Apple’s incoming CEO John Ternus is reportedly preparing a major shift in how the company approaches product design, with a renewed focus on giving Apple’s design teams more influence over future products. The move comes after years of criticism that operations and financial priorities gradually gained more control while design lost its prominent role inside the company.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s industrial design group no longer holds the same influence it enjoyed during the Steve Jobs and Jony Ive era, when many of the company’s most iconic products were conceived and shaped by designers who played a central role in decision-making.
Following Ive’s departure in 2019, the design team underwent several leadership changes, talent departures, and structural shifts that reduced its authority within the company.
New Direction for Apple Design
As Ternus prepares to take over as CEO on September 1, he has reportedly spent significant time working directly with Apple’s industrial design team. Gurman says the executive understands the need to strengthen the group as Apple enters one of the busiest product cycles in its history.
“Apple’s brought truly incredible design to more people than any company in history,” Ternus said during a recent internal meeting. “The most beautifully designed thing that most customers own is an Apple product. We’re going to make sure that stays the case.”
The comments suggest that design will play a larger role under Ternus than it did during much of Tim Cook’s tenure. Gurman notes that Apple currently lacks a senior design executive with the level of authority once held by Jony Ive, while several high-profile designers have left the company in recent years.
The timing is significant because Apple is preparing to launch a wave of new products across 2026 and 2027, including a foldable iPhone, camera-equipped AirPods, smart glasses, anniversary iPhone models, and new AI-focused devices. With Ternus set to introduce some of these products publicly, many observers will be watching whether Apple’s next generation of hardware reflects a stronger design-first philosophy.
For Apple, restoring the influence of its design teams could play a key role as the company enters a new leadership era and prepares some of its most ambitious product launches in years.
