Apple's next CEO is already waiting

The EU strikes at China's ultra-fast fashion

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Jennifer Mossalgue & Rowan Cheung
November 18, 2025

Good morning, tech enthusiasts. Tim Cook just turned 65, and Apple’s succession talk is heating up even as he shows no sign of loosening his grip on the nearly $4T giant.

Inside the Cupertino giant, hardware chief John Ternus is quietly emerging as heir apparent while the company tries to shake off its AI stumbles. But is he really ready to take the reins from Apple’s Wall Street whisperer-in-chief?

In today’s tech rundown:

  • Apple quietly preps for post-Cook era

  • EU cracks down on China’s ultra-fast fashion

  • Amazon to fully absorb Whole Foods’ workers

  • Meta arms creators against content theft

  • Quick hits on other tech news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

APPLE

Image source: Ideogram / The Rundown

The Rundown: Tim Cook just turned 65, and with that milestone comes renewed speculation about Apple’s succession plan — even as the CEO shows no signs of stepping down from his 14-year reign atop one of the world's most valuable companies.

The details:

  • Cook grew Apple from $350B to nearly $4T since 2011, but at 65, succession planning is now standard governance for a company this size.

  • Hardware engineering chief John Ternus, 50, is widely viewed as the frontrunner, with rising visibility at launches and a profile that fits the bill.

  • Other contenders reportedly include Craig Federighi (software), Greg Joswiak (marketing), and former COO Jeff Williams.

  • The real question isn’t if Apple has a plan, but whether any successor can navigate the company’s post-iPhone era with Cook’s Wall Street charm.

Why it matters: Apple’s nearly $4T valuation masks mounting pressure: the company lags in AI, faces antitrust battles, and shows flattening iPhone growth. Cook mastered operations and Wall Street, but his likely successor, Ternus, signals a pivot toward innovation at the exact moment Apple needs its next big thing beyond the iPhone.

E-COMMERCE

Image source: Ideogram / The Rundown

The Rundown: The EU is cracking down on the flood of ultra-cheap goods flooding in from China, scrapping the €150 duty-free threshold on low-value imports — putting Shein and Temu squarely in the crosshairs.

The details:

  • The scale is staggering: 4.6B parcels hit the EU in 2024, with roughly 9 in 10 small packages coming from China.

  • Implementation will use a temporary system ministers plan to finalize in December, with the EU saying it can move as early as 2026.

  • The move aims to force Shein and Temu to raise prices or relocate inventory into regional warehouses, killing their factory-to-door logistics model.

  • In France, Shein also faces legal action after authorities found child‑like sex dolls listed for sale on its platform.

Why it matters: It’s part of a broader squeeze that includes U.S. crackdowns on de minimis exemptions and fresh China tariffs. Expect fewer cheap impulse buys and mounting compliance costs as Europe closes the customs loopholes that let ultra-cheap Chinese goods undercut domestic retailers for years.

AMAZON

Image source: Wikimedia Commons / Mike Mozart

The Rundown: Amazon is pulling Whole Foods fully under the mothership. The retail giant plans to integrate all 100K-plus frontline workers into its core business system by next year as part of its Project Cremini, according to Business Insider.

The details:

  • Thousands of frontline staff will move to Amazon’s performance reviews, workplace tools, and payroll, with checks issued directly by Amazon.

  • This extends the summer shift that put Whole Foods corporate employees on Amazon policies as leadership pushes a “One Grocery” org.

  • Amazon is consolidating vendor management, with a three-year plan to fold 16 top suppliers expected to generate at least $94M in profit.

  • Jason Buechel, who took the helm of both Whole Foods and Amazon’s grocery operations in January, has been pushing a “unified employee experience.”

Why it matters: Amazon kept Whole Foods semi-autonomous for seven years after its $13.7B 2017 acquisition, but with Walmart and Instacart gaining ground in grocery, the company is now betting on full operational integration. Its “One Grocery” push aims to finally unlock growth in a category where Amazon has consistently struggled.

META

Image source: Meta

The Rundown: Meta is rolling out Content Protection, a mobile tool that auto-detects when someone rips off a creator’s Reels across Facebook and Instagram — scanning for full or partial reposts and flagging the accounts behind them.

The details:

  • The system uses Rights Manager’s matching tech to scan for full or partial reposts, surfacing view counts and follower stats for infringing accounts.

  • Creators get three options: track stolen content with attribution, block copies platform-wide, or release claims entirely.

  • Enrolled creators can see who reposted their reel and whether those copies are monetized, making it easier to choose which action to take.

  • You can retroactively protect old Reels, maintain an allowlist for trusted partners, and trigger dispute workflows if someone falsely claims your work.

Why it matters: Meta already offered some content protection through Rights Manager, but embedding it directly in the Facebook app makes it accessible to more creators — though only those who post Reels to Facebook, not Instagram-only accounts. The feature is rolling out now to creators in Meta’s monetization program.

QUICK HITS

Meta and Google reportedly delayed key segments of their subsea cables, particularly in the Red Sea corridor, citing operational, regulatory, and geopolitical risks.

Jeff Bezos has reportedly launched a new AI startup, Project Prometheus, with $6B in funding — marking his return to a formal operational role since Amazon.

Google launched WeatherNext 2, an AI weather model built into Search, Gemini, and Pixel to deliver faster, higher‑res, and more accurate weather forecasts.

Rivian’s micromobility spinoff, Also, set its new e-bike base model at $3,500, slotting beneath the $4,500 Launch and Performance trims.

Abidur Chowdhury, the industrial designer who introduced the iPhone Air at Apple’s September event, has reportedly left Apple for an unnamed AI startup.

Researchers unveiled a solid‑state sodium battery that replaces lithium with abundant sodium, promising cheaper, safer, and more sustainable energy storage.

Fintech firm Ramp raised $300M, boosting its valuation to $32B just three months after raising at $22.5B.

San Francisco–based data ecosystem major Databricks is in talks to raise new capital at a valuation above $130B, roughly 30% higher than its last round.

Alphabet and Disney struck a new multi‑year deal restoring content from ABC and ESPN onto Google’s YouTube TV after a two-week standoff.

MIT researchers built a degradable nanoparticle that delivers mRNA vaccines in mice at 100x lower doses while clearing the body faster to cut liver toxicity.

COMMUNITY

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Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team

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