After 15 years, today is Tim Cook's last day as Apple CEO

The CEO position was assumed by Tim Cook in August 2011 after Steve Jobs made the place available. Apple's iconic co-founder would die months later in October.

31/08/2026
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Con 31 August, which means Tim Cook – who served as Apple's CEO for the last 15 years – is leaving to give way to a new leader: John Ternus. The choice was communicated in April and, although Apple is about to enter a new era, it is worth looking at the legacy left by Cook.

Tim Cook assumed Apple's leadership in August 2011 as successor to Steve Jobs, the iconic co-founder of the company that would die months later in October. The truth is, however many iconic products have been launched in the Steve Jobs era, it was with Tim Cook that Apple became one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Apple, which in 2011 was worth about $350 billion (around €302 billion), is currently valued at $4.67 billion – the equivalent of €4 billion. Under the leadership of Cook, Apple also multiplied its annual revenues and exceeded $416 billion (EUR 358 billion) during the fiscal year 2025.

Apple CEO wants to be remembered as “a good and decent man”

Tim Cook, the current CEO of Apple, is two weeks away, and in a recent interview, he reflected on the one who would like to be his 15-year-old “legacy” ahead of the technology company.

Miguel Patinha Dias

Cook's strategy also helped turn Apple into more than one hardware company. Instead of just launching new mobile phones and computers, Apple is also now known as a service provider – especially Apple TV, Apple Music and other health and well-being-related subscriptions.

But this does not mean that Cupertino's technology has moved away from his DNA from creating devices and gadgets that can impact the lives of those who use them. Although Apple still has the iPhone as its most popular product, there are products released during Cook's mandate that are hard to ignore and are everywhere today.

This is the case with the smart watch Apple Watch (launched in 2015), the wireless earphones AirPods (2016), the home-made column HomePod (2018) and – even more limitedly – the virtual reality glasses and increased Vision Pro (2023).

Some have already tested the foldable iPhone (and reactions are positive)

Apple will have organized sessions where it gave some people the opportunity to test their first folding screen iPhone. The reactions were positive, although two points have been raised that may be considered defects.

Miguel Patinha Dias

It should also be remembered that, under the leadership of Tim Cook, Apple has also been more willing to bet on multiple models of its products – some of them have even changed the perception we have of them.

This is the case with iPad mini (2012) and iPad Pro (2015) in the tablet category, iPhone X (2017) and iPhone Air (2025) on mobile phones and also MacBook Neo (2026), which helped make Apple laptops more accessible.

It is not known what holds Apple's future from August 31. Ternus, as former head of the company's Hardware Department, will certainly have as its objective launch more products and (who knows) adopt for many of them a bolder design without distorting the expectations of Apple fans and followers.

There is also the question of Artificial Intelligence. Taking into account Tim Cook’s “shy” Apple advances in this area, it is likely that it is also one of the focuses of Ternus in the early years.

Anyway, we won't have to wait long to get a chance to see what Ternus' style looks like in front of Apple. It is important to remember that the company has scheduled for the day september 9 your (traditional) new product presentation event, which means we can see the new leader of the Apple Company on stage at Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park, giving a glimpse of what the company is planning for the coming times.