With Williams on his way out, the focus is already shifting on John Ternus (Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering), who may emerge as the top internal candidate to replace Cook. Ternus has been leading the development of Apple’s key products, such as the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Analysts at LightShed think Apple would benefit from a CEO more focused on the product side of the business — or it risks missing out on the AI boom.

When Jeff Williams leaves his position as Apple's Chief Operating Officer later this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook will apparently be taking over