Apple will have been planning this succession for a long time.
Rumours were circulating for a while that 65-year-old Tim Cook was thinking about stepping down, and while a few potential replacements popped up, the name which stuck was the firm's vice president of hardware, 51-year-old John Ternus.
I had an informal meeting with him in the UK recently and I asked him then whether he really was heir apparent to the Apple throne.
He laughed and very smoothly gave me what's known in the newsroom as a 'politician's answer' - that is, he didn't actually answer the question at all.
Instead, he enthused about Tim Cook's leadership. But there was no other obvious reason why I was suddenly invited to have coffee with him at that moment, some 25 years after he joined the firm.
I found Ternus polite, friendly, and everything he told me was perfectly delivered, if a bit bland.
Apple is frustratingly good at curating to the letter what it chooses to say, even in private.
You could say Cook has chosen a replacement in his own mould: calm, steady, reliable.
While co-founder Steve Jobs was legendary for being brilliant, but also difficult to work with and prone to tantrums, it's hard to imagine either Tim Cook or John Ternus really kicking off. Neither are the kind of fiery characters which currently dominate US public life.
Between them, Cook and Jobs ran the show for around 30 of Apple's 50-year history.
And, despite telling me a few years ago that there was 'no good excuse' for the lack of women in the tech sector, Apple - like many big tech firms - is yet to appoint a woman in charge.
John Ternus is affectionately described as 'a product guy'. He told me he likes to be hands-on with the development teams.
Tim Cook was originally known as 'the operations guy' but he also has a very keen interest in hardware.
Now, the big challenge for Ternus is AI. While Apple is renowned for moving slowly and strategically, criticism has been aimed at the company for being slow to jump on soaring AI demand. Ternus will need to navigate this rapidly changing landscape, as well as consider how much to share of his personal life in the public eye.
