After 15 years on the helm, Tim Prepare dinner is stepping down as CEO of Apple and handing over the reins to the corporate’s senior vp of {hardware} engineering, John Ternus. Prepare dinner, who joined Apple in 1998, succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011 and went on to remodel Apple right into a powerhouse value $4 trillion.
Together with his time as CEO coming to an finish on September 1, let’s check out a few of the highlights of Prepare dinner’s 15 years because the chief of some of the influential corporations on the planet.
Monetary development
Apple was already an influential firm when Prepare dinner took the reins, however beneath his management, the corporate’s market capitalization elevated tenfold. When Prepare dinner took over in August 2011, Apple was valued at slightly below $350 billion. The corporate handed $1 trillion in 2018, $2 trillion in 2020, $3 trillion in 2022, and $4 trillion in 2025. Now, the tech large at the moment sits at $4.01 trillion.
The tech large reported $112 billion in internet earnings for the fiscal yr ending in September 2025, which was eight instances what Apple noticed in September 2010. The corporate was in a position to obtain that 699% improve regardless of many points, together with the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. Prepare dinner, who was previously chief operations officer and credited because the brains behind Apple’s world provide chain beneath Steve Jobs, expanded Apple’s attain in China and added roughly 200 shops to the corporate’s world community throughout his tenure as CEO.
New product classes
Prepare dinner expanded Apple’s iPhone and computer systems ecosystem right into a broader community of complementary gadgets that features wearables and devices.
Apple launched the Apple Watch in 2015 and has since turned it right into a full-fledged well being and health companion full with blood oxygen monitoring and ECG monitoring. Apple then disrupted the earphones market in 2016 with the launch of the primary AirPods, altering the wi-fi headphones class. It then launched its first over-the-ear headphones in 2020. It’s additionally value noting that Apple bought Beats in 2014.
The tech large additionally launched the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional in 2024, positioning it not simply as a VR headset, however as a spatial computing platform. The launch, nonetheless, did not resonate with shoppers who didn’t wish to spend a number of thousand {dollars} to buy the gadget.
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Below Prepare dinner, the corporate additionally launched iPads at numerous sizes and a number of worth factors, and basically turned the gadgets into full-on computer systems that may deal with a wide range of totally different duties for private, work, and faculty use.
After all, Prepare dinner additionally oversaw key adjustments to the iPhone, together with the introduction of the extra inexpensive iPhone SE, in addition to developments like Face ID and edge-to-edge shows.
Though Apple moved away from the “i” branding in new product releases beneath Prepare dinner, he oversaw the key growth of the corporate’s product lineup.
Providers growth
Below Prepare dinner, Apple constructed a strong companies enterprise. The tech large launched Apple Pay in 2014, which is now utilized by an estimated 818 million individuals globally. In 2019, the tech large launched its Apple TV+ (now Apple TV) streaming service, whose content material has since earned lots of of awards, together with the Academy Award for Greatest Image.
Apple launched its Apple Music streaming service in 2015 to tackle Spotify, and the service now has over 112 million subscribers. In 2019, Apple launched Apple Arcade and has since constructed it out with a portfolio of premium video games.
Though Jobs first introduced iCloud in 2011, the storage service has since grown vastly beneath Prepare dinner, together with the launch of iCloud+ in 2021. Moreover, Prepare dinner oversaw the evolution of the App Retailer and repeatedly defended its 30% fee construction.
Apple’s companies enterprise generated $109.16 billion in income through the fiscal yr ending in September 2025. The section accounted for a good portion of the corporate’s complete $416.16 billion income for the yr.
Shift to in-house processors
Below Prepare dinner’s management, Apple started transitioning from Intel processors to its personal Apple Silicon chips in 2020 and accomplished the shift throughout its Mac lineup by 2023. The consequence was longer battery life, larger efficiency, larger energy effectivity, and extra.
AI period
Apple entered its AI period in 2024 with the launch of Apple Intelligence. Since then, nonetheless, the corporate hasn’t had any main breakthroughs, and has confronted vital delays in launching its anticipated revamped AI-powered Siri (it’s anticipated to roll out someday this yr).
The tech large remained largely absent from the broader tech business’s generative AI race that kicked off when OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched in 2022. Earlier this yr, Apple and Google introduced that Google’s Gemini would energy its next-generation AI instruments.
$600 billion U.S. spending dedication
Prepare dinner joined President Donald Trump final yr to announce a $600 billion U.S. spending dedication, marking the tech large’s largest funding plan ever. The four-year plan consists of increasing hiring and manufacturing exercise within the nation, with a deal with constructing a stronger home semiconductor and superior expertise provide chain.
Apple Park
Jobs’ imaginative and prescient for Apple Park got here to life beneath Prepare dinner’s management in 2017. The 175-acre headquarters, which changed Apple Campus, homes greater than 12,000 staff. It options 1000’s of native and drought-resistant bushes and is powered by 100% renewable vitality.
Right now, Apple Park is the backdrop of the corporate’s new product launches.
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