Apple CEO Tim Cook says he 'probably' won't be around ten years from now

Tim Cook People
Tim Cook People (Image credit: Brooks Kraft/Apple)

What you need to know

  • Apple CEO Tim Cook says that he "probably" won't be running the company in ten years.
  • Cook says that the end date is "not in sight" however.

Apple CEO Tim Cook says that he "probably" won't be running the company ten years from now, although he stopped short of saying when he will likely switch roles or leave the company altogether.

Speaking to Kara Swisher as part of the Sway podcast, Cook was asked about his plans for the future and what he would do once he stood down. Cook was asked if he would still be at Apple in ten years, something that he doesn't see being the case.

Ten more years? Probably not. But I can tell you that I feel great right now and the date is not in sight. But ten more years is a long time — and probably not ten more years.

Cook obviously didn't go into details but he did say that it is "hard to imagine" life away from Apple.

Tim Cook

Tim Cook (Image credit: Apple)

Having been at Apple since 1997 Cook is a fixture at a company that has undergone significant changes since his arrival. He was made CEO in 2011 and has now been in charge for ten years. Having turned 60 last year the idea of succession is surely something that has already been discussed deep within Apple Park.

Apple still has a lot to do in the coming years, though. With the Apple silicon transition underway and Apple continuing to make the best iPhones it's ever made, Cook is likely to be around for a good few years yet.

The full podcast is well worth a listen, with Cook discussing a wide range of topics throughout.

In this episode of "Sway," Ms. Swisher presses Mr. Cook on the motivations behind Apple's privacy push, the power the company has over app developers, and potential future Apple innovations, from augmented-reality headsets to autonomous cars. They also discuss the decision to remove Parler from the App Store after the Capitol attacks — and why Mr. Cook hopes that the right-leaning social media company will "come back."

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.