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John Ternus

Chief Executive Officer, Apple Inc.

Search every verified John Ternus interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. John Ternus, who became Apple's CEO in September 2026, has been conducting a series of interviews following the company's September 9 product launch event. In these conversations, he discussed the introduction of the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable phone, describing it as a product that "meets our bar for quality and durability, but also for design." He contrasted the device with competitors' foldables, which he said "feel like two phones awkwardly stuck together," and emphasized that Apple "started with the experience that we wanted for ourselves." Ternus also addressed the device's $2,000 price, calling it "a great value" given its engineering complexity, and noted that the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max remain "the best Pro phones we have ever made." In interviews with outlets including Canal+, Esquire Germany, and TechRadar, Ternus reflected on his transition from senior vice president of hardware engineering to CEO, saying he feels "an incredible privilege and an unbelievable opportunity" and that he is "really excited about the future." He discussed his focus on product-making, his 25-year tenure at Apple, and his personal hobbies, including cycling, which he said provides "time to think and process." Ternus also addressed Apple's approach to AI and privacy, stating that Apple Intelligence runs on-device "whenever it can" and that the iPhone serves as an "intelligent personal hub," pushing back on the idea that wearables will replace the phone. He acknowledged that friends still text him for tech support, calling it a "separate little side job" for Apple employees.

Recent appearances

Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“The beauty of our system is that privacy is such it's just all built in. And so that using Siri AI, you can tap into that personal context, but nobody else can see it. Apple can't even see it. We don't want to see it and we can't see it. It is your information and I think that is going to be our contribution in the space is how do we build deeply personal experiences leveraging AI that help us all be more creative, b”

“Look, the world has changed a lot since you and I were kids, right? When when we were kids, entertainment was basically TV and maybe if you were lucky, like a video game console or something like that. And you know, we would spend some amount of time doing those things and then we were off outside doing whatever we were doing. And I think, you know, the world's more complicated now. I think if you look at what smartp”

“Look, we're always focused on obviously building cool things that people love, but also are really good value, right? And this is an incredibly complex and well-engineered device. And yes, it's more expensive than the other phones, but we think it's a great value. And I think, look, iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are incredible. These are the best Pro phones we have ever made, and they're going to be the exact right devic”

“Now, others see that data as something to collect and store. They move it to their servers and ask you to trust them. But honestly, trust only goes so far when your data is no longer yours to control. That's why Apple Intelligence runs on-device whenever it can. When greater capability is needed, Private Cloud Compute extends that same level of privacy protection, ensuring that nobody, not even Apple, can access what”

“The SIM is just very painful to me because it's a large piece of plastic that takes up a massive amount of space in the product, so as we were designing this phone there was just no way we could afford that wasted space — this has to be eSIM, completely. We've been working with carriers throughout the world to optimize it and we think eSIM is the right technology, so we'll continue to push hard on the standard.”

“The technology that enabled it, first and foremost, is Apple silicon — we have our A19 processor, plus C1X, an Apple‑designed cellular modem, and N1, our Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth chip. By making incredibly efficient silicon in‑house, the system takes less power, which is great for battery life and enables a thin premium iPhone.”

Other executives at Apple Inc.

The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →