Eddy Cue to take over the App Store as Phil Schiller steps down

Longtime Apple exec Phil Schiller has stepped down from running Apple’s App Store and its product events.

Bloomberg reports that oversight of the App Store moves to the services division led by Eddy Cue, who ran the store himself before Schiller took it over in 2015.

Carson Oliver stays on to run the App Store day-to-day, but now reports to Cue rather than Schiller. Ann Thai’s team, which was set up to work with developers, payments companies and alternative distributors amid Apple’s many court battles, will now report into Oliver.

Apple Arcade is also moving into the same reporting line, meaning Arcade lead Alex Rofman moves under Oliver. It brings the subscription service under the same umbrella as the wider App Store.

Oliver and Thai took on their current roles as part of the reorg that saw App Store head Matt Fischer leave in 2024. The exec changes land just as John Ternus takes over as CEO, with Tim Cook moving to executive chairman after 15 years running the company.

Bloomberg reports that Schiller, 66, is staying on with his Apple Fellow title but has no fixed new remit. The report suggests that Apple sees the move as a likely step toward retirement. It’s one of several veteran departures Ternus will have to manage as he succeeds Cook, including operations chief Jeff Williams and finance chief Luca Maestri.

Schiller helped build the App Store alongside Steve Jobs and, in recent years, led the executive team handling developer disputes and regulatory pressure over the store’s commission structure, including Apple’s court fight with Epic Games. The App Store is now estimated to generate more than $30bn a year.

Phillip Shoemaker, who built and ran Apple’s app review division from 2009 to 2016, told us in 2023 that Schiller was blocking automation of app review and said bluntly that he “needs to get his meaty paws off the App Store.”

Last week, Apple’s own App Store team shared advice for developers on getting featured, having previously been