Apple’s chief operating officer plans to hand the role off this month and retire later this year after roughly a decade as the tech giant’s No. 2 under Chief Executive Tim Cook.

The legendary Apple design team hasn't had much luck holding onto leadership since Jony Ive left, and with COO Jeff Williams retiring, the leadership role will shift to CEO Tim Cook.

Apple COO Jeff Williams is retiring after 27 years. His exit marks another recent major leadership shift at the company.