On the same day that Tim Cook works for the last time as CEO, the company's longest-serving visible manager also steps down from his operational duties. Phil Schiller will no longer be responsible for the App Store or product events – but will remain with Apple.
August 31, 2026, will bring two personnel changes to Apple. While Tim Cook will have his last day as CEO, Phil Schiller will relinquish two of the company's most visible responsibilities: oversight of the App Store and Apple's product events. This was revealed by a Bloomberg report citing Apple employees.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Phil Schiller, 66, will no longer run the App Store or the product events.
- He is not leaving Apple and will retain the title of Apple Fellow; what he will work on in the future is unknown.
- The App Store reverts to Services chief Eddy Cue, where it was located until the end of 2015.
- Carson Oliver will handle the day-to-day operations of the App Store, while Nola Weinstein will manage the events.
- The change comes in the weeks leading up to the new EU App Store terms and conditions.
Who will take on which task in the future
The two areas will be separated and will operate in different directions going forward. The App Store will return to Eddy Cue's responsibilities – Cue is in charge of Apple's services, from Apple TV and Apple Music to iCloud. The store's day-to-day operations will be led by Carson Oliver, who has worked on the App Store team for years.
Product events will be handled by Nola Weinstein, previously Schiller's deputy. She will report to Kristin Huguet Quayle, Vice President of Communications and Public Relations. This means that keynote speeches will now be organizationally integrated into the communications department.
| Task | Until now | Future |
|---|---|---|
| App Store, overall responsibility | Phil Schiller | Eddy Cue |
| App Store, day-to-day business | App Store team under Schiller | Carson Oliver |
| Product events and keynote speeches | Phil Schiller | Nola Weinstein, reporting to Kristin Huguet Quayle |
| Title Apple Fellow | Phil Schiller | unchanged Phil Schiller |
From marketing chief to Apple Fellow
Schiller joined Apple in 1987, left the company in 1993, and returned in 1997 with Steve Jobs. As Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, he was at the forefront of Apple's development for over two decades, overseeing the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. At the end of 2015, Apple also entrusted him with the App Store, which had previously been headed by Eddy Cue.
In 2020, Schiller left his marketing position and became an Apple Fellow – a title that allowed him to retain control of the App Store and its events, but removed him from the day-to-day operations of marketing. In the years that followed, he became the face of Apple in the most contentious disputes surrounding the store: He testified in the lawsuit against Epic Games and, in 2024, also took on an observer role on OpenAI's board of directors.
The time commitment was considerable: The Wall Street Journal described Schiller's 2024 work week as nearly 80 hours. According to Bloomberg, employees at the firm view this move as a further step towards retirement.
The App Store changes its CEO shortly before the new EU rules come into effect
For users and developers in Germany and Austria, the timing is the crucial point regarding this personnel change. Apple and the EU Commission settled their dispute over the Digital Markets Act in mid-August; the new App Store terms and conditions take effect in October. The implementation of these requirements—alternative marketplaces, external linking, the new fee structure—will therefore, for the first time since the DMA regulations were introduced, no longer fall under Schiller's purview, but rather under that of Eddy Cue.
The App Store is one of the central platform services designated by the EU Commission and is directly subject to the DMA obligations. These regulations do not apply in Switzerland: there, the App Store remains the only way to install apps on iPhones and iPads, and the new conditions bypass users.
A retreat that says more about the new leadership than about Schiller
That a 66-year-old is stepping down after almost four decades is hardly surprising in itself. What is remarkable is the timing: the move is announced on the last day of the old leadership, not during the quiet of a typical quarter. Who inherits the responsibilities says a lot about the power dynamics under John Ternus – Eddy Cue's department is growing, and the keynote organization is moving into communications rather than product marketing.
For you as a user, nothing will change initially. Things will get interesting in two areas: the curation of the store, which Schiller personally oversaw for years, and how strictly the new EU regulations will be interpreted starting in October. Both will now be under different management. That Ternus would continue the company's overall course rather than completely overhaul it was already apparent before he took office.
Apple's leadership team is reorganizing
With Schiller's departure, the last manager in a key operational role who remembers Apple from the time before Steve Jobs' return is gone. The restructuring goes much further: Apple has also filled several positions below the top management level this year, from hardware to the legal department.
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Do you think it's a good sign that the App Store is moving back into Eddy Cue's services department – or should a store that is subject to regulations in the EU be under its own responsibility?