I’m a Tim Prepare dinner fan. I positioned him at No. 2 on my checklist of essential Apple individuals earlier this month, and as soon as argued that he’s been a higher CEO than Steve Jobs. The person’s a legend. However that doesn’t imply Apple wants a Tim Prepare dinner clone (a copyCook, if you’ll) as its subsequent boss.
Completely different instances name for various leaders. When Prepare dinner inherited the crown in 2011, Apple boasted an enviable roster of market-defining merchandise however confronted a raft of strategic and regulatory hurdles. What the corporate wanted was a secure pair of fingers to additional monetise the product brilliance that was already in place, whereas threading a path by means of a collection of pivots and political minefields. Prepare dinner achieved these issues with aplomb, and his legacy is safe. His successor, nevertheless, will want a distinct set of abilities.
The 2026 model of Apple is lengthy on cash, affect, and logistical savvy. It extracts favorable remedy from suppliers and presidents alike, dominates a number of markets, and recurrently beats its personal stratospheric income data. But when we’re sincere, it’s brief on spark. It’s more and more at risk of shedding its fame as an organization that makes insanely nice merchandise.
Specializing in the product above all else was the philosophy that made Apple the powerhouse Prepare dinner inherited and stewarded so rigorously. On the finish of the 90s, Steve Jobs and Jony Ive bonded over their refusal to compromise till a product was good, whether or not that meant hiding the price of supplies from engineers so that they wouldn’t be influenced by revenue motives, or shouting at employees till they achieved the inconceivable. It led to the iMac, iPod, and iPhone. However that perfectionism seems to have taken a backseat below Prepare dinner’s administration.
We had the Apple Maps debacle as early as 2012, which Prepare dinner has since described as his first actually large mistake as CEO. However it actually wasn’t his final. There have been merchandise that by no means made it to launch, from AirPower in 2019 to the Apple Automotive in 2024. Way more severe had been the unhealthy merchandise which did: the Magic Mouse with a charging port on the underside in 2015; the Apple Pencil dongle in 2022; Liquid Glass final 12 months; and Siri, endlessly. There have been loads of memorable missteps below Jobs, with Antennagate maybe the obvious instance. However Apple was by no means this fallible below its demanding, unreasonable founder.
In that context, I discover it pleasing to see that John Ternus, the incoming Apple CEO whose reign will start this fall, exhibits each signal of following Steve Jobs’ philosophy moderately than Prepare dinner’s. Final week, Workweek enterprise author Trung Phan unearthed and posted to Twitter/X a speech Ternus made two years in the past, and it affords a glimpse into the way in which he regards the product growth course of. Addressing Penn Engineering College’s class of 2024, Ternus associated an anecdote concerning the Cinema Show, the primary product he labored on at Apple:
Sooner or later in my first 12 months, I discovered myself at a provider facility. I used to be far-off from dwelling, and it was effectively previous midnight. I used to be utilizing a magnifying glass to rely the variety of grooves on the pinnacle of the screws on the again of the show. And I used to be arguing with the provider as a result of these components had 35 grooves. They had been imagined to have 25.
I keep in mind stepping again for a minute and pondering to myself, ‘What the hell am I doing? Is that this regular?’ And I realised it won’t be regular, however it’s proper. It’s proper as a result of I’d already spent months engaged on that product, and for those who’re going to spend that a lot time on one thing, it’s best to put in your perfect effort. Possibly a buyer notices, perhaps they don’t, however both manner, every time I noticed a type of shows on somebody’s desk, it mattered to me to know that my teammates and I had thought of every part about it and finished the easiest job we may.
That proper there’s not a Tim Prepare dinner anecdote. That’s a Steve Jobs anecdote. He’s virtually phrase for phrase, in truth, relating to the precept that particulars matter whether or not the client sees them or not: Paul Jobs, a talented carpenter, instilled in his son the significance of correctly crafting the backs of fences and cupboards even when they had been hidden, and the youthful Jobs took the same stance on motherboards and the within of Mac casings.
Typically this obsession created logistical issues, which can be why the efficiency-focused Prepare dinner took a distinct strategy. However it additionally led to the MacBook Air and the iPod. Tim Prepare dinner achieved an enormous quantity, however Apple didn’t launch a product of that caliber throughout his whole time as CEO. Many hits, many smart updates, nothing to make an actual dent within the universe. Maybe John Ternus will change that.
Foundry
Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which incorporates all of the Apple information you missed final week in a helpful bite-sized roundup. We name it Apple Breakfast as a result of we predict it goes nice with a Monday morning cup of espresso or tea, however it’s cool if you wish to give it a learn throughout lunch or dinner hours too.
Apple is getting a brand new CEO!
Tim Prepare dinner to step down as Apple CEO in shock announcement. (However don’t fear, he’s high quality.)
Alex Blake explores Prepare dinner’s legacy: 9 small bets that paid off and 2 large swings that didn’t. And explains why John Ternus is the proper decide on the proper time.
Prepare dinner’s reward for exemplary service? The worst job on the earth.
John Ternus is just not inheriting your father’s Apple, says the Macalope.
Prepare dinner isn’t simply leaving large sneakers to fill–they’re additionally very costly. Michael Simon will miss the outgoing CEO’s sneaker sport most of all.
Ternus’ promotion to Apple CEO could have claimed its first casualty.
Trending: High tales
Filipe Esposito reveals how Apple solved the RAM disaster earlier than it even arrived.
Mahmoud Itani reminds us of 10 iPad milestones that modified the pill laptop eternally.
Wish to enhance your iPhonography? Right here’s how we’re taking significantly better pictures with the iPhone.
The finish of the iPad is starting. With a touchscreen MacBook and folding iPhone coming, Apple’s pill will probably be out of date earlier than we all know it.
Podcast of the week
The iPhone 18 Professional is only a few months away. We speak concerning the newest iPhone 18 Professional rumors, and what’s concerned in reporting Apple leaks on the newest episode of the Macworld Podcast.
You’ll be able to catch each episode of the Macworld Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our personal web site.
Evaluations nook
The rumor mill
iPhone 18 Professional and Extremely particulars revealed in leaker’s intensive Q&A.
We would need to wait a bit longer for the primary touchscreen MacBook.
Apple is growing a 200MP iPhone digicam, however we won’t get it for some time.
Video of the week
Macworld contributor Filipe Esposito not too long ago broke an unique report concerning the upcoming iPhone 18 Professional and its colours. Esposito has a strong fame for breaking Apple tales, and on this interview, he talks with Macworld’s Michael Simon and Jason Cross about his course of for getting inside info. Get pleasure from extra Macworld movies on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram.
Software program updates, bugs, and issues
Right here’s how AI is working to make your iPhone and Mac practically impervious to assaults.
New iPhone phishing rip-off entails electronic mail despatched from Apple servers.
iOS 26.4.2 is out now with extra safety and bug fixes in your iPhone.
iOS 27 could not help iPhone 11, 2nd-gen iPhone SE.
And with that, we’re finished for this week’s Apple Breakfast. In the event you’d wish to get common roundups, join our newsletters, together with our new electronic mail from The Macalope–an irreverent, humorous tackle the newest information and rumors from a half-man, half-mythical Mac beast. It’s also possible to observe us on Fb, Threads, Bluesky, or X for dialogue of breaking Apple information tales. See you subsequent Monday, and keep Appley.
