"The AI industry is all set for a transfer of power." What Apple's CEO change means for the company

After the markets closed on April 20, Apple announced that CEO Tim Cook will hand over the position to John Ternus, who as senior vice president oversees all hardware engineering as of September 1. His area of responsibility includes teams working on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple Vision Pro and other products.

Ternus' candidacy itself did not cause surprise on Wall Street, but some analysts were confused by the timing of the transfer of power. Oninvest studied the first comments on what now awaits the tech giant.

By the time Cook steps down as CEO, his tenure will have reached 15 years. During that time, he helped transform Apple from a consumer electronics manufacturer into one of the world's largest corporations with products in the segments of smartphones, tablets, health solutions, smart watches and audio devices, Bloomberg writes. Under Cook, the company's capitalization grew from $400 billion in 2011 to the current $4 trillion. In 2018, Apple became the first whose market value reached $1 trillion. Revenue during Cook's leadership increased from $108 billion to $416 billion last year, recalls Reuters.

"This is going to be very hard to top, and the timing of Cook stepping down as CEO is perhaps understandable, but still raises questions. Apple is in the midst of a major overhaul of its AI strategy, and the departure of longtime and legendary CEO Cook right now is a surprise," Dan Ives, managing director and senior equity analyst for the technology sector at Wedbush Securities, wrote on social network X. He noted, however, that he "agrees with Ternus' choice." Cook likely believes that "all the elements in the AI space are already in place to hand over the reins," Ives suggested a little later on CNBC.

During Cook's tenure at Apple, the company introduced key new products, including iPhones with larger screens, several iPad models, the Apple Watch, AirPods, and a range of services such as Apple Music and Apple TV. But there have also been setbacks, including Apple Vision Pro and a failed entry into the unmanned car market. The company spent a decade on both of these projects, Bloomberg recalls.

Last October, LightShed Partners analysts Walter Paisek and Joe Galone published a study in which they said Apple should consider changing its CEO because the iPhone maker's problems with artificial intelligence posed significant risks to the company. Cook has never been able to implement an AI strategy. Apple has been implementing generative intelligence features in the iPhone, but has never been able to make voice assistant Siri a smart chatbot.

"Apple needs a CEO with a focus on products, not logistics. The company has launched too many product lines that ultimately failed to scale or failed to materialize at all. But AI is not an area where you can just "pull the string." A misstep in AI could radically alter Apple's long-term trajectory and its ability to continue to grow," the analysts argued. Cook was Apple's chief supply chain officer before taking over as CEO in 2011.

By appointing Ternus as CEO, Apple is changing its focus from a supply chain guru who helped turn the company into a global brand to an executive who has long focused on design and products. Ternus is beloved inside Apple and will "bring fresh energy," Ben Bajarin, CEO of technology consulting firm Creative Strategies, explained to Reuters.

That said, Ternus is a staunch AI advocate. This month, he, according to Bloomberg's sources, reorganized the hardware development division to run on a new AI platform designed to help build products and improve the quality of devices.

"Ternus is someone who will provide continuity, not a visionary willing to take risks. I expect - and the market will expect from him - tough operational discipline, margin management and incremental, evolutionary product improvements," Patrick Moorhead, CEO and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told CNBC.

"Ternus' raise indicates that the company will bet on new hardware devices - such as foldable smartphones, glasses, VR devices and wearable AI devices in a clip-on format," D.A. Davidson & Co. managing director Gil Luria told Reuters. Gil Luria.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor