Tim Cook squashes retirement rumors, says he ‘can’t imagine life without Apple’

Asked about reports that he was preparing to step aside, Cook told ABC, “No, I didn’t say that. I haven’t said that. I love what I do deeply. Twenty-eight years ago, I walked into Apple, and I’ve loved every day of it since.”

He added that he “can’t imagine life without Apple.”

The comments come after a turbulent stretch for Apple’s C-suite.

In December, the company lost AI chief John Giannandrea, its top lawyer, and a key design executive in a single week — while chip guru Johny Srouji reportedly signaled he might leave, too.

The departures raised pointed questions about whether Cook’s operational leadership style is the right fit for the artificial intelligence era.

Cook’s reassurance comes at a pivotal moment, as Apple turns 50 on April 1.

The company is expected to launch its first foldable iPhone and AI glasses this year, and still needs to prove it can deliver the revamped Siri experience it failed to ship in 2025.

“You’re basically surrendering AI to Google, just like you surrendered search to Google,” Piecyk told CNBC in December, arguing that the dependence could ultimately help Android gain share from the iPhone, since that’s where more of the development and integration would happen.

Apple failed to deliver its promised overhaul of Siri last year and has since struck a deal with Google to use Gemini to power AI features on the iPhone — the very arrangement critics say could deepen Apple’s reliance on a direct competitor.

Piecyk called 2026 the ideal moment for Cook to hand off the baton, with Apple shares near all-time highs and a favorable upgrade cycle taking shape as consumers hang on to older phones and carriers push fresh subsidies. In Piecyk’s view, it would allow Cook to leave on a high note and pass the AI transition to a successor he has already helped prepare.

But Cook projected no urgency around any transition on Tuesday.

Cook called AI technology “profound,” and defended Apple’s privacy-first approach.

On tariffs — after Apple paid $3.3 billion under President Trump’s trade policies — Cook was noncommittal about pursuing legal action, saying only that the company is “monitoring the situation” and that they’d “decide accordingly.”

WATCH: Timing is good for Tim Cook to step down as Apple CEO, says Lightshed Partners’ Walter Piecyk