Tim Cook Gives Apple’s New CEO the Same Advice Steve Jobs Gave Him

Former Apple CEO Tim Cook says he is leaving successor John Ternus room to lead, telling The Independent in his first interview since stepping down that his advice is to make the job his own.

Cook handed the CEO role to Ternus on September 1, 2026, and remains Apple’s executive chair. He spoke with David Phelan backstage at Apple Music Hall in London on October 7, during the launch of a creative skills program with The King’s Trust, the youth charity founded by King Charles.

“John and I have an incredible level of trust in each other,” Cook said. His responsibilities now centre on “worldwide policy” and working with governments, alongside “helping John in any way he sees fit. I’m not meddling. I’m not a meddler.”

Ternus has already reportedly taken direct control of Apple’s design teams, taking a more hands-on approach than Cook did.

Cook said he passed along the advice Steve Jobs gave him when he took over: don’t spend time wondering what your predecessor would have done. “I’ve told John the same thing. And the advice I’ve given him is, make it your own job. Put your time in the things that you can add the most value to around the company. And that means don’t mimic me. Just like I didn’t mimic Steve. We all have different strengths.”

Apple “set out to have the best transition ever, a textbook example that people could look back to and learn from,” Cook said. That also meant leaving before the launch of the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable, rather than staying for one final keynote.

“I wanted John to have some wind at his back,” he said. “This product cycle feels unbelievably great. The Duo is coming in a few weeks and it’s amazing.”

The interview took place on the second day of Apple x King’s Trust Creative Labs. The program’s first group of up to 20 participants, ages 18 to 30, will attend workshops with Apple experts over the next year. Cook said Apple and the charity “both believe in maximising people’s potential.”

Asked what Apple gets from the partnership, he pointed to the company’s role in helping people create. “We’re a toolmaker,” Cook said. “At the end of the day, we make tools for people to be able to create things they couldn’t create otherwise, and we want to give back to the communities that we live and work in.”

He also praised Apple Music Hall, the 600-capacity venue inside Battersea Power Station, calling it “uniquely Apple.” “I’m not sure there’s a lot of people that could do it, and there’s certainly not a lot of people that would.”

Cook later greeted King Charles before joining him and Elton John in the audience for a short performance by singer Skye Newman, according to the Royal Family.

Ternus, meanwhile, will lead Apple into its October 13 smart home event next week.