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.

Apple said Jeff Williams, the company's COO, will take on a new role overseeing the company's design team along with the Apple Watch and health initiatives.

Analysts at LightShed think Apple would benefit from a CEO more focused on the product side of the business — or it risks missing out on the AI boom.