On Monday, Tim Cook sent his final message to the staff; on Tuesday, John Ternus took over as CEO. In between, responsibilities shifted that had little to do with the change at the top. Four days before the keynote address, the leadership team is structured differently than it was in the spring.
The change itself had been known since April, the date set weeks in advance. What happened this week, however, was not mentioned in any announcement: One vice president relinquished his responsibilities, a second left the leadership team, and a third relinquished two roles he had held for decades. The current allocation of all responsibilities can be found in the overview of Apple's leadership. Meanwhile, the week leading up to September 9th continued: an eighth beta version was released, a lawsuit saw a counterattack, and the end of a processor architecture that had powered every Mac for two decades.
🔥 Story of the week: The renovation took place under the change
Monday, August 31, was Tim Cook's last day as CEO. His message to the team was brief and to the point. On Tuesday, John Ternus took over, and Cook moved to the board of directors as executive chairman.
Ternus addressed the workforce in Cupertino that same day. His first message as Apple CEO revolved around the product pipeline and an iPhone launch he described as extraordinary – an expected statement eight days before the keynote, but the first from him.
More noteworthy was what happened simultaneously below that level. Luca Maestri, CFO until the end of 2024 and subsequently responsible for Corporate Services, relinquished this area; the responsibilities now lie with CFO Kevan Parekh. Adrian Perica, responsible for acquisitions for years, no longer appears on the updated management page. Both changes were announced on the new leadership's first day.
In addition, there was a third personnel change: Phil Schiller is relinquishing responsibility for the App Store and product events. The App Store will go to Eddy Cue, and the events will move to the communications department. Parekh, Cue, and COO Sabih Khan have thus been given more responsibility in a single week than the new CEO himself.
What Apple is paying for the new top
On Tuesday, Apple disclosed in a mandatory filing Ternus's compensation: a base salary of $3 million plus an annual stock bonus with a target value of $55 million for fiscal year 2027. An additional $2.5 million is allocated for the current fiscal year 2026. Three-quarters of the annual stock bonus is tied to the company's performance relative to the S&P 500, while the remaining quarter is paid semi-annually over four years.
| Position | Basic salary | Stocks (target value) | Target compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ternus as CEO, FY 2027 | 3 million $ | 55 million $ | 58 million $ |
| Cook as Executive Chairman, FY 2027 | 2 million $ | 45 million $ | 47 million $ |
For comparison: Cook's total compensation as CEO amounted to $74.3 million in fiscal year 2025, including $3 million salary, $12 million in performance-based cash payments, and $57.5 million in stock. Potential bonuses are not included in the 2027 targets, so the actual amounts may differ.
Why the change on the EU front remains without consequence
One area of responsibility will explicitly remain unchanged: Communication with political decision-makers will stay with Cook. For the German-speaking region, this is the most practically relevant decision of the week, because the revised EU app store terms and conditions will take effect in October, and Cook led the negotiations for them. At the level where European rules are negotiated, nothing will change on September 1st.
📰 What Else Mattered
The beta cycle is nearing its end. iOS 27 Beta 8 was released on Monday and, following the pattern of previous generations, is the last regular developer version before the release candidate.
The legal proceedings concerning alleged trade secrets are escalating. Apple presented forensic findings from a MacBook, which OpenAI disputed a day later, claiming the analysis was incomplete. The hearing is scheduled for October 1st.
Intel Macs are losing on two fronts. The Mac App Store is allowing apps without Intel support, meaning developers can officially abandon the architecture. At the same time, one MacBook Air and two MacBook Pro models have been relegated to obsolete status.
Two iPhones, one phone number. iPhone Handoff in iOS 27 pairs a second device with the same number – relevant for anyone who carries a work and a personal device simultaneously.
Four HomePods as a surround sound system. The code of audioOS 27 contains a multi-channel configuration with four devices. The discovery is documented, but the product interpretation is not.
💡 Rumor of the week: The most expensive iPhone will be produced in quantities that are not
Two reports from the same week paint a grim picture. The first cites a starting price of $2,099 for the foldable model and over $3,000 for the largest storage option. The second reports that production is currently only yielding a few hundred units per day.
The reason given is not a lack of components, but rather Apple's testing criteria: the flatness of the foldable display and the hinge's performance. Manufacturing data comes from the Asian supply chain, where Nikkei Asia has repeatedly been accurate with order quantities; the price range, however, is a market research estimate, not a price list. The annual target remains at around 10 million units – a figure that, with only a few hundred devices produced per day, implies a very steep increase.
No reliable figures are yet circulating for the German-speaking market: neither a price in euros nor information on how the limited initial production run will be distributed across the markets. All current rumors about the device, from the hinge design to the launch window, can be found in the overview for the iPhone Ultra.
📊 Number of the week: Seven
This is how many graphics cores can be counted on a leaked chip image of the A20 Pro. The number therefore comes from a photograph and not from a datasheet – someone counted blocks on a die.
This makes them interesting, but also limits their value. A photo shows how many processing units are present, but neither their clock speed nor the associated memory bandwidth. In practice, this is precisely what determines how much faster a chip actually calculates.
👎 Flop of the week: The OLED iPad Pro falls short of expectations
In the first quarter of 2026, 820,000 OLED panels for the iPad Pro were shipped. Panel manufacturers had projected 1.3 million – a shortfall of 37 percent, as described by market researchers at Omdia.
This is more than just a weak quarterly result. OLED was the first step in a transition for the iPad Pro, which is then intended to extend to the iPad Air, iPad mini, and MacBook Pro. If this expensive display technology falls so significantly short of expectations, especially in the premium segment, every further upgrade will be harder to justify.
Price is likely the main reason – that's our assessment, not a statement from the report. Since the switch to OLED, the iPad Pro is by far the most expensive tablet in the lineup, and the price difference compared to the iPad Air is greater than the difference in everyday usability for most applications.
🔭 What's Coming Next Week
The keynote address will be broadcast from the Steve Jobs Theater on Wednesday, September 9th, at 7:00 PM CEST. Instructions for the livestream explain how to watch the broadcast in this country; the expected new product announcements are listed in the overview for the iPhone 18 Pro.
The counter-list is at least as revealing. There will be no regular iPhone 18 in September, for the first time since 2014 – one of thirteen points in "What won't be unveiled".
The release candidate for iOS 27 is expected on the evening of the keynote or shortly thereafter. The official release for all users typically follows about a week later.
💬 My Take
The headline of the week was a personnel change, but the real news was a reshuffle. Ternus is taking over a team that was already restructured in April – hardware development was then taken over by Johny Srouji and Tom Marieb – and which was further refined this week. He's not inheriting a mess, but a finished product.
This aligns with our expectation that little will fundamentally change under the new CEO. Where decisions will ultimately be made will depend less on the name at the top than on Parekh, Khan, and Cue. This week, responsibility previously shared among several people has landed on their shoulders.
One notable exception remains: Cook is retaining the political dialogue. A corporation that orchestrates a generational shift and yet leaves the regulatory front untouched speaks volumes about its importance. The review of his 15 years in office quantifies the era, while the profile of the new CEO describes his successor.
📚 From Our Archive
With the release candidate of iOS 27 and a new iPhone within reach, it's worth taking a look at the preparations. Which backup method takes effect when, and how iCloud and computer backups differ, is explained in Creating an iPhone Backup.
And because three Macs have slipped into obsolete status this week: Apple explains how long it provides security fixes for which devices and how the end of support can be determined in its security updates.
A week in which a change at the top took place, and the real movement occurred two levels below – immediately before the most important keynote of the year.
Ultimately, what matters more to you is who holds the top position at Apple, or who leads the departments below them? Let us know in the comments what you'll be watching in the coming months.
Until next Sunday, Apfelpatient wishes you a relaxing read and a good start to the week.
