Apple has a hardware guy as CEO. Here’s what people want him to do
Apple’s new CEO John Ternus wrote “hello” in his first X post on Tuesday after taking the helm from former CEO Tim Cook , and his replies were immediately inundated with with requests for products and product design changes. It makes sense. He’s a hardware guy . A mechanical engineer who previously oversaw Apple’s hardware engineering, Ternus has significantly shaped the look and feel of Apple…
John Ternus, Apple’s new CEO, took the helm from former CEO Tim Cook with a simple “hello” on X. It’s no surprise, given Ternus’s extensive background in hardware engineering, that his posts led to numerous requests and suggestions for product design changes. As a mechanical engineer who previously oversaw Apple’s hardware engineering, Ternus has played a significant role in shaping the look and feel of Apple products that sell hundreds of millions annually.
With a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, Ternus joined Apple’s product design team in 2001 and rose to vice president of hardware engineering in 2013, then to senior vice president in 2021. His leadership has contributed to Apple’s success as a $4.6 trillion company under Cook’s tenure, thanks to factors such as rising iPhone sales, recurring subscription revenue from services like Apple Music and Apple TV, and new product introductions like the iPad, AirPods, and recent MacBook Neo.
While Ternus has been instrumental in many Apple’s product design successes, not everything he’s led has been flawless, as seen in the underperforming Apple Vision Pro VR headset released in 2024. Tim Cook praised Ternus as “the perfect person for the job” and highlighted his meticulous attention to detail in a letter welcoming him as CEO.
Ternus enters this pivotal role at a critical time for Apple, as more tech companies aspire to become hardware-focused. Meta is partnering with EssilorLuxottica on smartglasses, and OpenAI reportedly plans a hardware device, potentially a smart speaker. Commenters on Ternus’s post seem more interested in revitalizing old products or addressing design preferences than future hardware innovations.
Many are calling for the return of the iPhone mini or iPods, and there are suggestions to reintroduce packaging headphones with iPhones again or find a simpler way to charge the Apple Mouse without the need for a specific stand. On Reddit, users also discussed the potential expansion of Apple’s focus into health technology, and Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan believes Ternus has the opportunity to “be more prescriptive about device design and about user interface preferences.”
As Apple prepares for its first event under Ternus on September 9, high expectations are set for the new CEO to lead the company through these evolving times.
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