š„ Even Appleās iOS canāt be trusted anymore. There have been so many issues lately. Is Appleās standing slipping in the post-Cook era?
Cook has stepped down.
In April 2026, Apple announced that Tim Cook would officially step down as CEO on September 1, 2026, and be succeeded by John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering. Cook became executive chairman and remains with the company, focusing mainly on policy communications and government relations rather than day-to-day operations.
Itās now November 2026, and the handover was completed more than two months ago.
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Why does it feel like Apple has been āhaving one issue after anotherā lately?
Here are the main reasons:
1ļøā£ iPhone Duo (foldable) āCrackgateā
After Appleās first foldable phone (starting at around $2,000) went on sale on October 23, many users reported that cracks quickly appeared along the inner screenās hingeāsome within hours of unboxing. Apple acknowledged that āa small numberā of devices had problems and offered free replacements. Observers suspect a faulty batch of hinge materials or a design stress point; the supply chain has also faced production shortfalls.
2ļøā£ AI/Siri continues to lag
Apple has been playing catch-up in AI. When Siri AI first launched, there was a waitlist, and users criticized the experience as āstill not smart enough.ā New CEO Ternus is reportedly pushing internally to speed up the development of a more āagenticā Siri, but the pace of software development is still being criticized as slow.
3ļøā£ Cost and supply chain pressures
The AI data center boom is driving massive memory chip purchases, causing memory prices to soar and directly squeezing Appleās gross margins. Ternus publicly described the situation as āunprecedentedā during an earnings call.
4ļøā£ The previously discussed worse_query sandbox escape vulnerability (affecting iOS 26/27 and allowing malicious apps to read data from other apps, including wallet recovery phrases) is also a system-level security issue. Although it is not unique to Apple, it has further intensified concerns about āstability and security.ā
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The Cook era grew the company to a $4 trillion valuation, but its product innovationāespecially in AI and foldablesāhas been cautious. The first major products after the leadership change have run into quality and supply chain problems, and the external AI arms race has made public opinion particularly sensitive.
The idea that U.S. stocks canāt leave you holding the bag is an illusion. If youāve been trading Apple stock $AAPLB and Apple contracts $AAPL lately, take it easy.
Cook has stepped down.
In April 2026, Apple announced that Tim Cook would officially step down as CEO on September 1, 2026, and be succeeded by John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering. Cook became executive chairman and remains with the company, focusing mainly on policy communications and government relations rather than day-to-day operations.
Itās now November 2026, and the handover was completed more than two months ago.
-----
Why does it feel like Apple has been āhaving one issue after anotherā lately?
Here are the main reasons:
1ļøā£ iPhone Duo (foldable) āCrackgateā
After Appleās first foldable phone (starting at around $2,000) went on sale on October 23, many users reported that cracks quickly appeared along the inner screenās hingeāsome within hours of unboxing. Apple acknowledged that āa small numberā of devices had problems and offered free replacements. Observers suspect a faulty batch of hinge materials or a design stress point; the supply chain has also faced production shortfalls.
2ļøā£ AI/Siri continues to lag
Apple has been playing catch-up in AI. When Siri AI first launched, there was a waitlist, and users criticized the experience as āstill not smart enough.ā New CEO Ternus is reportedly pushing internally to speed up the development of a more āagenticā Siri, but the pace of software development is still being criticized as slow.
3ļøā£ Cost and supply chain pressures
The AI data center boom is driving massive memory chip purchases, causing memory prices to soar and directly squeezing Appleās gross margins. Ternus publicly described the situation as āunprecedentedā during an earnings call.
4ļøā£ The previously discussed worse_query sandbox escape vulnerability (affecting iOS 26/27 and allowing malicious apps to read data from other apps, including wallet recovery phrases) is also a system-level security issue. Although it is not unique to Apple, it has further intensified concerns about āstability and security.ā
-----
The Cook era grew the company to a $4 trillion valuation, but its product innovationāespecially in AI and foldablesāhas been cautious. The first major products after the leadership change have run into quality and supply chain problems, and the external AI arms race has made public opinion particularly sensitive.
The idea that U.S. stocks canāt leave you holding the bag is an illusion. If youāve been trading Apple stock $AAPLB and Apple contracts $AAPL lately, take it easy.
