The board and senior executives are said to be in full panic-rehearsal mode, trying to script a clean handover at the four-trillion-dollar temple after more than 14 years under Cook's helm.

John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering at Job’s Mob, is widely considered the favourite to inherit Cook’s crown. However, the usual insiders insist no one has actually clicked the confirm button. Those close to the company claim the long-planned transition has nothing to do with the outfit's current performance.

The company is unlikely to unveil a shiny new chief executive before its late January earnings results, which cover the crucial holiday quarter. An early year announcement would let the incoming leadership bed in before the developer conference in June and the annual iPhone ritual in September, where everyone pretends the latest model represents a bold leap for humanity. The insiders stressed that while preparations have intensified, the timing can shift if the stars or the marketing department demand it.

Cook, once the operations chief and now a sprightly 65, has led the outfit since 2011, when he took over from co-founder Steve Jobs, who died soon after. During Cook’s reign, the market capitalisation has risen from roughly $350 billion to $4 trillion.

The share price is hovering near an all-time high after last month’s results. However, its rise of about 12 per cent this year looks a bit flat compared with Alphabet, Nvidia and Microsoft, whose valuations have been blasted upward by the cocaine nose jobs of Wall Street and their AI mania.

Apple has seen several top-tier departures recently. Long-serving Cook confidant Luca Maestri stepped away from the chief financial officer job at the start of the year, and Cook’s protégé Jeff Williams announced he was leaving the chief operating officer role in July. Putting Ternus in charge would restore a hardware-focused boss at a moment when Apple is stumbling around for a new product and trailing Silicon Valley rivals in AI.

Cook has said he wants an internal hire and bragged about the company’s detailed succession plans. He dropped a sentimental line in an interview with Dua Lipa in November 2023. “I love it there and I can’t envision my life without being there, so I’ll be there a while,” he said.