Tim Cook is stepping down. What happens to Apple now?

TechCrunch / 4/24/2026

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Key Points

  • Tim Cook will step down as Apple CEO in September, with hardware chief John Ternus taking over.
  • Ternus inherits a durable core business, but the strategic environment has shifted significantly from the one Cook helped shape over decades.
  • Key pressures include rising challenges to the App Store’s 30% take rate and weakening of Apple’s behind-the-scenes leverage with developers.
  • The article also points to how “vibe-coded” apps and AI-driven changes are altering what it means to build on Apple’s platform.
  • TechCrunch’s Equity podcast discusses the implications of the leadership transition for startups alongside other major deal news, including SpaceX’s $60B options on Cursor.
Tim Cook plans to step down from his CEO role in September, handing the reins to hardware chief John Ternus.   Ternus may be inheriting one of the most durable businesses in tech, but he’s also stepping into a very different ecosystemthan the one Cook spent decades shaping. The App Store’s 30% cut is under pressure, the behind-the-scenes power Apple once […]

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