Apple is reportedly moving to fast-track its long-planned CEO succession, with reports suggesting Tim Cook could step down as early as next year.

The tech giant’s senior hardware executive John Ternus has emerged as the frontrunner to take the top job.

Apple’s board and senior leadership have intensified internal preparations for a handover, according to the Financial Times.

Cook has led Apple since 2011, steering it through the post-Steve Jobs era and overseeing major product launches including the Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple Silicon Macs and the Vision Pro headset.

Ternus, Apple’s senior vice-president of hardware engineering, has been with the company for more than two decades and has played a key role in its transition away from Intel chips to its own Apple Silicon platform.

The reports claim the leadership transition is not connected to Apple’s current performance.

The company is heading into what is expected to be a strong quarter for the iPhone and its share price is trading near record highs, despite lagging behind fast-rising AI-driven rivals such as Nvidia and Microsoft.

Apple is not expected to announce a new CEO before its January earnings report. But an early-year announcement is seen as likely, giving the incoming leadership team time to settle ahead of Apple’s major annual events, including WWDC in June and the iPhone launch in September.

The potential transition comes amid wider executive changes within Apple.

Long-time CFO Luca Maestri stepped back earlier this year, while chief operating officer Jeff Williams, who was once considered a potential Cook successor, announced his departure in July.

Cook has previously said he prefers an internal candidate and that Apple maintains “very detailed succession plans”.

Despite his comments in 2023 that he “can’t envision” life outside Apple, signs now point to the company preparing for its biggest leadership change in more than a decade.