# Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO with John Ternus confirmed as successor

Source: https://idevice.com/tim-cook-stepping-down-this-year-john-ternus-confirmed-as-next-apple-ceo
Published: 2026-04-23

## What happened

John Ternus, Apple's incoming CEO, expressed enthusiasm about spatial computing as an emerging technology area in an interview with Tom's Guide. The article highlights five key takeaways from the conversation, with Ternus emphasizing Apple's optimism about the spatial computing market's potential.

## Our take

Ternus spent four years in the 1990s building VR headsets at a startup that collapsed, which means Apple's next CEO watched this exact type of product fail from the inside. He reportedly warned against Vision Pro before it launched. Now he owns it, along with $157 million in total sales and no clear successor product in sight. Cook was famously reluctant to make hard calls. Ternus has already made one.

## Sources

- ['We're in the early innings of spatial computing. We are super excited about it:' 5 biggest takeaways from my interview with incoming Apple CEO John Ternus](https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/macbooks/i-interviewed-john-ternus-right-before-he-was-named-apple-ceo-heres-the-5-quotes-that-stand-out-to-me) (Tom's Guide, 2026-04-23)
- [Apple’s New CEO Has a Background in VR Headsets, But is Reportedly Bearish on Vision Pro](https://www.roadtovr.com/apple-new-ceo-bearish-on-vision-pro/) (Road to VR, 2026-04-21)
- [Apple at 50: Spatial computing is the future, but when is the question](https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/04/15/apple-at-50-spatial-computing-is-the-future-but-when-is-the-question?utm_source=rss) (AppleInsider, 2026-04-15)
- [John Ternus Apple Vision Pro Comments: What the Record Shows](https://virtual.reality.news/news/john-ternus-apple-vision-pro-comments-what-the-record-shows/) (Virtual Reality News, 2026-04-27)
- [John Ternus explains what he thinks of Apple Vision Pro](https://9to5mac.com/2026/04/23/john-ternus-explains-what-he-thinks-of-apple-vision-pro/) (9to5Mac, 2026-04-23)