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.

Apple Inc. Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams is retiring as the company’s longtime No. 2, marking a major changing of the guard at an already tumultuous time for the iPhone maker.Williams will step down as COO this month before retiring from the company later in the year,