Phil Schiller Hands Off App Store and Events as Ternus Takes Over [Report]

Phil Schiller has stepped down from running the App Store and Apple's product events, handing the store to Eddy Cue's services division and events to his longtime deputy Nola Weinstein, according to a report from Bloomberg.



The 66-year-old executive, who ran Apple's marketing until 2020 and led the creation of the App Store alongside Steve Jobs, made the change in recent days, people with knowledge of the matter said. Schiller will stay at Apple as an Apple Fellow working on unspecified initiatives, and employees see the move as a significant step toward his eventual retirement. Apple declined to comment.


Responsibility for the store returns to Cue's services division, which oversaw it until 2015, when the job moved to Schiller and the marketing department. Cue is taking on a more influential role under incoming chief executive John Ternus.

Carson Oliver, a veteran of the App Store team, will run it day to day and report directly to Cue. In 2024, Schiller divided the store between Oliver and Ann Thai, who handled app distribution tools and work on third-party marketplaces; Thai now reports to Oliver. Apple Arcade also moves into Cue's territory, with the service's leader, Alex Rofman, reporting to Oliver.

Schiller's App Store role went well beyond overseeing a platform estimated to generate more than $30 billion a year. He was the primary decision-maker on approving or rejecting controversial apps, led the push to rework store policies and revenue share rates in response to lawsuits and new regulations, and contended with Fortnite maker Epic Games in a long-running fight over in-app purchases.

On the events side, oversight passes to Weinstein, who has led the function as Schiller's deputy since 2023. Weinstein will report to Kristin Huguet Quayle, Apple's vice president of communications and public relations, a department that ran events until around 2019.


The handover lands days before Ternus takes over as chief executive on Tuesday, September 1, with Tim Cook becoming executive chairman. Apple's next event follows on September 9, where the foldable iPhone and new Apple Watches are expected.

Apple's leadership has been turning over steadily ahead of the change. The former general counsel and the head of its Pay division are both due to leave in October, while longtime operations chief Jeff Williams, former hardware head Dan Riccio, finance chief Luca Maestri, and environment and government affairs head Lisa Jackson have stepped down or moved into smaller roles, leaving Ternus a senior team to reshape.