Apple CEO Tim Cook is starting to think as he nears retirement. Image source: Apple
Apple will mark its fiftieth anniversary in April 2026, and the CEO of the iPhone maker has promised employees that there will be a celebration.
On Thursday, during a meeting where he promised to lobby lawmakers on immigration policy, Tim Cook took the opportunity to reflect on Apple’s nearly five decades. The company has come a long way and its CEO revealed that there have been discussions about what to do on the occasion.
“I’ve been unusually reflective about Apple lately as we’ve been working on what we’re going to do to mark this moment,” Cook said. “When you really stop, stop and think about the last 50 years, your heart sings. It really does. I promise some celebration.”
At first glance, it’s easy to say that Tim Cook’s statements are uncharacteristic of Apple because they contradict the ideas put forward by Steve Jobs.
In fact, Jobs made it a point to never look back. “Let’s invent tomorrow instead of worrying about what happened yesterday,” Jobs said in an interview in May 2007. In an even earlier interview in 1994, Jobs expressed a similar thought when talking about his contributions.
“This is not a field where a picture will be painted that will be looked at for centuries, or a church will be built that will be looked at and admired and gazed upon in wonder for centuries.”
Jobs preferred to see his contributions as a layer of sediment in a growing mountain, representing a collective construction toward a higher goal, rather than as a single product or innovation.
Today, Apple appreciates the growth of the mountain rather than focusing on its individual layers. In other words, the company presents milestones that celebrate the evolution of Apple and its products as a whole, as well as its 30th and 40th anniversaries.
In 2016, the celebration included a video that ran through an impressive 40 years of Apple’s innovations and products in just 40 seconds.
“The video showcases some of the most amazing products and epic moments in our history and reminds us how many times Apple has changed the world,” Cook said at the time.
As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, the iPhone maker revealed that it has reached a total of one billion active devices. In the decade that followed, that number rose to 2.5 billion active devices, as Apple revealed in January 2026.
We’re likely to see another equally impressive video commemorating the iPhone maker’s 50th anniversary. However, that’s still a few months away, and that’s not the only thing in store for Apple in the future.
Tim Cook looks to the future of Apple
While celebrating the 50th anniversary is part of Apple’s 2026 plan, Tim Cook is already looking ahead. He explained that he often thinks about the future of the company and how its leadership will change in the coming years.
John Ternus is a likely candidate to be Apple’s next CEO.
With the departure of COO Jeff Williams, VP of Environment Lisa Jackson and General Counsel Katie Adams, Apple is moving toward a new generation of decision makers.
At some point, Apple’s future will no longer include Tim Cook in his current role. At age 65, he’s clearly aware of that, as evidenced by his comments on Thursday.
“I spend a lot of time thinking about who’s in the room five years from now, 10 years from now,” Cook said. “I’m obsessed with it — who’s in the room in 15 years.”
“This is an important part of leadership, he thinks about these things and has plans in place,” he continued. “You know, when people get to a certain age, some retire,” Cook added, calling it “kind of a natural thing.”
Apple already seems to be ramping up work on its succession plans, with current hardware boss John Ternus a likely candidate to be Apple’s next CEO.
Ternus already oversees all hardware engineering efforts, and a January 2026 report claimed that it has also become the “executive sponsor” of all design work within Apple.
Exactly when Apple’s current CEO Tim Cook will retire and what the change will ultimately bring remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the company’s 50th anniversary is much closer, and we can expect an exciting retrospective in April 2026.