Next Apple CEO John Ternus doesn't take the stage at WWDC 2026
Tim Cook is still Apple's CEO for the time being — and WWDC 2026 failed to give us our first glimpse of the post-Cook future.
CEO-in-waiting John Ternus did not take the stage during the annual Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on Monday, meaning the new era of Apple leadership will have to wait.
Cook is still CEO until Sept. 1; still, Apple watchers were expecting a "passing of the torch" moment for the Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering.
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"It's been the honor of a lifetime," Cook said as he wrapped up the event without mention of Ternus.
Ternus was at the event venue in Cupertino, hobnobbing and taking selfies with content creators and student developers.
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Ternus, 50, has been at Apple for 25 years, gradually working his way up the ladder until becoming a top hardware executive in 2021. He's perhaps best known for shepherding Apple's transition to its in-house silicon, among other achievements.
Since WWDC is a software-focused show, Ternus usually isn't a major presence.
For more WWDC 2026 news, follow our live blog to see all of the latest announcements and surprises from the annual Apple event.
Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable who primarily covers video games and consumer tech. Alex has spent most of the last decade reviewing games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He is also a Pisces, a cat lover, and a Kansas City sports fan. Alex can be found on Bluesky at yelix.bsky.social.
