Tim Cook - page 2

Meet Steve Lemay, the new head of user interface design at Apple — the highest-profile software design job at the giant company, and possibly the world.

Unfortunately for Lemay, who has worked at Apple since 1999, he shares the same first name as the late Steve Jobs, who nicknamed him “Margaret” — a name that reportedly stuck.

Aside from being called “Margaret” internally at Apple, Lemay has a long and stellar design record at the company. He’s helped shape everything from OS X to visionOS. He is named on hundreds of patents and helped develop one of Apple’s most highly celebrated UI tricks.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest rumor about Apple CEO Tim Cook‘s retirement says he could step down as early as next January. We discuss the likelihood of that, and Apple’s succession plans, as we debate the company’s future.

Also on The CultCast:

• Soon, iPhones will let users trigger voice assistants other than Siri (at least in some countries).
• It sounds like Apple might kill the Mac Pro. We pour one out for the distinguished line of high-powered computers — but recognize that maybe their time has come.
• Against all odds, the iPhone Pocket is a hit! Time to eat some crow.
• You won’t believe what London phone thieves do when they find out they’ve got an Android on their hands.
• And finally … we marvel at some super-high-end Apple setups.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Apple’s board of directors is reportedly amping up the search for a new CEO to replace Tim Cook, possibly as early as January 2026. The board recently “intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins,” according to a Saturday report from the Financial Times, which says the announcement of a new Apple CEO could come alongside the company’s post-holiday earnings report.

The story cited “several people familiar with discussions inside the tech group.”

November 11, 2015: Apple’s first iPad Pro goes on sale after months of speculation about the giant-size tablet.
With its much larger screen, professional-oriented targeting and dreaded (optional) stylus, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro represents Apple CEO Tim Cook’s cleanest break yet from Steve Jobs’ vision for iOS devices.
And it turned out all the better for it!

Apple set a new record for iPhone revenue in its most recent financial quarter. Total company revenue reached $102.5 billion, an 8% increase over the same quarter of last year. And earnings per share hit $1.85, a rise of 13%, the company said Thursday.

Plus, Apple CEO Tim Cook predicted the current quarter will be “the best ever in the history of the company” — and AAPL’s stock price shot up in after-hours trading.

October 29, 2012: Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iOS software, is fired from the company after the disastrous Apple Maps launch. After Forstall is ousted, Apple divvies up the roles he previously handled among other high-level execs.

Design chief Jony Ive assumes leadership of the Human Interface team. Craig Federighi becomes head of iOS software. Eddy Cue takes control of Maps and Siri. And Bob Mansfield “unretires” to lead a new technology group.

October 14, 2005: Tim Cook takes the reins as Apple’s chief operating officer. His new role as Apple COO continues his upward climb through the company’s ranks that will make him CEO less than six years later.

“Tim and I have worked together for over seven years now, and I am looking forward to working even more closely with him to help Apple reach some exciting goals during the coming years,” Steve Jobs says in a statement.

October 5, 2011: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dies at the age of 56 in his home in Palo Alto, California.

Jobs’ official cause of death is respiratory arrest arising from complications related to a rare type of pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed with cancer eight years earlier, and officially stepped down from his role as Apple CEO in August 2011, just weeks before his death.

September 19, 2014: The iPhone undergoes its biggest upgrade — both figuratively and literally — since the original, with the release date of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets. The iPhone 6 design brings a new 4.7-inch form factor, while the iPhone 6 Plus expands to a massive 5.5 inches.

The previous-generation iPhone 5 measured only slightly taller than its 3.5-inch predecessors. But with the iPhone 6, Apple abandons the small smartphone form factor to take on big-screen Android “phablets.”

August 24, 2011: With his health worsening, a cancer-stricken Steve Jobs resigns from his role leading Apple. Tim Cook assumes the role of Apple’s seventh CEO.

“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know,” Jobs writes in his retirement letter to the Apple board. “Unfortunately that day has come.”

President Donald Trump invited Apple CEO Tim Cook to the White House on Wednesday to announce Apple’s new investment of an additional $100 billion in domestic manufacturing. It’s part of a new program designed to bring more of Apple’s supply chain to American shores.

In an unusual all-hands meeting Friday, Apple CEO Tim Cook assured employees that Apple won’t drop the ball when it comes to artificial intelligence. Calling AI “as big or bigger” than the internet, Cook said the company will rise to the occasion.

“Apple must do this,” he said. “Apple will do this. This is sort of ours to grab. We will make the investment to do it.”

In addition to hyping the company’s AI efforts, Cook expressed excitement about all the “amazing” new Apple products in the pipeline. And Apple software chief Craig Federighi told his colleagues not to worry about the long-delayed smarter Siri — a key component of Apple’s AI-infused future.

With the surprise retirement of Apple COO Jeff Williams on Tuesday, all bets are off concerning the next CEO of Apple.

Williams, a 27-year Apple veteran, was widely regarded as the likely next CEO of Apple when Tim Cook eventually steps down.

But with Williams out of the running, Apple senior vice presidents John Ternus or Craig Federighi are now seen as the most probable candidates for the top spot.

But I think it could be someone else entirely — and it’s a pick I haven’t seen anyone else make.

Here’s who I think might be the next CEO of Apple, and why.

Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer in charge of the company’s global operations since 2010, will retire later this year. Even before then, though, his position will be filled by Sabih Khan, who currently serves as senior vice president of operations.

Apple described the move as “a long-planned succession” in a press release on Tuesday. The move certainly ends years of speculation that Williams would someday take Tim Cook’s place as Apple CEO.

June 22, 2009: Steve Jobs returns to work at Apple, a couple months after undergoing a liver transplant as part of his treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Although Jobs has been steadily getting back into work for the past several weeks, the news is made official when a quote from him appears on a June 22 press release about iPhone 3GS sales. An Apple employee also alerts the media after spotting Jobs on campus.

With his return confirmed, everyone wants to know how long Jobs will continue to lead Apple.

Apple’s App Store ecosystem reached a milestone in 2024, facilitating $406 billion in developer billings and sales in the United States alone, according to a new study Apple commissioned. And over the past 5 years, App Store sales growth means U.S. developers’ earnings more than doubled, the iPhone giant said.

“For more than 15 years, the App Store has created incredible opportunity for app developers, entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a press release Thursday. “That includes the many U.S. developers who are innovating, building their businesses and finding exceptional success on the App Store.

“We’ll continue to invest in powerful tools, technology, and resources to help developers in the U.S. and around the world take their apps to new heights and create transformative experiences for users,” he added.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that he expects the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump to add at least $900 million to the company’s costs during the current quarter, which ends in June.

Speaking with investors after the company announced its quarterly earnings results, Cook also said Apple will assemble most of the products it sells in the United States outside of China this quarter to avoid the tariffs fueling an ongoing trade war between the two countries.

When companies talk about quarterly earnings, executives often deploy language designed to puff up, excuse or obfuscate their companies’ recent performance. The goal is to excite investors over implied future success. And ultimately to give the company more money. Always. More. Money. The Apple quarterly earnings call takes place Thursday afternoon.

But when you’re the iPhone giant — with a mind-blowing market cap and a seemingly never-ending supply of hit products, including ongoing growth in services — you typically don’t need to craft hopeful-yet-non-material statements or deflect questions designed to get at the true bottom line.

So CEO Tim Cook and new CFO Kevan Parekh will report on all the numbers (former CFO Luca Maestri stepped down January 1, 2025). Because many tariff impacts are yet to come, analysts predict a 4% revenue increase year-over-year, plus a jump in earnings per share. Note that Apple starts its fiscal year with Q1 in the previous year’s holiday season, so calendar quarters trail its fiscal quarters.

In another significant leadership reshuffle at Apple, a little-known robotics team will soon move from AI chief John Giannandrea’s oversight to John Ternus, Apple’s senior VP of Hardware Engineering, according to a new report Thursday.

This shift follows last month’s decision to remove Siri from Giannandrea’s responsibilities after concerns about execution on product development.

In a shake-up aimed at revitalizing Apple’s aging Siri voice assistant, the iPhone giant brought in Mike Rockwell to lead a comprehensive overhaul now in progress, according to a new report. First, the former head of Vision Pro software continues revitalizing the Siri leadership team in the Vision Pro team’s image.

Employees at Apple Stores across the country reported throngs of iPhone buyers over the weekend, according to a new report. Larger-than-average crowds look like a response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods imported from China and other countries — and the specter of rising iPhone prices. In a happy surprise, the tariffs might actually drive iPhone sales before they potentially jack up prices.

Most iPhones come from China, which is up against a 54% tariff on exports to the United States. Most experts agree that rising costs will be passed on to consumers.

As Apple TV+’s subscriber base continues to grow and the streamer enjoys lots of attention on Friday’s Severance season 2 finale, a new report Thursday suggests the streaming service remains a financial loser for the iPhone giant — to the tune of $1 billion in losses annually. And yet it should come as no surprise Apple TV+ bleeds money.

A fat billion a year in the red sounds bad, but it’s pretty much in line with the plan for losses of up to $20 billion over a decade for the still-nascent streaming service.

In a literally royal musical celebration, Apple said King Charles III hosts a special radio show and playlist on Apple Music 1 titled “The King’s Music Room.” It commemorates Commonwealth Day, March 10. See King Charles’ playlist and watch his introductory video, below. This is the first time a reigning monarch has guest hosted on Apple Music, by the way.

“Throughout my life, music has meant a great deal to me. I know that is also the case for so many others,” King Charles said. “It has that remarkable ability to bring happy memories flooding back from the deepest recesses of our memory, to comfort us in times of sadness, and to take us to distant places.”

“But perhaps, above all, it can lift our spirits to such a degree, and all the more so when it brings us together in celebration,” he added. “In other words, it brings us joy.”

Update: Check out the King’s list of songs, added below.

During Tuesday’s Apple shareholder meeting, CEO Tim Cook said the company won’t make changes to its diversity and inclusion programs. President Donald Trump wasn’t happy when he heard about it.

Cook said Apple’s strength is based on an employee pool with “diverse backgrounds and perspectives.” To nobody’s surprise, Trump doesn’t sound pleased with Cook’s comments.

“Apple should get rid of DEI rules, not just make adjustments to them,” the president wrote Wednesday morning on Truth Social. “DEI was a hoax that has been very bad for our country. DEI is gone!!!”

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed Thursday that his company plans to launch a new product on February 19. He didn’t say what’s on the agenda, other than using a social media post to tease “the newest member of the family.”

There are actually several Apple products that rumors indicate could launch then, including AirTag 2, a new HomePod, the iPhone SE 4, and the MacBook Air with an M4 processor. If you’re curious when does the new MacBook Pro come out, reports suggest Apple may introduce it alongside other anticipated products.