The challenge for Apple is still software, an increasingly cluttered interface across multiple hardware devices and platforms, and a distinct lack of clarity about what role AI will (or will not) play in its future. Ternus’s other task will be to repair an incredibly fragile relationship with developers, who have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with Cupertino.

His ascension to the top is no surprise. He has been the heir apparent for a while, way more noticeable at every product launch. This handover is typical meticulous planning by Cook, who knows how to do little things right. And the little things are what really sum up Cook’s legacy.

When he took over from Steve Jobs in August 2011, Apple’s market capitalization was around $350 billion. As of this morning, it sits near $4 trillion. That is more than a 1,000 percent increase. Revenue went from $108 billion in fiscal 2011 to over $416 billion in fiscal 2025, almost four times bigger. Apple under Cook became the most valuable company in human history, multiple times over. It built Services into a $100-billion-a-year business.

Sure, Cook inherited the greatest product portfolio and the greatest brand in modern business. How many times have we seen people screw it up? He ran it with operational ruthlessness. He is no product visionary, and neither is Ternus. They are not Steve. Tim has run Apple for fifteen years, through a pandemic, two trade wars, a supply chain reordering, and the slow grinding shift from hardware-only to hardware-plus-services-plus-silicon. Most importantly, he didn’t mess it up.

I have been writing about this company for most of my professional life. Every CEO transition at Apple has been treated, at the moment, as an existential question. I actively covered Apple during the Gil Amelio era. I covered Jobs returning. And Cook taking over from Jobs, in an emotional and tumultuous time. Each time the corporate obituary writers got their drafts ready. Each time the company kept going.

This is a cleaner, no-drama, unemotional transition. So very Tim.

Ternus inherits a different Apple than Cook did. The hardware-engineering muscle is the strongest it has ever been, and that is his world. Srouji’s promotion locks the silicon and hardware halves together. Apple Silicon is its superpower. And you can tell from the recent shortages of its hardware that it has finally taken center stage as the platform for personal AI. I have mad respect for Srouji, and in a way this is the single most important promotion for a company whose main job is to make hardware.

The hard questions are elsewhere. AI, where Apple has been visibly behind. Services growth, which has to keep doing the heavy lifting on margin. China, which is no longer the easy lever it once was. The Vision line, which still hasn’t found its shape. And the slow philosophical question of what Apple is actually for in a world where the device is no longer the most interesting layer of the stack.

Ternus is an engineer. He went to Penn for mechanical engineering, joined Apple in 2001, and has been at Apple as iPad, AirPods, iPhone, Mac, and Watch all shipped. The bet the board is making is that the next decade rewards deep hardware-software-silicon integration over almost anything else. Given where AI compute is heading and what the device-level race looks like, that bet is at least defensible.

The headline on this post is a small joke, but also not. John Appleseed is the placeholder name that has lived inside Apple demos since the 1980s, the made-up user whose contact card appears on every iPhone keynote screenshot. Now there is a real one in the corner office.

Good luck, John. And Johny.

April 20, 2026. San Francisco

I am sending this out a day early as I have a new mystery book I want to finish this weekend, uninterrupted. Priorities, people!

Also, I have decided that this weekend’s reading list has to be decidedly less technology. I mean, we get enough of it already. There is a lot of great non-tech writing these days, and it is worth highlighting. Plus you can get your heart’s fill of “AI” writing from me.

What to Read This Weekend

Corruption, Crime & Cricket Canada | CBC / The Fifth Estate

A months-long Fifth Estate investigation has found that a violent criminal group have been threatening cricket players in British Columbia to influence team selection all the way up to the national squad. This is scary and sobering. Great investigation, regardless whether you love, understand or care about cricket.

3D-Printed Homes, an Abandoned $590,000 Deposit, the FBI | ProPublica

Two men promised a $1.1 million 3D printer could fix Cairo, Illinois’ housing crisis. A year later, FBI has launched an investigation into Prestige Project Management. Heartbreaking and infuriating in equal parts. This is why I support ProPublica.

The Mansion, the Heiress, the Jewel Heist, and Me: A Bel-Air Fairytale | Vanity Fair

Jewels worth millions today were scooped up in twin burglaries in Los Angeles in 1961. The writer’s grandfather turns out to have planned the whole thing. Part family mystery, part true crime. Beautiful writing.

The Rise of Anywhere and Everywhere Radio | Huck

From a London rickshaw to a shipping container in Ukraine, independent radio stations are redefining what a studio looks and feels like. Huck talks to the founders of DIY stations who are building something intimate and defiant at the exact moment the big broadcasters are surrendering to algorithms and automation.

Independent Bookstores Are an Act of Cultural Resistance | Los Angeles Times

As a follow up to the story about independent radio stations, here is a great short piece about the come back of the independent book store. It is a good reminder that just when so much of our cultural infrastructure is being algorithmically flattened, independents are keeping culture alive. Try and shop for a book at independent. Amazon’s convenience isn’t worth it.

Menace on the Streets | Maclean’s

E-scooters and their burlier brethren, e-bikes, have zoomed onto streets faster than the law can keep up. This story is about Canadian streets, but these machines are a nightmare everywhere. Especially in places (like San Francisco) where idiots ride these on sidewalks, despite having bike lanes. Good reporting by Caitlin Walsh Miller.

How NASA Built Artemis II’s Fault-Tolerant Computer | Communications of the ACM

Okay, I know I said less technology. But this one is really engineering. There is a difference. Artemis II was supported by what NASA describes as one of the most fault-tolerant computer systems ever built for spaceflight. Required reading, considering we have forgotten what is engineering these days anyway.

ICYMI

Newbird.AI! Or Loony.AI | Om.co

Allbirds, the failed maker of wool sneakers announced a pivot to AI compute infrastructure, renaming itself NewBird AI. Every speculative era gets the suffix it deserves. Once a turd, always a turd.

Eat Your Words | Om.co

You cannot tell people your product is an existential threat and then ask them to calm down. Words have consequences. That remains true in Silicon Valley, no matter how many times the lesson is forgotten.

Human Error Is OK, Machine Madness Is a No-No. Why? | Om.co

My essay on why we extend grace to human failure but demand perfection from machines. The gap between those two standards is where a lot of the AI anxiety actually lives.

A Prayer & Wishes for Ron

Wishes for Ron Conway | Om.co

Ron Conway, the longtime Silicon Valley investor and founder of SV Angel, announced that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. He is being treated at UCSF in San Francisco and is optimistic. Ron is one of the great human beings of this valley. Join me in wishing him the best and speedy recovery.

April 18, 2026. San Francisco

Ron is affectionately known as the godfather of Silicon Valley, and not just for his investments in startups. He is one of the most politically, socially, and intellectually connected people in the valley. He was one of the key people who helped avert the disaster that came with the Silicon Valley Bank collapse a few years ago.

I have known Ron since his time in the valley since his early as an angel investor. Early nineties. This was long before he was known as the guy who wrote a check for Google, he was the same man he is today.

Ron is an incredibly generous human. When I fell sick the last time around, Ron was generous and supportive in getting me help at UCSF. And even in a recent incident he was quick to fire off a few calls on my behalf. He did this for everyone.

Ron is a critical part of Silicon Valley’s moral infrastructure. When the so-called leaders abandoned the city of San Francisco and Silicon Valley during the COVID crisis, he doubled down on it. He has been a solitary voice in opposing the political infrastructure that others in Silicon Valley have been quick to genuflect before. Unlike most, what Ron is not, is Ron for himself. And that is why the news of his cancer feels so much more personal.

The news has been a shock to me, for I think of Ron as Ron the indomitable. My fondness for the man is immense. As someone who has been there for me through thick and thin, I wanted to send him my wishes and prayers.

Please take a moment and join me in wishing him well.

April 18, 2026. San Francisco