Phil Schiller is leaving his biggest jobs at Apple

Phil Schiller, one of Apple’s longest-serving and most recognizable executives, is preparing to relinquish two high-profile responsibilities: oversight of the App Store and the company’s major product events. The change, reported by Bloomberg, removes Schiller from roles that have placed him at the center of Apple’s software marketplace and its carefully staged public launches. He is expected to retain the title of Apple Fellow after the transition.

Schiller’s future remit has not been detailed. Bloomberg said he would remain at the company for work on “unspecified initiatives,” leaving open questions about how visible his role will be once the handover is complete. Apple did not provide an immediate response when asked to comment. That lack of detail makes the announcement less a full departure than a reshaping of influence inside a company where Schiller has been a prominent figure for decades.

His Apple career began in 1987, and he became the company’s marketing chief ten years later. Across the following years, he was involved with products including the Mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, and became a familiar presenter at Apple launch events. His visibility reflected the importance Apple has historically placed on product storytelling as well as on the devices themselves.

The App Store has been another central part of that history. Schiller helped introduce it with Steve Jobs in 2008, though he did not assume responsibility for the storefront until 2015. The platform has since become a major part of Apple’s business and its relationship with developers, customers, and regulators. It handled more than $1.4 trillion in transactions during the past year, according to the report.

That scale helps explain why the leadership change will draw attention. Decisions affecting the App Store can influence developers’ access to Apple customers, the tools used to distribute software, and the payment systems attached to digital purchases. The transition therefore concerns more than a personnel move: it changes who is responsible for one of Apple’s most consequential links with outside software companies.

Running the store has also brought Schiller into a more contentious environment. Legal disputes and regulatory action have challenged Apple’s tightly controlled rules for distributing apps and processing payments. Those pressures have required changes to policies that once gave Apple broad control over the way software reaches users and how purchases are completed on its devices.

Under the reported arrangement, the App Store organization will move beneath services chief Eddy Cue. Carson Oliver is set to continue leading the store, with Ann Thai supporting that work through her responsibility for app-distribution tools and third-party marketplaces. Details on the timing of those changes, or on who will inherit Schiller’s event-related work, were not included in the report.

Schiller had already begun giving up some senior duties. In 2020, he passed the senior vice president of marketing position to Greg Joswiak. The latest move therefore extends a gradual retreat from responsibilities that once combined marketing, keynote appearances, and a major software platform, rather than representing the first reduction in his operating role.

The timing adds to the significance of the change. It comes a day before hardware chief John Ternus is scheduled to replace Tim Cook as Apple’s chief executive on September 1. Ternus will take over as the company is experiencing a run of senior leadership changes, meaning the distribution of experience and decision-making authority will be closely watched.

Several other departures have preceded Schiller’s shift. Former finance chief Luca Maestri left his position in January 2025. Apple has also seen chief operating officer Jeff Williams, design leader Alan Dye, and artificial-intelligence head John Giannandrea depart. Lisa Jackson, who oversaw environmental and policy work, retired last year, and former Meta legal chief Jennifer Newstead is due to succeed general counsel Kate Adams. Whether the new structure produces continuity or further changes remains unclear, but the App Store transition will be an early test for Apple’s next leadership group.

Source: The Verge