{"id":81503,"date":"2026-04-21T17:55:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/a-look-at-tim-cooks-15-year-legacy-as-ceo-of-apple\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T17:55:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:55:31","slug":"a-look-at-tim-cooks-15-year-legacy-as-ceo-of-apple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/a-look-at-tim-cooks-15-year-legacy-as-ceo-of-apple\/","title":{"rendered":"A look at Tim Cook’s 15-year legacy as CEO of Apple"},"content":{"rendered":"


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After 15 years at the helm, Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO of Apple and handing over the reins to the company\u2019s senior vice president of hardware engineering, John Ternus. Cook, who joined Apple in 1998, succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011 and went on to transform Apple into a powerhouse worth $4 trillion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With his time as CEO coming to an end on September 1, let\u2019s take a look at some of the highlights of Cook\u2019s 15 years as the leader of one of the most influential companies in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Financial growth<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Apple was already an influential company when Cook took the reins, but under his leadership, the company\u2019s market capitalization increased tenfold. When Cook took over in August 2011, Apple was valued at just under $350 billion. The company passed $1 trillion in 2018, $2 trillion in 2020, $3 trillion in 2022, and $4 trillion in 2025. Now, the tech giant currently sits at $4.01 trillion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tech giant reported $112 billion in net income for the fiscal year ending in September 2025, which was eight times what Apple saw in September 2010. The company was able to achieve that 699% increase despite many issues, including the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China.\u00a0Cook, who was formerly chief operations officer and credited as the brains behind Apple\u2019s global supply chain under Steve Jobs, expanded Apple\u2019s reach in China and added roughly 200 stores to the company\u2019s global network during his tenure as CEO.<\/p>\n

New product categories<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Image Credits:<\/strong>Justin Sullivan \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cook expanded Apple\u2019s iPhone and computers ecosystem into a broader network of complementary devices that includes wearables and gadgets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apple launched the Apple Watch in 2015 and has since turned it into a full-fledged health and fitness companion complete with blood oxygen tracking and ECG monitoring. Apple then disrupted the earphones market in 2016 with the launch of the first AirPods, changing the wireless headphones category. It then launched its first over-the-ear headphones in 2020. It\u2019s also worth noting that Apple purchased Beats in 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tech giant also released the Apple Vision Pro in 2024, positioning it not just as a VR headset, but as a spatial computing platform. The launch, however, failed to resonate with consumers who didn\u2019t want to spend several thousand dollars to purchase the gadget. <\/p>\n

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Techcrunch event<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco, CA<\/span>
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Under Cook, the company also released iPads at various sizes and multiple price points, and essentially turned the devices into full-on computers that can handle a variety of different tasks for personal, work, and school use.<\/p>\n

Of course, Cook also oversaw key changes to the iPhone, including the introduction of the more affordable iPhone SE, as well as advancements like Face ID and edge-to-edge displays.<\/p>\n

Although Apple moved away from the \u201ci\u201d branding in new product releases under Cook, he oversaw the major expansion of the company\u2019s product lineup.<\/p>\n

Services expansion\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Image Credits:<\/strong>Jakub Porzycki\/NurPhoto \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Under Cook, Apple built a powerful services business. The tech giant launched Apple Pay in 2014, which is now used by an estimated 818 million people globally. In 2019, the tech giant launched its Apple TV+ (now Apple TV) streaming service, whose content has since earned hundreds of awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture.<\/p>\n

Apple launched its Apple Music streaming service in 2015 to take on Spotify, and the service now has over 112 million subscribers. In 2019, Apple launched Apple Arcade and has since built it out with a portfolio of premium games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although Jobs first announced iCloud in 2011, the storage service has since grown vastly under Cook, including the launch of iCloud+ in 2021. Additionally, Cook oversaw the evolution of the App Store and repeatedly defended its 30% commission structure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apple\u2019s services business generated $109.16 billion in revenue during the fiscal year ending in September 2025. The segment accounted for a significant portion of the company\u2019s total $416.16 billion revenue for the year.<\/p>\n

Shift to in-house processors<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Image Credits:<\/strong>Harun Ozalp\/Anadolu \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Under Cook\u2019s leadership, Apple began transitioning from Intel processors to its own Apple Silicon chips in 2020 and completed the shift across its Mac lineup by 2023. The result was longer battery life, higher performance, greater power efficiency, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

AI era<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Image Credits:<\/strong>Hakan Nural\/Anadolu \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Apple entered its AI era in 2024 with the launch of Apple Intelligence. Since then, however, the company hasn\u2019t had any major breakthroughs, and has faced significant delays in launching its anticipated revamped AI-powered Siri (it\u2019s expected to roll out sometime this year). <\/p>\n

The tech giant remained largely absent from the broader tech industry\u2019s generative AI race that kicked off when OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT launched in 2022.\u00a0Earlier this year, Apple and Google announced that Google\u2019s Gemini would power its next-generation AI tools.<\/p>\n

$600 billion U.S. spending commitment\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Image Credits:<\/strong>Win McName \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cook joined President Donald Trump last year to announce a $600 billion U.S. spending commitment, marking the tech giant\u2019s biggest investment plan ever. The four-year plan includes expanding hiring and manufacturing activity in the country, with a focus on building a stronger domestic semiconductor and advanced technology supply chain.<\/p>\n

Apple Park<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Image Credits:<\/strong>Kirby Lee \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jobs\u2019 vision for Apple Park came to life under Cook\u2019s leadership in 2017. The 175-acre headquarters, which replaced Apple Campus, houses more than 12,000 employees. It features thousands of native and drought-resistant trees and is powered by 100% renewable energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, Apple Park is the backdrop of the company\u2019s new product launches.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n


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After 15 years at the helm, Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO of Apple and handing over the reins to the company\u2019s senior vice president of hardware engineering, John Ternus. Cook, who joined Apple in 1998, succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011 and went on to transform Apple into a powerhouse worth $4 trillion.\u00a0 With […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextam_enable_autolinks":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2234130980.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}