Apple’s John Ternus will run one of the world’s most powerful companies; the job is a minefield

John Ternus is set to become Apple's next CEO, inheriting a complex set of challenges from Tim Cook's 15-year tenure. These include ongoing App Store antitrust battles (Epic Games lawsuit, DOJ suit, a potential $38B fine in India), geopolitical tensions around China manufacturing and market concessions, a lagging AI strategy with Siri delays and reliance on Google Gemini and OpenAI, and significant executive turnover. Cook will remain as executive chairman to help navigate relationships. The broader existential question is whether AI agents could eventually displace the App Store model entirely, threatening Apple's core revenue structure.