On September 1st, 2026, John Ternus will officially become Apple’s CEO. Here’s why that timing maters for both Ternus and Apple.

Apple’s annual September event

First and foremost, John Ternus will officially start as CEO less than two weeks before Apple will likely hold their annual September event. While this event is always a major one for Apple, this year’s is set to be particularly significant, as it should finally introduce Apple’s first foldable iPhone .

Foldable iPhone

As previously mentioned, this fall Apple is expected to finally announce their first-ever foldable iPhone . While this is certainly a significant launch for Apple, it is even more significant for John Ternus in particular. According to today’s Power On newsletter from Mark Gurman , “Ternus oversaw the engineering and product development of the device”, so it makes sense that he would be the face of the new product.…