Apple is entering a new era with a new chief executive officer after 15 years. AI is seen as the biggest task for John Turnus (존 터너스), who takes office on Sept. 1, local time, succeeding Tim Cook. He will inherit a solid ecosystem of products and services, but how he lifts an AI strategy seen as late compared with rivals is expected to determine the success of the new leadership.

On Aug. 31, TechRadar analysed that "if Cook has significantly changed Apple's business structure over the past 15 years, the Turnus era is likely to be judged on its AI response, including Siri AI." Cook diversified the hardware business by expanding the iPhone into a range of sizes and price points and growing the Apple Watch into a core wearable product.

Expanding the services business is also a signature achievement. The services segment, including Apple Music, iCloud, Apple TV and Fitness+, posted revenue of $30.74 billion in fiscal 2026 third quarter, or about 42.01 trillion won. That was up 12 percent from a year earlier and a record high for a June quarter.

Another decisive change under Cook was shifting the Mac from Intel processors to Apple Silicon designed in-house. Turnus, who led hardware engineering for a long time, was deeply involved in the process. Apple's board also highlighted Turnus' technical expertise and product development experience as reasons for appointing him CEO.

A delay in responding to AI is cited as a weakness of the Cook era. Apple unveiled a new Siri AI at this year's WWDC and moved to fight back, but it still needs to prove competitiveness in the actual user experience going forward. Apple Vision Pro also showed limits to mass adoption, despite strong technology, due to factors including its $3,499 price tag, or 5.79 million won in South Korea.

Turnus' succession environment is also different from when Cook took over the company from Steve Jobs in 2011. Apple already has a stable product lineup and huge services revenue, and Cook will remain as board chairman. In the short term, it is likely to stick to the current course rather than pursue sharp strategy shifts.

AI is Turnus' biggest test. Whether Siri AI, linking the iPhone, Mac and wearables, can secure competitiveness and connect Apple's hardware strengths to a new AI experience is expected to be the key yardstick defining the Turnus era.