Apple’s incoming chief executive is set to inherit a series of decisions over manufacturing, pricing and global trade that mark a break from the business model that underpinned its growth under Tim Cook.
Supply chain experts, industry executives and analysts said John Ternus would have to decide how far and how quickly to shift iPhone production beyond China, manage growing pressure from Washington to invest in US manufacturing, and respond to surging memory costs that threaten to squeeze margins or push up prices.
Ternus will take the helm in September, as Apple contends with ongoing US-China trade tensions and a sharp shift in the semiconductor market, where competition from artificial intelligence groups has upended the balance of power with key suppliers.