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.

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