United Kingdom, Oct. 7 -- Apple is reportedly positioning its hardware engineering chief John Ternus as the leading candidate to succeed Tim Cook as chief executive.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, 50-year-old Ternus has emerged as the frontrunner to take over from Cook, who turns 65 next month.

Cook, who has led Apple since Steve Jobs passed away in 2011, is expected to remain involved with the company in some capacity - possibly as board chairman - when he eventually steps down.

Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and rose through the ranks to become Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering in 2021, overseeing product development across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac lines.

He has become an increasingly public figure at Apple events, ...