Tim Cook quits after 15 years and Apple hands the wheel to a hardware guy

15 years of Tim Cook turning Apple into a money-printing monastery and now he’s stepping down like a man who finally read his own App Store reviews.

Apple’s new chosen one is John Ternus, the hardware chief — aka the guy whose entire job has been making rectangles feel like destiny.

Under Cook, Apple mastered the art of selling you the same phone with a new camera bump and then charging you rent for your own music, photos, and basic human storage needs. It worked because iPhone margins are basically a cheat code and Services became the emotional-support revenue stream when phone upgrades got boring.

Now the stakes are stupid. If hardware gets too expensive or too niche, iPhone growth hiccups and Wall Street goes into withdrawal. If Services stays the only growth engine, Apple turns into Comcast with better fonts — just billing you forever and calling it “ecosystem.”

Meanwhile, if Ternus goes full hardware zealot, expect more proprietary ports, more accessories, and more “courage” speeches while your paycheck quietly evaporates into AppleCare.