Top Stories: Tim Cook's 2026 Exit?, Mac Pro on Hold, and More

[MacRumors]

2025 is rapidly drawing to a close, but this week still saw some interesting news in the world of Apple, led by a report claiming that Tim Cook's retirement as Apple CEO might not be too far away.

This week also saw word that the future of the Mac Pro appears to be in question, while Apple continues to work on the upcoming iOS 26.2 update and related releases. Black Friday is also right around the corner now with lots of deals already available, so read on below for details on these stories and more!

Top Stories

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said, with Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, viewed as Cook's most likely successor.

Cook will likely transition to a chairman role with Apple, but his level of influence in a post-CEO role remains to be seen. Arthur Levinson, the current chairman of Apple's board of directors, is 75 years old and prohibited from being re-elected under Apple's corporate governance policy unless an exception is made.

Word of Cook's impending retirement comes as former Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams officially retired last week after spending the past few months winding down his responsibilities and handing them off other executives.

Mac Pro Reportedly on 'Back Burner' and 'Largely Written Off' at Apple

Apple's high-end Mac Pro desktop computer is currently "on the back burner," according to the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In his Power On newsletter this week, Gurman said he heard that Apple has "largely written off" the Mac Pro, with the sentiment inside the company being that the Mac Studio represents the present and future of Apple's pro desktop computing.

Apple is working on a high-end M5 Ultra chip, but Gurman said the company is currently "only" focused on a new Mac Studio with that chip, which leads him to believe that the Mac Pro "won't be updated in 2026 in a significant way."

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Holiday shopping deals continue to ramp up ahead of Black Friday, with great prices available now on AirPods, AirTag, Apple Watch, Macs, iPads, and more.

Apple has announced details on its own Black Friday event with bonus gift cards available with the purchase of many Apple products, but better straight-cash discounts are typically available from other retailers.

In addition to Apple's own products, we're seeing great early Black Friday deals from Samsung, Sony, Walmart, Adobe, Nomad, Sonos, and more.

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Apple is continuing to work on iOS 26.2 and related updates, with public releases likely coming in mid-December.

With the third developer beta of iOS 26.2 seeded this week, we saw a number of changes and improvements, including new AirDrop functionality, a new API to allow third-party apps to tap into Hypertension Notifications, and the ability for users in Japan to set an alternative voice assistant app to be activated using the iPhone's side button traditionally used for Siri.

Apple is also continuing to work on iPad multitasking, with a new tweak to add drag-and-drop functionality to the revived Slide Over feature.

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Rapidly Selling Out

Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone.

The accessory became available to order on Apple's online store last week Friday in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, but it sold out within hours in the United States, and supplies quickly began running short in other countries as well.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 16 Wi-Fi Speeds: New Study Reveals the Winner

A new study has revealed that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air achieve significantly faster average Wi-Fi speeds compared to the iPhone 16 series, thanks to Apple's custom-designed N1 chip.

The study by Ookla, the company behind... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: Top Stories: Tim Cook's 2026 Exit?, Mac Pro on Hold, and More

 

[Frantisekj]

Bye, bye Mac Pro. Hope they will keep at least wheels as collector item

 

[Takeo Apple]

I call BS on the MacPro news. I am more convinced that Apple will launch a Mac Pro with M5 "Ultra AI" or something like that with multi-M5 Ultra combined than ever. The Mac Pro is not dead, they are just not telling. Apple can keep secrets if they want lol.

 

[BMcCoy]

Gurman makes up any old nonsense...
In a few months he'll say "apple re-considering Mac Pro future.."

And then he's covered himself for whatever happens!

 

[drrich2]

Given that Apple Silicon pretty much wrote off using an external graphics card, I wonder how useful the tower form factor is for the target demographic now. I like towers; love internal drive bays to take advantage of modern SSD speeds without the constraints of Thunderbolt or needing external housings. But how many people find it compelling?

Another way to try to get perspective on this is to ask what sort of PCs that demographic uses. Decades ago desktop PCs were predominantly a bit similar to the Studio (but with the display sitting atop the computer chassis), with towers an up and coming player. Towers became very common. So how many of those professionals who use a PC (for similar tasks to what a Mac would be used for) have a tower PC, and of those, how many meaningfully use the tower functionality (e.g.: extra SSDs or HDDs) aside from external graphics cards?

 

[Happy_John]

Gurman makes up any old nonsense...
In a few months he'll say "apple re-considering Mac Pro future.."

And then he's covered himself for whatever happens!

Nice job, if you can get it. State the obvious (“Apple will release new updates to products in the next 12 months”), use that as a claim that you havre reliable “insider knowledge”, and then pad it out with any vaguely plausible speculation, it doesn’t really matter if it’s a hit or a miss, because you’re already receiving the subscription fees and paid media “here’s an expert” gigs.

 

[Happy_John]

Given that Apple Silicon pretty much wrote off using an external graphics card, I wonder how useful the tower form factor is for the target demographic now. I like towers; love internal drive bays to take advantage of modern SSD speeds without the constraints of Thunderbolt or needing external housings. But how many people find it compelling?

Another way to try to get perspective on this is to ask what sort of PCs that demographic uses. Decades ago desktop PCs were predominantly a bit similar to the Studio (but with the display sitting atop the computer chassis), with towers an up and coming player. Towers became very common. So how many of those professionals who use a PC (for similar tasks to what a Mac would be used for) have a tower PC, and of those, how many meaningfully use the tower functionality (e.g.: extra SSDs or HDDs) aside from external graphics cards?

It’s relevant for Apple because it’s their “made/assembled in the USA” product, and they need a current product that ticks that box. What they don’t need to do is put much money in marketing or developing it. Cynically, the Mac Pro is the vegetarian option at a steakhouse, just to show they are covering that option, even though they don’t expect many people to buy it, because people who want a good vegetarian meal generally don’t go to a steakhouse for that.

Once a new powerful chip is already developed (and Apple do take development of chips seriously), it’ll cost them very little to put it into the existing Mac Pro design. That chip won’t have been developed “for” the Mac Pro.

So, I can’t see Apple discontinuing the Mac Pro, or doing anything very different with it, unless they develop something that the Mac Pro could be used as a vehicle for.

 

[visasavo]

oh god please fire that idiot already, maybe we can get an iPhone mini again

 

[TimCrapple]

Nix the Tim, keep the Pro

 

[drrich2]

Once a new powerful chip is already developed (and Apple do take development of chips seriously), it’ll cost them very little to put it into the existing Mac Pro design.

Yes, so why no M3Ultra MacPro? Why no M4Max MacPro? At some point having it on the current products roster generations behind the curve in power but (I think hideously) over-priced becomes an embarrassment. Apple can be slow to acknowledge practical reality at times, but when the writing on the wall gets embarrassing enough...

It doesn't have to be particularly profitable, but as a joke it becomes a detriment. 'MacPro...yesterday's technology at tomorrow's prices. Because at Apple, we have courage.'

Right now it seems to make the Mac Studio look good.

Richard.

 

[Scoob Redux]

oh god please fire that idiot already, maybe we can get an iPhone mini again

He never understood technology or had any vision. Jony just came to him with "look, it's thinner!" and he bought it every time. The fans will say, "yeah, but look at the stock price"...but any Harvard MBA can oversee profit growth. What customers wanted was innovation and vision. We never got it with Tim. I'm still using my iPhone 13 Mini (and I've got my iPhone 4 in a drawer so I can look back fondly at better times

 

[delsoul]

Can we quit giving Gurman any time of day. All he does is make a living off of speculation. The world needs more facts and truths, more than ever, than just some guy who speculates and maybe gets it right, probably gets it wrong. It’s honestly people like him that have ruined the excitement of when Apple does actually release new products.

 

[Bodhitree]

I think Tim Cook did pretty well over his tenure as the boss at Apple, but there has been a lot of product line proliferation. It’ll be interesting to see what new ideas John Ternus brings, if it is going to be him.

 

[robotfist]

"Gurman said he heard that Apple has largely written of" the Mac Pro."

I feel like they write it off every year, lol. The Mac Pro is the most constantly written off product at Apple. It's been written off for decades now. Perhaps this time, it's the nail in the coffin, since they have a product they want to replace it with. Before, they just ignored it and kept making consumer level machines.

 

[vegetassj4]

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

For those wondering what the severance pay for him being asked to resign stepping down is:

he did do a good job building the company's value during his time though, and gave us the most pro devices we've ever had.

 

[delsoul]

For those wondering what the severance pay for him being asked to resign stepping down is:

View attachment 2581675

he did do a good job building the company's value during his time though, and gave us the most pro devices we've ever had.

View attachment 2581678

I’d argue that by giving customers lackluster products, that’s how he was able to grow their value. Instead of spending money on serious, groundbreaking products and features, it all went to the bank account while giving consumers rehashed and stale products year after year. M chip was the extent of anything amazing. And, yes, I believe the IPhone Air is something extraordinary. The fit and finish reminds me of the old classic Apple products that really made you feel like you were getting something special, not to mention the incredible engineering that went into the device. Outside of those two things, it’s great that Apple has pleased the shareholders, but for the many of us who have no investment in the corporation, we want worthwhile products.

 

[tonester1984]

Bring back Scott Forstall as CEO.

 

[Happy_John]

Yes, so why no M3Ultra MacPro? Why no M4Max MacPro? At some point having it on the current products roster generations behind the curve in power but (I think hideously) over-priced becomes an embarrassment. Apple can be slow to acknowledge practical reality at times, but when the writing on the wall gets embarrassing enough...

It doesn't have to be particularly profitable, but as a joke it becomes a detriment. 'MacPro...yesterday's technology at tomorrow's prices. Because at Apple, we have courage.'

Right now it seems to make the Mac Studio look good.

Richard.

No M3Iltra because they still have boxed and ready to sell Mac Pros with M2 Uktra chips.

m2 chips are now out of production, they might as we’ll let their stock of Mac Pros run down - the only buyers are those who have a workflow with an M2 Ultra Pro and who needs an emergency replacement.

Apple doesn’t want to sell Mac Pros, they want to offer Mac Pros as available to buy, for the reason I gave above.

If they discontinue the Mac Pro, they’ll need to move product/assembly to the USA. And it can’t just be a peripheral, it needs to a a “core”, if nominal, product.

Why would Apple increase their costs by putting an M3 Ultra in a product isn’t selling when they can spend nothing and offer a pre-built Mac Pro M2 Ultra that no-one is buying?

An M3 Ultra or M4 Max chip doesn’t improve the Mac Pro’s desirability. An M5 Uktra might, especially if it was released before an M5 Ultra Stidio. A mythical M5 extreme would help more.

But at this point, the gains by upgrading the Mac Pro to M3 Ultra are minimal in terms of desirability, and a Max chips makes no sense at all.

 

[Digital Dude]

I won’t miss Tim, but I kinda hate to see the Mac Pro disappear. That’s all I ever bought up until 2009 when I picked up my last one. I still have it tucked away in its original box like a little tech time capsule, and it still looks brand new. Back then you could actually open a Mac and work on it without needing divine intervention.

Apple eventually priced me out of half their products, including the MacBook Pro. Now I’m basically stuck with iPads, and that’s all I’ve been buying for the last ten years. In a weird way it feels like a win. I save a pile of money by refusing to buy into their aristocrat pricing scheme. 💵

 

[ZivaD]

But if Tim Apple goes will they have to rename Apple?

 

[xbjllb]

You read it here first, but AI Steve Jobs is going to be the new CEO at Apple. And we're finally getting that iBrain neural interface I've been talking about for, oh about a decade. No more hardware. Of any kind. Human brains right into the cloud.

 

[AlexisV]

Insane the M chip Pro even exists when the product that is missing is clearly an M chip iMac Pro.

 

[Siliconguy]

Now I’m basically stuck with iPads, and that’s all I’ve been buying for the last ten years. In a weird way it feels like a win. I save a pile of money by refusing to buy into their aristocrat pricing scheme.

I hear you. I just opened the box on a new A16 iPad (AI Free! 🎆🥳)

My used M2 Mini should arrive next week. Let someone else take the depreciation.

 

[superarijit]

An apt rendition of the Dickens quote from Tiny Tim, "God damn everyone!" Tiny Tim's reign is that of a good maintenance man -- take Steve's ideas and try to stretch them to the fashionable, chic extremes. It is fortunate that Steve left Tim a rich legacy of cash cow products because it hid the multi billion dollar failures of Tiny Tim: Apple "Intelligence" (a joke that keeps giving); Apple Car; Apple Vision Pro; and of course the latest skinny iPhone which should be the shape of Tim's tombstone; Liquid Idiocy; and of course buggy, rewarmed software like the renumbered 26 series. These weren't small mistakes, they were yuuuuuuuge.

Apple is plagued by old guys (and they are mostly guys and mostly white) who are way past their sell by date. Apple is a *very* political place run by politicians whose main job is to keep the status quo going. That is no way to run any company, let alone a tech company.

 

[Siliconguy]

So how many of those professionals who use a PC (for similar tasks to what a Mac would be used for) have a tower PC, and of those, how many meaningfully use the tower functionality (e.g.: extra SSDs or HDDs) aside from external graphics cards?

Fair question. My Linux box is a tower. It has 11 USB ports which is more than I need, the DVD drive, and a second hard drive. Boot drive is an NVME stick. There is room for two more internal hard drives which is nice. I do Not have a graphics card, the built-in graphics on the Ryzen are entirely adequate (as opposed to the Intel HD 630 graphics that were my other option when I built the box.)

One PCI-e slot might end up with a USB 4 card if I decide I need it. A wi-fi/bluetooth card is another possibility, I don't need either of those on that machine at the moment.