Eddy Cue has subtly emerged as the most influential executive at Apple.

      Phil Schiller's departure from the App Store made headlines on Monday. Beneath this, a quieter fact emerged: Eddy Cue now oversees more of Apple than anyone apart from the new CEO.

      Mark Gurman reported the reshuffle for Bloomberg on Monday, just hours before John Ternus stepped into his new role. Apple has not made any official statements regarding the changes and has declined to comment.

      Cue already managed services and has since acquired responsibility for the App Store, Apple Arcade, and, as of late last year, Health. This transition was not formally announced as a promotion; it occurred in stages, each linked to someone else’s exit.

      Changes and their implications

      The App Store has returned to the division that held it until 2015 when Schiller and the marketing department took charge. Cue now takes over after an 11-year hiatus at a time when the store is more valuable and faces greater legal scrutiny than ever before.

      Carson Oliver runs the App Store's day-to-day operations and reports directly to Cue. Oliver has been part of that department for his entire 14-year career at Apple. Ann Thai, responsible for distribution tools and third-party marketplaces, now reports to Oliver instead of Schiller. Alex Rofman, who manages Apple Arcade, also reports to Oliver.

      Control of the events team has shifted entirely. Nola Weinstein, Schiller’s deputy for launches since 2023, now leads that team and reports to Kristin Huguet Quayle, Apple’s VP of communications and public relations.

      This change represents a subtle reclassification; Apple’s product launches were under communications until about 2019, then operated as a marketing function under Schiller for seven years. They are now reverting to the press office. For a company whose launches are major events, deciding they belong to PR rather than product marketing is significant.

      The extent of Cue's responsibilities

      Services generated over $109 billion in Apple’s last full financial year, accounting for more than a quarter of the company’s revenue. It's the fastest-growing segment and has the highest profit margins.

      The App Store alone facilitated over $1.4 trillion in transactions last year, according to Apple, with Bloomberg estimating its direct revenue surpasses $30 billion annually. Jacob Eiting, who heads the subscription firm RevenueCat, highlighted the scale noting that Schiller was involved with the App Store when it had no apps or revenue. Now, it pays developers around $100 billion annually.

      Cue takes on this responsibility in addition to a services division he has built over the past decade.

      Leadership changes

      Cue’s ascendance is partly attributed to the executives who are no longer with the company. Apple has lost or is in the process of losing many of the executives who worked alongside Cook.

      Jeff Williams retired as COO in December after 27 years. Dan Riccio, who previously managed hardware before Ternus, is also gone. Additionally, finance chief Luca Maestri and Lisa Jackson, who oversaw environmental and government affairs, have left. General counsel Kate Adams and Apple Pay leader Jennifer Bailey are set to depart in October, while Paul Meade, who managed Vision Pro hardware, left for OpenAI in June.

      TNW reported on Bailey's exit in August when she announced her retirement after 25 years with the company. Schiller, now 66, joined Apple in 1987, taking a four-year break during his career. Gurman noted that this move aligns with Schiller’s retirement plans, as he no longer manages any departments at Apple, retaining only his title of Fellow and an advisory role.

      Apple has updated both his and Cue’s leadership profiles to reflect these changes.

      Despite this transition, Schiller was not disengaging; The Wall Street Journal reported in 2024 that he was still working close to 80 hours a week even as he stepped back.

      Legal responsibilities fall to Cue

      The individual leading the App Store oversees Apple’s most contentious product. TNW reported in June that the Supreme Court would hear Apple’s appeal related to the Epic case. In August, it was noted that Apple replaced its EU Core Technology Fee with a flat 5% commission to settle disputes arising from the Digital Markets Act.

      This latter shift occurred just 13 days before Schiller’s departure, as TNW pointed out, alongside a U.S. ruling indicating that Schiller had internally advocated for compliance but was overruled by Tim Cook.

      Tim Sweeney, who has spent the past six years litigating against Apple regarding the store now under Cue’s direction, publicly acknowledged this change. He expressed hope that Apple would adopt a positive outlook for the future, focusing on enhancing accessibility rather than just extracting profits from users. "This will be a new age for Apple," Sweeney wrote.

      Implications for Ternus

      Ternus is a hardware engineer, and many accounts of his appointment suggest it signifies Apple returning to product focus after 15 years under an operations chief.

      However,