Tim Cook is stepping down. What happens to Apple now?
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Tim Cook is stepping down. What happens to Apple now?
Theresa Loconsolo
7:00 AM PDT · April 24, 2026
35 min
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Tim Cook plans to step down from his CEO role in September, handing the reins to hardware chief John Ternus.
Ternus may be inheriting one of the most durable businesses in tech, but he’s also stepping into a very different ecosystemthan the one Cook spent decades shaping. The App Store’s 30% cut is under pressure, the behind-the-scenes power Apple once held over developers is being challenged, and vibe-coded apps are changing what it means to build on Apple’s platform.
Watch as TechCrunch’s Equity podcast hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane dig into what this transition means for startups and a closer look at some of the week’s biggest deals — including SpaceX’s $60B option on Cursor.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Topics
AI, AI, Anthropic, Apple, Elon Musk, Fintech, IPO, SpaceX, Startups, Startups, Tim Cook, Venture
Theresa Loconsolo
Audio Producer
Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University.
You can contact or verify outreach from Theresa by emailing theresa.loconsolo@techcrunch.com.
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