Tim Cook Says He's 'Not Meddling' With Apple's New CEO John Ternus - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Tim Cook Says He's 'Not Meddling' With Apple's New CEO John Ternus

tim cook john ternus apple ceoIn his new role as the executive chairman of Apple's board of directors, Tim Cook told The Independent's David Phelan that he is "not meddling" with Apple's new CEO John Ternus.

"First of all, John and I have an incredible level of trust in each other," said Cook. "The relationship must be based on trust, and the communication must be frequent and significant. But other than that, what I'm focused on right now is worldwide policy. And the interface with governments around the world matters because there are lots of things where we're trying to advance or advocate for change. There's a significant amount of work in that, and I'm doing that and helping John in any way he sees fit. I'm not meddling. I'm not a meddler."

Popular Stories

iPhone 4 on Black Feature

Full iPhone 4 'Antennagate' Q&A Video Surfaces After 16 Years

Thursday September 24, 2026 5:39 am PDT by
A 47-minute video of the Q&A session from Apple's 2010 iPhone 4 "antennagate" press conference has surfaced on YouTube, showing Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, and Bob Mansfield answering reporters' questions. The recording was highlighted by Daring Fireball's John Gruber, who attended the event. Apple called the July 16, 2010 press conference amid complaints that holding the iPhone 4 in a particular...
Apple September 2026 Teaser Video

Apple Shares Mysterious Teaser Video Before 'iPhone Duo' Event Today

Wednesday September 9, 2026 6:54 am PDT by
Apple will be holding an event today starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with the company expected to unveil new iPhones and much more. Ahead of the event, Apple's new CEO John Ternus just shared a mysterious teaser video. The short clip appears to show a beam of light that is shining onto the edge of an iPhone. The light is coming from a hexagonal shape that changes size, which could hint at...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Apple Planning to Launch Products Faster and More Often

Tuesday September 29, 2026 8:55 am PDT by
Apple CEO John Ternus is undertaking efforts to restructure the company to accelerate product development and introduce new products more frequently, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Ternus apparently wants Apple to "broaden its range of devices and create a leaner organization with a greater focus on engineering." One proposal under consideration is to rely less on Apple's traditional ...

Top Rated Comments

4 hours ago at 11:29 am
That's what someone who's meddling would say... /s
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
3 hours ago at 11:49 am

Although John Ternus is a product person, Tim Cook probably groomed Ternus to be a bean counter, just like Cook. Cook probably gave Ternus the CEO position under the implicit agreement that Ternus will stop (or largely scale back) being a product person and start becoming a bean counter.

Cook's corporate greed is insatiable. He is not like Steve Jobs who placed product quality and user-friendliness above profits. Of course Jobs cared about making profits, but not at the expense of product quality and user-friendliness. (If Scott Forstall had been made CEO, he would've been like Jobs in that regard.) Since Cook's greed is insatiable, it's unlikely that he would've wanted Ternus to prioritize product quality and user-friendliness above profits.
It is a business and not a charity nor NGO. If they offer products consumers do not buy, then....end of business. That clearly is not the case. Cook's duty is to Apple shareholders. Steve Jobs certainly was a brilliant man and a visionary but also a shrewd business person. He was not channeling Mother Theresa. The company has succeeded brilliantly. Don't like the company or the products, do not buy them. I like the products and I purchase them.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4 hours ago at 11:21 am
Not surprised to hear this. Tim will be representing Apple and expecting him to be present when meeting with world leaders and other government officials.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
2 hours ago at 01:03 pm

The last keynote showed me Ternus is as charismatic as a door, following Cook’s playbook. While I am always hopeful Apple will come up with interesting products, I am not holding my breath. The magic was really gone after Steve, and while the products got better, they did not surprise anyone like it happened with Jobs. Oh well....
In the 15 years the cook lead apple, quite a bit of magic came from the Cupertino halls. Maybe you missed some of it, but it was there.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
slippery-pete Avatar
2 hours ago at 12:53 pm

Although John Ternus was a product person, Tim Cook probably groomed Ternus to be a bean counter, which is what Cook is. Cook probably gave Ternus the CEO position under the implicit agreement that Ternus will stop (or largely scale back) being a product person and start becoming a bean counter.

Cook's corporate greed is insatiable. He is not like Steve Jobs, who placed product quality and user-friendliness above profits. Of course Jobs cared about making profits, but not at the expense of product quality and user-friendliness. (If Scott Forstall had been made CEO, he would've been like Jobs in that regard.) Since Cook's greed is insatiable, it's unlikely that he would've wanted CEO Ternus to prioritize product quality and user-friendliness above profits.
I can only chuckle when someone calls Cook a "bean counter". He was a CEO of a 4+ trillion dollar company...part of his job is to be a "bean counter".
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Devyn89 Avatar
3 hours ago at 12:15 pm

Although John Ternus was a product person, Tim Cook probably groomed Ternus to be a bean counter, which is what Cook is. Cook probably gave Ternus the CEO position under the implicit agreement that Ternus will stop (or largely scale back) being a product person and start becoming a bean counter.

Cook's corporate greed is insatiable. He is not like Steve Jobs, who placed product quality and user-friendliness above profits. Of course Jobs cared about making profits, but not at the expense of product quality and user-friendliness. (If Scott Forstall had been made CEO, he would've been like Jobs in that regard.) Since Cook's greed is insatiable, it's unlikely that he would've wanted CEO Ternus to prioritize product quality and user-friendliness above profits.
What evidence of this do you have? Also Steve was very much a bean counter, he was obsessed with making Apple the most valuable company in the world.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
Anthropic Says Users Can't Be Needlessly Cruel to Claude
Anthropic Says Users Can't Be Needlessly Cruel to Claude
15 minutes ago
Apple to Launch Touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro and OLED iPad mini on October 27
Apple to Launch Touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro and OLED iPad mini on October 27
2 hours ago
Apple Now Pushing iPhone Users Still on iOS 26 to Install iOS 27
Apple Now Pushing iPhone Users Still on iOS 26 to Install iOS 27
2 hours ago
Apple Has a New M&A Chief as Ternus Reshuffles Leadership
Apple Has a New M&A Chief as Ternus Reshuffles Leadership
3 hours ago
Prepare for Apple's New Home Hub With These HomeKit Accessory Deals
Prepare for Apple's New Home Hub With These HomeKit Accessory Deals
4 hours ago
Tim Cook Says He's 'Not Meddling' With Apple's New CEO John Ternus
Tim Cook Says He's 'Not Meddling' With Apple's New CEO John Ternus
4 hours ago
Tim Cook Explains Why He Stepped Down as Apple CEO Before iPhone Duo Launch
Tim Cook Explains Why He Stepped Down as Apple CEO Before iPhone Duo Launch
4 hours ago
Apple Product Launch Announced for October 13: 'Welcome Home'
Apple Product Launch Announced for October 13: 'Welcome Home'
6 hours ago
Amazon Unveils New iPad Rivals With Alexa+ and Google Play
Amazon Unveils New iPad Rivals With Alexa+ and Google Play
7 hours ago
Missed Prime Day? You Can Still Score Big on Apple Devices Today
Missed Prime Day? You Can Still Score Big on Apple Devices Today
8 hours ago
Apple's Cheapest 16-Inch MacBook Pro Just Got a Massive $563 Discount on Amazon
Apple's Cheapest 16-Inch MacBook Pro Just Got a Massive $563 Discount on Amazon
8 hours ago
Apple Still Expected to Announce Three New Products on October 13
Apple Still Expected to Announce Three New Products on October 13
8 hours ago
Leaker Jon Prosser Pushes Back as Apple Seeks His YouTube Data
Leaker Jon Prosser Pushes Back as Apple Seeks His YouTube Data
9 hours ago
iPhone Air 2 Could Be as Thin as an Unfolded iPhone Duo
iPhone Air 2 Could Be as Thin as an Unfolded iPhone Duo
11 hours ago
New iPad Mini Rumored to Have 60Hz OLED Display Ahead of Launch
New iPad Mini Rumored to Have 60Hz OLED Display Ahead of Launch
13 hours ago
Gurman: OLED MacBook Pro Won't Be 'Significantly Thinner'
Gurman: OLED MacBook Pro Won't Be 'Significantly Thinner'
14 hours ago
Microsoft Launches $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra to Take on MacBook Pro
Microsoft Launches $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra to Take on MacBook Pro
21 hours ago
Google's SynthID AI Detector is Now Available to Everyone
Google's SynthID AI Detector is Now Available to Everyone
22 hours ago
ChatGPT Gets GPT-6 and New Intelligent UI With Visual Answers
ChatGPT Gets GPT-6 and New Intelligent UI With Visual Answers
1 day ago
Get AirPods Pro 3 for $179, Apple Watch for $199, and More Before Prime Day Ends Today
Get AirPods Pro 3 for $179, Apple Watch for $199, and More Before Prime Day Ends Today
1 day ago
Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 Score 4/10 for Repairability
Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 Score 4/10 for Repairability
1 day ago
Apple Launches Creative Labs Program With The King's Trust
Apple Launches Creative Labs Program With The King's Trust
1 day ago
Apple Watch Series 12, Ultra 4 Owners Report Skin Irritation
Apple Watch Series 12, Ultra 4 Owners Report Skin Irritation
1 day ago
Boston's MBTA Testing New Charlie Card With Apple Wallet Support
Boston's MBTA Testing New Charlie Card With Apple Wallet Support
1 day ago
Manchester's Bee Card Now Fully Supported in Apple Wallet
Manchester's Bee Card Now Fully Supported in Apple Wallet
1 day ago
You Can Get Up to $149 Off Every New Mac Mini During Prime Day
You Can Get Up to $149 Off Every New Mac Mini During Prime Day
1 day ago
Best Buy Takes $260 Off All iPhone Air Models During Techtober Sale
Best Buy Takes $260 Off All iPhone Air Models During Techtober Sale
1 day ago
The Best Anker Prime Day Deals: Score Big on MagSafe Chargers and More
The Best Anker Prime Day Deals: Score Big on MagSafe Chargers and More
1 day ago
12 New Things to Expect From Apple in October
12 New Things to Expect From Apple in October
1 day ago
Prime Day Offers Best TV Prices of the Year From Samsung, Sony, and More
Prime Day Offers Best TV Prices of the Year From Samsung, Sony, and More
1 day ago

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors