The three generations of leaders of Apple

Jobs' legacy is disruption, Cook's legacy is scale, and Ternus' mission is to make Apple relearn how to create.

In 2007, Jobs held up the first - generation iPhone in San Francisco and said, "Today, Apple will reinvent the phone."

In 2025, after 14 years at the helm, Cook led Apple to a market value of $4 trillion. However, the outside world began to wonder: Where is the next iPhone? When Cook confirmed that he would hand over the reins to 50 - year - old John Ternus, the senior vice - president of hardware engineering, Apple was standing at a historic turning point - moving from the "efficiency era" to "engineering - driven".

I. The Jobs Era: The Madman Who Reinvented the Phone

On January 9, 2007, Jobs stood on the stage of Macworld Expo. He didn't talk about the camera pixel count or the memory size.

He only said three sentences:

"An iPod with touch functionality."

"A phone."

"A breakthrough Internet communication device."

Then, he combined these three things into one.

This was not three separate devices; it was one device.

At that time, the market was divided among Nokia, BlackBerry, and Motorola. They were all doing one thing: perfecting the physical keyboard. But Jobs said the keyboard was wrong, and the finger was right.

The first - generation iPhone didn't have 3G, an App Store, and it couldn't even copy and paste. But it had a 3.5 - inch multi - touch screen - which was unthinkable at that time. A Nokia engineer later admitted, "We tried touch screens but thought users wouldn't accept them."

Jobs didn't accept "won't".

In 2004, he secretly launched the iPhone project, assembling hardware engineers, software developers, and designers. The core members of the team included design master Jonathan Ive and software architect Scott Forstall. Their goal was not to make a better phone but to redefine what a phone is.

But Jobs' legend doesn't end there.

In 1985, 30 - year - old Jobs was ousted from Apple, the company he founded. He left with $70 million and started an 11 - year "exile" in Silicon Valley.

During that time, he did two things.

The first thing was to found NeXT Computer Inc. Continuing the concept of the Macintosh, it pursued an extremely good product appearance, but the high price made sales difficult. This company didn't succeed in the end, but its operating system became the key for Jobs to return to Apple.

The second thing was to acquire Pixar Animation Studios. In 1986, Jobs bought the computer division of Lucasfilm for $10 million.

A decade later, Pixar released "Toy Story" and became the world's most successful animation studio. In 2006, Disney acquired Pixar for $7.4 billion, and Jobs became Disney's largest individual shareholder.

Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that ever happened to me.

This was what Jobs said in a speech to Stanford graduates later. He said that the heaviness of success was replaced by the lightness of starting over, and he entered the most creative period of his life.

In 1996, Apple was in trouble. Its market share dropped from 16% to 4%, its market value was only $3 billion, and it had a loss of $300 million. The board of directors decided to acquire NeXT, and Jobs dramatically returned to Apple.

The first thing he did was to lower the exercise price of employees' stock options from a high level to $13.81. At that time, Apple's stock price was low, and the stock options in employees' hands were almost worthless. Jobs' move gave everyone new hope.

The second thing he did was to come up with the classic slogan: Think Different.

Then he launched the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, changing the world one product after another.

Jobs' decision - making logic was never "what the market needs" but "what I think the world should be like".

He wasn't making products; he was creating reality.

II. The Cook Era: Turning Disruption into Business

In October 2011, before his death, Jobs handed over the CEO position to Cook.

The outside world generally had a pessimistic view. Some said Cook was a "supply - chain expert" and didn't understand products. Some said Apple would lose its soul without Jobs.

But Cook did three things that Jobs couldn't achieve.

First, turn services into the second growth curve.

In the Jobs era, 90% of Apple's revenue came from hardware. After Cook took over, Apple Music, iCloud, Apple Pay, and Apple TV+ were launched one after another. By 2024, service revenue accounted for more than 25% of Apple's total revenue, with a gross profit margin as high as 70%.

Hardware is the entry point, and services are the profit pool.

Second, increase the market value from $300 billion to $4 trillion.

In 2011, Apple's market value was about $350 billion. In 2025, Apple became the first company with a market value exceeding $4 trillion. Cook isn't a product innovator, but he is a top - notch business operator.

Third, turn the supply chain into a moat.

In 1998, when Cook joined Apple, Apple's inventory turnover days were 30 days. He reduced it to 6 days.

The global production network of the iPhone was built by him single - handedly. Without this supply chain, there would be no scale for the iPhone.

In 2026, Cook said at the China Development Forum: "China remains our most important global supply - chain base. Among our top 100 core suppliers globally, 80 are located in China."

This isn't just a polite remark. There are 398 supporting enterprises around Foxconn in Zhengzhou. From circuit - board mounting to packaging - box printing, everything can be solved within a 200 - kilometer radius. When Apple needs to test a new titanium - alloy frame, the whole process from material delivery to sample production can be completed within 48 hours.

Cook said, "Choosing to manufacture iPhones in China isn't because of cheap labor but because of irreplaceable capabilities."

At 3 a.m. in the Foxconn Industrial Park in Longhua, Shenzhen, the production - line supervisor received an urgent notice: The tolerance of the lens module of the iPhone 16 Pro needed to be adjusted by 0.02 millimeters. Two hours later, the mold factory 30 kilometers away completed the modification, and the new parts were put into the assembly line before dawn.

This "China speed" is the result of 30 years of industrialization accumulation.

But the cost is also obvious.

When the Vision Pro was released, the starting price of $3,499 silenced the market. After Apple Intelligence was launched, users found that its functions were not as good as those of Google and Samsung. The products in the Cook era rarely make people scream.

Cook proved that Apple can exist without Jobs, but he failed to prove that Apple can exist without disruption.

III. Ternus: The Successor "Raised" by Apple

In 2001, a mechanical engineer fresh out of the University of Pennsylvania walked into Apple's headquarters.

His name is John Ternus.

That year, Jobs had just returned to Apple four years ago, the iPod had just been released, and the iPhone was still six years away. Ternus started in the product - design team and has been there for 24 years.

In 2013, he was promoted to vice - president of hardware engineering. In 2021, he became the senior vice - president of hardware engineering, reporting directly to Cook.

His resume is almost completely tied to Apple.

From the Mac, iPad to the iPhone, and then to the Apple Watch and AirPods, he has almost participated in the evolution of the entire product matrix. But there are two real turning points.

The first turning point: Promote the independence of iPadOS.

In 2019, Ternus led the effort to make iPadOS independent from iOS. This decision completely changed the iPad's positioning as a "big - screen iPhone" and laid the foundation for it to become a productivity tool later.

Many people didn't understand at that time. Isn't the iPad just a big - screen iPhone? Why make a separate operating system?

Ternus' judgment was that the iPad needed its own ecosystem. The Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard, and multi - tasking - these functions aren't needed on the iPhone but are crucial on the iPad.

Today, the iPad Pro has become the main device for many designers, photographers, and musicians. Ternus' decision in 2019 paved the way for all this.

The second turning point: Lead the Mac's transition to Apple Silicon.

In November 2020, Apple released the M1 chip. This is Apple's first self - developed SoC chip designed specifically for the Mac, using a 5 - nanometer manufacturing process, with 16 billion transistors, an 8 - core CPU, an 8 - core GPU, and a 16 - core neural network engine.

Ternus was not only responsible for the physical - form design of the hardware but also deeply involved in the integration of the underlying chip and system architecture.

This isn't a simple product upgrade. It's the end of Apple's 15 - year cooperation with Intel and a comprehensive migration of the Mac architecture from x86 to ARM.

The launch of the M1 chip brought new life to the Mac business. The MacBook Air with the M1 chip is 3.5 times faster than the previous generation with an Intel chip, and its battery life has been extended from 12 hours to 18 hours.

In 2023, Apple launched the Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra chip, marking the official completion of the transition from Intel to Apple Silicon.

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman commented on Ternus: "He has a gentle and steady personality and is a great collaborator."

People inside Apple revealed that Ternus is widely recognized by many executives and employees within the company. He isn't as paranoid as Jobs, nor as calculating as Cook. He is an engineer - believing in the power of technology itself.

Ternus isn't here to continue Cook's path; he is here to bring back Jobs' spirit.

Conclusion

Apple's three generations of leaders have three completely different temperaments.

Jobs was a prophet. He saw the future and forced the world to catch up. He was fired from the company he founded but rebuilt the kingdom on the ruins. He said, "Stay hungry, stay foolish."

Cook is a steward. He turned the prophet's legacy into a replicable business. He proved that Apple can exist without Jobs, but he failed to prove that Apple can exist without disruption. He said, "Choosing to manufacture in China is because of irreplaceable capabilities."

Ternus is a craftsman. He believes in the value of creation itself. He started in the product - design team and gradually worked his way up to the position of the top hardware executive in 24 years. He led the independence of iPadOS and the transition to the M1 chip - these aren't Jobs - style "reinventions" but engineer - style "getting things right".

A great company isn't defined by one person but by whether it can find the right person in each generation.

Can Ternus become the next Jobs? No one knows.

But at least, Apple has chosen someone who believes in engineering. In an era when AI is reconstructing everything, this might be the right choice.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Notesman" (ID: Notesman), author: Xiaoming Tongxue. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.