Sometimes a company encapsulates its times. For much of this century, that company has been Apple. The iPhone, a sleek gateway to the all-consuming app economy, has been as evocative of the zeitgeist as big hair was of the 1980s.
Tim Cook, Apple's leader for the past 15 years, has been instrumental in putting one iPhone in 1.5 billion pockets, making the Apple logo ubiquitous from San Francisco to Seoul.
Apple's market value has grown 11-fold on Mr. Cook's watch, with shareholders reaping over $4.6 trillion in dividends and profits.
However, as Apple's successor, John Ternus, takes the reins, he must decide if the winning formula of smartphones and global supply chains needs updating for the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and geopolitical fracture.
Mr. Cook's strategy was a bet on the future, but it remains to be seen if it will continue to thrive in a changing world.
