John Ternus has become the first hardware-focused CEO since Steve Jobs’ era, and he inaugurated this new chapter by launching the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable smartphone.
The website FastCompany published an article titled "John Ternus’s next big thing might be the iPhone," which can be translated as John Ternus’s next major mission may begin with the iPhone. He officially became Apple’s CEO on 1 September 2026, ending Tim Cook’s 15-year leadership.
Just eight days later, he stood on stage to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, andthe iPhone Duo,Apple’s first foldable iPhone model.
The question that follows is how this man will be judged, and the answer may not be by creating a new product bigger than the iPhone, as many expect.
Looking back to 2011 when Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs, many analysts believed he would be judged by his ability to consistently release world-changing products. The result was he did not, yet Apple still grew, reaching a company valuation of $4.6 trillion.
Apple’s attempts to find the successor to the smartphone during Tim Cook’s era have been mixed, with some setbacks and failures. For example, the Apple Vision Pro launched over three years ago remains a niche, very expensive product.
Meanwhile, the car project, which took 10 years and billions of dollars to develop, has yet to produce a single Apple-branded vehicle on the market.
Apple is not alone in facing this barrier. Meta has invested heavily for years in VR, the metaverse, and smart glasses but has yet to produce anything close to replacing the smartphone.
All these products are based on the assumption that smartphones have reached saturation and are disruptive to people’s lives. However, the lack of traction for these new devices may signal that people don’t actually dislike their phones as much as assumed. If true, this is good news for Apple.
The most impactful product since the iPhone is not hardware but ChatGPT, which changed the world instantly upon release. People access it through existing devices like computers, tablets, and smartphones. The unanswered question is whether AI will change technology use enough to require entirely new device forms.
OpenAI, together with Jony Ive, former head of design at Apple, is developing a screenless portable device focused on voice commands, aiming to launch by the end of 2026.
Nineteen years after the first iPhone, phones have seen massive upgrades—high-speed internet, professional-grade cameras, multiple internal sensors, and powerful processors—all elements that enhance AI experiences. Plus, high-resolution screens remain a selling point as long as people value photos, videos, and maps. In other words, Apple already holds cutting-edge AI-capable hardware.
Apple’s likely approach to AI can be seen in how it handled digital cameras. The first iPhone’s camera was poor and couldn’t shoot video, yet now iPhones have up to four high-quality cameras and a dedicated camera app button, showing there’s still room to invest in AI without abandoning the iPhone’s familiar form.
Ternus’s immediate challenge is to lead Apple out of a period where it seemed unprepared to integrate AI into its operating system, especially with the new Siri version delayed by two years.
Apple has chosen not to compete by building the most advanced AI models but still has vast potential to create features that improve people's lives incrementally billions of times daily on devices it controls from chip to software—a capability few tech giants possess.
This does not mean Apple has stopped developing new device forms; future innovations are in progress. But if Ternus can fully unlock the existing iPhone’s potential in its familiar form, the urgency to find what comes after the iPhone may lessen.
Source:FastCompany