Pro的内部硬件。Mr. Ternus became a key lieutenant of Dan Riccio, his predecessor as Apple’s head of hardware. By 2013, Mr. Ternus’s role had expanded to include overseeing the Mac and iPad teams.特努斯曾是他的前任、苹果公司硬件部门前任负责人丹·里奇奥的得力助手。到2013年，特努斯的职责范围扩大至负责管理Mac和iPad团队。In recent years, Mr. Ternus has shouldered more responsibility for updates to Apple’s products. He spearheaded the iPhone Air, which was released last year with a new, slim design, and was a key leader in Apple’s transition from using Intel’s chips in Macs to using the company’s own chips in 2020. Mr. Ternus has also been involved in Apple’s experimentation with foldable phones, according to one of the people close to the company.近年来，特纳斯在苹果产品的更新升级方面承担了更多责任。他主导了去年发布的iPhone Air项目，该机型采用了全新的纤薄设计；在2020年苹果将Mac电脑从英特尔芯片过渡到自研芯片的过程中，他也发挥了关键领导作用。据一位接近公司的消息人士透露，他还参与了苹果折叠屏手机的研发工作。“He’s a nice guy,” Mr. Rogers said. “He’s someone you want to hang out with. Everyone loves him because he’s great. Has he made any hard decisions? No. Are there hard problems he’s solved in hardware? No.”“他人很好，”罗杰斯说。“他是那种你想和他一起出去玩的人。大家都喜欢他，因为他很棒。他做过什么艰难的决定吗？没有。他在硬件方面解决过什么棘手的问题吗？没有。”In a 2024 commencement speech at Penn’s engineering school, Mr. Ternus told graduating students that, in the future, they would be proudest not of specific projects but of the journey to make them all happen.在2024年宾大工程学院的毕业典礼演讲中，特纳斯告诉毕业生们，未来能让他们最引以为傲的，不会是某个具体的项目，而是实现这些项目的过程。“Now, while you’re on that journey, there’s going to be many times in your career where you have to take on something new,” Mr. Ternus said. “And sometimes, you might wonder whether or not you can actually do it.”“在这段旅程中，你的职业生涯会有很多次需要接手全新事物的时刻，”特纳斯说。“有时候，你可能会怀疑自己到底能不能做到。”本文最初发表于2026年1月8日。Kirsten Noyes对本文有研究贡献。Kalley Huang是时报驻旧金山记者，报道苹果和科技业界新闻。Tripp Mickle报道英伟达、谷歌和苹果等全球最大的科技公司。他也报道整个科技行业的趋势，包括裁员、生成式AI和机器人出租车等。翻译：晋其角点击查看本文英文版。获取更多RSS：https://feedx.net https://feedx.site