{"id":22851,"date":"2026-09-01T14:17:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T13:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/?p=22851"},"modified":"2026-09-01T20:30:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T19:30:57","slug":"goodbye-tim-the-end-of-an-apple-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/01\/goodbye-tim-the-end-of-an-apple-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye, Tim: The End of an Apple Era"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are certain moments in technology that feel bigger than the news itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today is one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On September 1, 2026, Tim Cook officially stepped down as CEO of Apple, bringing an end to almost 15 years at the very top of one of the most influential companies in the world. John Ternus now takes over as CEO, while Tim Cook moves into the role of executive chairman. (Apple<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, perhaps surprisingly, I\u2019ve found myself thinking less about Apple\u2019s stock price, quarterly results or what this means for the next iPhone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I\u2019ve been thinking about RazorianFly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\"\"
Photo courtesy of TIME Magazine<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A different Apple<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I started RazorianFly, Apple was a very different company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, of course, so was the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RazorianFly grew up during a fascinating period in Apple\u2019s history \u2014 a time when the iPhone was still relatively new, the iPod was still enormously important, the iPad was about to change the way people thought about tablets, and every tiny rumour about what Apple might do next could become a story in itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back then, Apple news felt incredibly personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was something wonderfully obsessive about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A rumour about an upcoming iPhone. A screenshot of an unreleased version of iOS. A strange reference found buried in a software file. A leaked product image. A new Apple Store opening. A change to the App Store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These weren\u2019t just corporate announcements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were events<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And RazorianFly became my little place on the internet to document them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was never Apple itself. It wasn\u2019t trying to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was one person, sitting behind a computer, fascinated by this company and the products it was creating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then, right in the middle of all of that, Steve Jobs stepped down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

August 2011<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I still think about August 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Jobs resigned as Apple\u2019s CEO and Tim Cook became CEO on August 24, 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For anyone who had grown up watching Apple under Steve Jobs, it was difficult to imagine what came next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jobs wasn\u2019t simply Apple\u2019s CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He felt<\/em> like Apple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His presentations, his black turtleneck, the pauses before revealing a product, the \u201cone more thing\u201d moments \u2014 all of it had become part of the culture surrounding the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, behind the scenes, Tim Cook had already been playing an enormous role in Apple\u2019s success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had joined Apple in 1998 and had become the company\u2019s chief operating officer before eventually succeeding Jobs. (Wikipedia<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, there was an obvious question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could anyone really replace Steve Jobs?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer, as history turned out, was that Tim Cook didn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He needed to be Tim Cook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

RazorianFly watched it happen<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is where Tim Cook\u2019s story and the history of RazorianFly overlap for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RazorianFly was around during that transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember the excitement, the uncertainty and the endless speculation surrounding Apple during those years. The site was part of that strange little ecosystem of Apple blogs that existed before social media completely changed how we consumed technology news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was MacRumors. AppleInsider. 9to5Mac. iMore. Hundreds of smaller blogs and independent writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there was RazorianFly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a tiny part of a much bigger Apple community, but it was my<\/em> part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back at some of the old material now is almost like opening a time capsule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The language is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The designs are different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rumours are different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the way we talked about technology feels different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the fascination is still there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Tim Cook was there too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Cook didn\u2019t try to be Steve Jobs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the greatest thing Tim Cook did was not attempting to become Steve Jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he shouldn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, Cook built an Apple around his own strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under his leadership, Apple became an extraordinary financial powerhouse. Its market value grew from roughly $350 billion when Cook took over to more than $4.5 trillion by the time he stepped down. Apple\u2019s business also expanded enormously beyond the iPhone, with services such as Apple Music, iCloud, Apple TV+, Apple Pay and the App Store becoming increasingly important. (Reuters<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also oversaw entirely new product categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple Watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AirPods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple Vision Pro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And countless generations of the products that had already become part of people\u2019s everyday lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Cook\u2019s Apple wasn\u2019t perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were failures and disappointments too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple Maps had its disastrous beginning. The long-running Apple Car project eventually disappeared. Vision Pro struggled to become the mass-market phenomenon some expected. And Apple\u2019s progress in artificial intelligence has increasingly been questioned as competitors raced ahead. (Reuters<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s part of the story too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple under Tim Cook wasn\u2019t some perfect, uninterrupted success story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a company trying to figure out what Apple should become after Steve Jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, for the most part, it worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The Apple I knew is disappearing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s something strangely emotional about today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because Tim Cook is leaving Apple completely. He isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s becoming executive chairman, so he\u2019ll still have an important relationship with the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the CEO position is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time since 2011, someone else is going to be the person whose name appears alongside the word \u201cApple CEO\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that makes me realise just how long the Tim Cook era actually lasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he became CEO, the iPhone 4S hadn\u2019t even been announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The iPad was only about a year old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple Music didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Apple Watch didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AirPods didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple TV+ didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple Vision Pro certainly didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And RazorianFly was still publishing Apple stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot has happened since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

And then there\u2019s RazorianFly<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps that\u2019s why this particular change feels personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RazorianFly wasn\u2019t just a website I ran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a snapshot of a particular moment in my life \u2014 and a particular moment in Apple\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It existed during the transition from Steve Jobs to Tim Cook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It existed during the explosion of the iPhone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It existed when the iPad was still something new and exciting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It existed when Apple\u2019s biggest secrets could send the technology world into a frenzy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it existed when being an independent Apple blogger could actually feel like being part of something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back now, I realise that RazorianFly wasn\u2019t really about Apple products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was about the excitement surrounding them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was about staying up late chasing a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was about finding something nobody else had noticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was about refreshing a page waiting for an Apple announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was about being part of a community of people who were just as fascinated by this strange little company in Cupertino as I was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim Cook became the custodian of that company during almost all of RazorianFly\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s something I hadn\u2019t really appreciated until today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

A new chapter<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And now we have John Ternus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s not Steve Jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s not Tim Cook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s probably exactly how it should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ternus has spent years inside Apple, leading its hardware engineering organisation and working on products including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods and Vision Pro. Today marks the beginning of his own Apple story. (AP News<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens next is anyone\u2019s guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple is entering another incredibly important period, particularly with artificial intelligence changing the technology industry at an extraordinary pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s what makes Apple interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story never really ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is always another product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another operating system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another rumour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another keynote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another person waiting to see what happens next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Thank you, Tim<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, Tim Cook, thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not just for the products, the services or the astonishing growth of Apple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for quietly proving that Apple could continue without Steve Jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For taking the company into a new era rather than simply trying to recreate the old one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, selfishly, thank you for being Apple\u2019s CEO during so much of the period that made RazorianFly what it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I look back at the old site now, I see more than old Apple rumours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I see a little piece of my own history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Tim Cook is woven through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strange thing about technology is that we spend so much time looking forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the next iPhone?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the next version of iOS?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s Apple working on next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But occasionally, something happens that makes you stop and look backwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today is one of those days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tim Cook era is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Steve Jobs era has been over for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And somehow, the Apple that I grew up writing about on RazorianFly feels like it\u2019s finally becoming history too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe that\u2019s why today feels a little bittersweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s something comforting about it as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Apple keeps moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And perhaps that\u2019s the real legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

One era ends. Another begins.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And somewhere, there will always be someone opening a MacBook, discovering an Apple rumour and thinking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wonder what\u2019s coming next.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are certain moments in technology that feel bigger than the news itself. Today is one of them. On September 1, 2026, Tim Cook officially stepped down as CEO of Apple, bringing an end to almost 15 years at the very top of one of the most influential companies in the world. John Ternus now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2786,174,16],"tags":[4,3503,2016],"class_list":["post-22851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple-blog","category-blog","category-iphone","tag-apple","tag-blog","tag-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22851"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22877,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22851\/revisions\/22877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}