John Ternus has been Apple's CEO for less than two months, and in a new interview with WIRED's Steven Levy he made his priorities clear: product, and continuity. Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran who took over from Tim Cook, sat down after unveiling the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR at a low-key event in Los Angeles.
The interview, published October 30, 2026, focuses on the one word he repeats most: product. Top Apple executives back him up. Johny Srouji calls him "a product guy at heart," and marketing chief Greg Joswiak says Ternus "innately has a great sense for great products."
Who is John Ternus?
Ternus, 51, joined Apple right after college and has been with the company for 25 years, including a decade overlapping with Steve Jobs. He says he had only "a handful of interactions" with Jobs, but describes himself as a student of his teachings. Before Apple, he spent four years at a virtual reality company.
Levy first met Ternus in 2015 at Apple's Input Design Lab in Cupertino, when Ternus was VP for Mac, iPad, Ecosystem and Audio Engineering. The story then was how he investigated a strange sound a redesigned mouse made on a table. That attention to detail is now his signature.
Ternus on continuity, Tim Cook and Trump
Ternus is explicit that he intends to be an engine of continuity rather than a reformer. Pressed on what mark he wants to leave, he deflected and returned to Apple's culture of internal collaboration. "It's not like he's going to come and everything's going to be different," Srouji told Levy.
On politics and policy, Ternus suggests the reality is more nuanced than reports that Tim Cook will keep handling high-level policy duties as executive chair. "Tim is available to help wherever I ask him," Ternus said, adding that he is building new relationships of his own. He has not yet met President Donald Trump.
On AI, the interview offers no new roadmap. Levy frames the product push as a signal that in the age of AI, Apple still believes hardware rules. Ternus does not commit to specific AI features or timelines.
