Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTJabran KundiTue, August 4, 2026 at 5:52 PM GMT+2 6 min readApple logo on store front by frantic00 via iStockApple (AAPL) is about to hand its top position to an engineer, and the early signs suggest the company's focus may be shifting even more toward its products. John Ternus becomes CEO on September 1, taking over from Tim Cook, who steps into the role of executive chairman. Ternus is not a finance or operations leader like Cook. He has spent his whole career in hardware, having joined Apple's product design team in 2001 and running its hardware engineering since 2013. His track record is stacked with the products people actually hold. Ternus helped bring the iPad and AirPods to life, and oversaw hardware work across the iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch. More recently, his teams redefined the iPhone 17 lineup, including the thin iPhone Air, and gave AirPods the ability to work as hearing aids. Even Cook, while announcing the handover, described Ternus as having "the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator."More News from BarchartGeneral Motors vs. Ford: 1 Auto Giant Is Winning the EV Race1 Japanese Company Just Waved a Red Flag for Micron Stock. How to Play It Here.Billionaire Ken Griffin Just Saved Situational Awareness, But Here's What a Rescue Call From Citadel Really Sounds Like — 'I… Heard the Grim Reaper's Scythe'Stop Missing Market Moves: Get the FREE Barchart Brief – your midday dose of stock movers, trending sectors, and actionable trade ideas, delivered right to your inbox. Sign Up Now!Now Ternus is building his own team, and his very first hire makes a statement. He is bringing a former vice president of hardware engineering, Laura Legros, out of retirement to report directly to him. Legros is a familiar face to longtime Apple watchers, having introduced the MacBook Air in 2018 and unveiled the iPad Air design in 2020. An engineer taking the top seat and pulling a trusted hardware deputy back in has fueled speculation that Apple's focus could tilt toward hardware and product innovation. Tim Cook's record is not one to walk away from. Over his tenure, Apple grew from a roughly $350 billion company to well over $4 trillion, and annual revenue nearly quadrupled to more than $416 billion. He built Apple's services business, including the App Store and iCloud, worth over $100 billion a year and created the wearables category from scratch. One hire does not remake a company this size, though, and much of what ships in the next year was set in motion under Cook. Still, the contrast in style is real. Cook is an operations master who turned Apple into a fortress of margins, ecosystem, and services. Ternus is a product engineer taking over just as AI reshapes what devices can do. The question being raised is whether an engineer-led Apple leans harder into building smarter, more capable hardware rather than optimizing what already exists. Only time will tell, though, if the change brings a true strategic shift or simply a change in tone.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info