- Tim Cook makes first public comments after announcing a move to CEO
- He doesn’t disappear
- Cook wants you to know John Ternus as he does
Has it only been 24 hours since Apple announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook would step down in September and that John Ternus would take over as CEO? Barely, but with just as much time to digest, Cook finally opens up about the change, Ternus, and what it means for the future.
Cook, who is set to become executive chairman in September, made his first public comment on Tuesday afternoon, X-post. In it, he thanked everyone for the “outpouring of love” and faith in him. The most important part, however, may be this line: “This is not goodbye.”
I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and thank you for believing in me to lead the company, which has always put you at the center of our work. This is not goodbye. It’s a hello to John and I can’t wait for you to get to know him like I do! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Q43QDG3UmZ21 April 2026
Cook isn’t making a clean break with Apple, a company he’s long said he can’t imagine life without. Instead, he now makes it clear that he plans to stick around.
The article continues below
That meeting also answers the “why now” question. Gurman reported that Cook said that for him to make the change, the business would have to be “huge,” the roadmap “incredible” and Ternus “ready.”
Apparently all that is true today. For Apple fans, little about the incredible roadmap is worth cheering about. After all, it could include flip phones, AR glasses, and more innovation (play some more Apple Studios movies on par with F1).
In Cook’s post, he said this is not goodbye, but a “hello to John [Ternus]”.
Put simply, Cook is ready to be Ternus’ Jiminy Cricket, close at hand with sage advice but without standing in front.
No one knows how long Cook will remain as Executive Chairman, and some worry about Disney Bob Iger’s situation. Iger famously stepped down as CEO to become Exec Chairman, and then, when his replacement faltered, he was quickly brought 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 come back, but as he noted in his X post, Cook can’t wait for you to get to know John Ternus the way he does.
Cook is unlikely to address the topic again before WWDC 2026 in June, and even then is unlikely to distract from the company’s big platform announcements. Still, how Cook and Ternus act during that developer event — who shows up and carries the show — will speak volumes.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds.
