A look at Tim Cook’s 15-year legacy as CEO of Apple

A look at Tim Cook’s 15-year legacy as CEO of Apple

After 15 years at the helm, Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO of Apple and handing over the reins to the company’s senior vice chairman of {hardware} engineering, John Ternus. Cook, who joined Apple in 1998, succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011 and went on to remodel Apple right into a powerhouse price $4 trillion. 

With his time as CEO coming to an end on September 1, let’s take a look at some of the highlights of Cook’s 15 years as the chief of one of the most influential corporations in the world. 

Financial progress

Apple was already an influential company when Cook took the reins, however under his management, the company’s market capitalization elevated tenfold. When Cook took over in August 2011, Apple was valued at just under $350 billion. The company handed $1 trillion in 2018, $2 trillion in 2020, $3 trillion in 2022, and $4 trillion in 2025. Now, the tech big presently sits at $4.01 trillion. 

The tech big reported $112 billion in web earnings for the fiscal 12 months ending in September 2025, which was eight occasions what Apple noticed in September 2010. The company was in a position to obtain that 699% improve despite many points, including the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. Cook, who was previously chief operations officer and credited as the brains behind Apple’s global provide chain under Steve Jobs, expanded Apple’s attain in China and added roughly 200 shops to the company’s global network during his tenure as CEO.

New product classes

Image Credits:Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Cook expanded Apple’s iPhone and computer systems ecosystem right into a broader network of complementary devices that contains wearables and gadgets. 

Apple launched the Apple Watch in 2015 and has since turned it right into a full-fledged health and fitness companion full with blood oxygen monitoring and ECG monitoring. Apple then disrupted the earphones market in 2016 with the launch of the first AirPods, altering the wi-fi headphones class. It then launched its first over-the-ear headphones in 2020. It’s also price noting that Apple bought Beats in 2014. 

The tech big also launched the Apple Vision Pro in 2024, positioning it not just as a VR headset, however as a spatial computing platform. The launch, however, didn’t resonate with shoppers who didn’t wish to spend a number of thousand {dollars} to buy the gadget.

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Under Cook, the company also launched iPads at numerous sizes and a number of worth factors, and basically turned the devices into full-on computer systems that can deal with a range of different duties for private, work, and faculty use.

Of course, Cook also oversaw key adjustments to the iPhone, including the introduction of the more reasonably priced iPhone SE, as properly as developments like Face ID and edge-to-edge shows.

Although Apple moved away from the “i” branding in new product releases under Cook, he oversaw the major expansion of the company’s product lineup.

Services expansion 

Image Credits:Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto / Getty Images

Under Cook, Apple constructed a robust companies enterprise. The tech big launched Apple Pay in 2014, which is now utilized by an estimated 818 million people globally. In 2019, the tech big launched its Apple TV+ (now Apple TV) streaming service, whose content has since earned lots of of awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Apple launched its Apple Music streaming service in 2015 to tackle Spotify, and the service now has over 112 million subscribers. In 2019, Apple launched Apple Arcade and has since constructed it out with a portfolio of premium games. 

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% fee construction. 

Apple’s companies enterprise generated $109.16 billion in income during the fiscal 12 months ending in September 2025. The section accounted for a good portion of the company’s complete $416.16 billion income for the 12 months.

Shift to in-house processors

Image Credits:Harun Ozalp/Anadolu / Getty Images

Under Cook’s management, Apple started transitioning from Intel processors to its personal Apple Silicon chips in 2020 and accomplished the shift across its Mac lineup by 2023. The result was longer battery life, greater performance, better energy effectivity, and more. 

AI period

Image Credits:Hakan Nural/Anadolu / Getty Images

Apple entered its AI period in 2024 with the launch of Apple Intelligence. Since then, however, the company hasn’t had any major breakthroughs, and has confronted important delays in launching its anticipated revamped AI-powered Siri (it’s anticipated to roll out someday this 12 months).

The tech big remained largely absent from the broader tech business’s generative AI race that kicked off when OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched in 2022. Earlier this 12 months, Apple and Google announced that Google’s Gemini would energy its next-generation AI instruments.

$600 billion U.S. spending dedication 

Image Credits:Win McName / Getty Images

Cook joined President Donald Trump last 12 months to announce a $600 billion U.S. spending dedication, marking the tech big’s greatest funding plan ever. The four-year plan contains increasing hiring and manufacturing exercise in the nation, with a concentrate on constructing a stronger home semiconductor and superior technology provide chain.

Apple Park

Image Credits:Kirby Lee / Getty Images

Jobs’ imaginative and prescient for Apple Park got here to life under Cook’s management in 2017. The 175-acre headquarters, which changed Apple Campus, homes more than 12,000 workers. It options 1000’s of native and drought-resistant bushes and is powered by 100% renewable vitality. 

Today, Apple Park is the backdrop of the company’s new product launches.

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