Apple's Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jeff Williams, has officially announced his retirement at the end of this month. Sabih Khan, currently the Senior Vice President of Operations at Apple, will succeed Williams in this role. Previously, Williams was considered a potential heir to Apple CEO Tim Cook. However, with his retirement, John Ternus, Senior Vice President of Apple Hardware Engineering, has emerged as the front-runner to take over the reins from Cook. Ternus, who leads the hardware engineering teams for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and other products, has been a frequent presence at Apple events in recent years, spearheading the launch of numerous pivotal products.