- Tim Cook makes his first public comments after announcing CEO transition
- he is not disappearing
- Cook wants you to know John Ternus like him
Has it been just 24 hours since Apple announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook would step down in September and John Ternus would take over as CEO? Barely, but with that time to digest, Cook finally opens up about the change, Ternus, and what it means for the future.
Cook, who will become CEO in September, made his first public comment in Post X on Tuesday afternoon. In it, he thanked everyone for the “outpouring of love” and faith in him. However, the most important part might be this line: “This is not goodbye.”
I want to thank everyone for the expressions of love and thank you for believing in me to lead the company that has always put you at the center of our work. This is not goodbye. Shout out to John and I can’t wait for you to get to know him as I do! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Q43QDG3UmZApril 21, 2026
Cook is not making a clean break with Apple, a company he has long said he can’t imagine life without. Instead, he is now making it clear that he plans to stay.
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That meeting also answers the “why now” question. Gurman reported that Cook said that in order to make the change, the business had to be “great,” the roadmap “amazing” and Ternus “ready.”
Apparently, all of that is true today. For Apple fans, the incredible part of the roadmap is worth celebrating. After all, that could include foldable phones, AR glasses, and more innovation (play more Apple Studios movies on par with F1).
In Cook’s post, he said this is not a goodbye, but a “hello to John [Ternus]”.
Simply put, Cook is ready to be Ternus’ Jiminy Cricket, on hand with sage advice but not in the forefront.
No one knows how long Cook will remain CEO, and some worry about Disney’s Bob Iger situation. Iger famously resigned from the CEO position to become CEO and then, when his replacement failed, he was quickly hired back as CEO.
However, Cook made it clear during his speech that there can only be “one CEO at a time.” He apparently has no plans to get in the way or return, but as he noted in his X post, Cook is eager for you to get to know John Ternus as he does.
Cook is unlikely to address the topic again before WWDC 2026 in June, and even then, he’s unlikely to want to be distracted from the company’s big platform announcements. Still, the way Cook and Ternus act during that developer event, who shows up and runs the show, will say it all.
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