India, Jan. 23 -- Apple Inc. has expanded the job of hardware chief John Ternus to include design work, solidifying his status as CEO Tim Cook's most-likely successor.

Cook, who has led the iPhone maker since 2011 and turned 65 in November, quietly tapped Ternus to manage the company's hardware and software design teams at the end of 2025, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday citing people aware of the matter.

That widens Ternus' role to add one of the company's most critical functions. He is now the "executive sponsor" of Apple's design teams-on paper, the teams still report to Cook.

To be sure, there are no signs of Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO any time soon. The only other viable CEO candidate is COO Sabih Khan.

Apple's desi...