Bloomberg Story Breaks Down Apple's Unrivaled Success Under Tim Cook's Leadership

[rp2011]

Good read.
So it looks like the previous and current Mac Pros were updated and built in the US partly for political reasons. A small gesture on a low volume product that has paid off big time. Apple may not make any money on them, (wheels excluded) but the import tax breaks they helped leverage are certainly substantial.

 

[CarpalMac]

Here’s a decent place to start. Basically it was an unexpected convergence of circumstances that forced Amazon to build out data centers and robust web services infrastructure. Once they had surplus and realized the potential revenue stream, they started leasing platform space to third parties. Not even Amazon anticipated this, let alone competitors, and now they’re the dominant player in the web services market. Even Apple with its massive data center investment relies heavily on AWS. The “quiet Amazon” makes more money than their consumer-facing product sales. It’s a behemoth.

Ah that makes such sense, amazing how the journey unfolded, in hindsight it seems natural progression but at the time it must have been a hell of a call. There are so many bluechips who now rely on AWS, one time when I was in NYC a few years back they were advertising AWS seemingly everywhere around the Lower Manhattan so they're definitely in the growth phase!

I talked to someone once and they were saying that cloud services made up about 5% of global centre coverage so there is still huge scope for future growth. It's fascinating stuff, I have setup a few of my own instances to play around and get a feel for it all.

Thank you very much for details and the links, I really appreciate it.

 

[Tozovac]

You obviously don’t have a clue what you are talking about. As if the butterfly keyboard was something a ceo decides.. btw I had no problems with that keyboard and I love thin devices. Looks like many people feel the same or how do you explain all that record sales from Apple oder the years?
Look at all the failures Steve Jobs had in his lifetime.
You don’t need to like Tim but he made apple stronger than Steve could ever have dreamed of.

You obviously don't have a clue what I am talking about. What I am saying has nothing to do with liking or not liking Tim. I was just assigning the credit where it was due: to the products that are much better than the competition to me and many, and not as much from the CEO in this case.

Yes, a CEO may not approve minute details like the butterfly keyboard that many may find to be acceptable but clearly proved itself to be a non-robust design decision (rather, it takes a team of bad decision makers to allow the butterfly keyboard to make its way thru development and to market), but it's the CEO's job to manage the general direction of a company and ensure the right people are in place to make decisions that are robust for Apple's business case and robust for the consumer's usage cases. Apple (or Tim) is clearly backtracking their minimalist-first thinner/less-is-better mantra via the improved magic keyboards across the board...the return of T-shaped arrow keys that don't look maintain that pretty/uniform appearance but sure work a lot better...the upcoming return of the classic mac pro architecture in place of the garbage can...less slippery and more sculpted/complex iPhone shapes... the supposed return of useful ports in a portable device instead of a forced reduction towards USB-C and dongle bags...and the steady return of intuitive interface cues in mobile OS's (re: the silly name neumorphism for those who can't bring themselves to say skeumorphism).

If Tim isn't responsible for ensuring things like the butterfly keyboard don't get to market, then by your logic Tim shouldn't take any responsibility for Apple's home run successes that make it to market. Therefore my point stands: Apple's success story is more about the products over the last 10+ years than Tim.

Could somebody else have done as good as or better a job with someone other than him? Likely. Could Apple have done a hell of a lot better if he had put people in place to make more robust product decisions? Very likely. Around 2013, Apple went away from the company whose products I looked forward to splurging on even if I didn’t necessarily need an upgrade. The next five or so years of uber-minimalist hardware and software kind of turned me off, and I wasn't alone there. But I did purchase things when I needed them instead of wanting them. The products were still better than Microsoft and android, even with their designed-in shortcomings. But the direction of the last year or so and the rumors of the hardware looking forward suggest to me someone at Apple realized some backtracking was necessary. Whoever that decision maker(s) is deserves some credit here, with likely even more financial success coming at Apple.

 

[Tozovac]

Real question here , how do you see a company as big as Apple running its day2day business ?
Do you envision a world where Tim Cook sits in his office and does a technical review of the butterfly keyboard , in which you expect him to find reliability issues ?

Do you think maybe a senior VP that makes 25M USD a year can be differed to such things (head of the engineering division for example ? I would guess it was WAY lower level manager that made the call to move to the new keyboard something like the head of Mac engineering , or even lower then that).

I am sure he is presented with new product concepts all the time that needs his approval but there is no way they run everything by him i.e changes to a keyboard or anything of that nature , there is not enough time in the day for that , he has bigger things to worry about.

Now , if there is a problem like they had with the butterfly keyboard reliability , in which the brand is getting hit and Apple needs to recall stuff and have a repair program + tons of negative publicity , I believe he gets involved , in that case the end result was changing the keyboard , so you should give him CREDIT for doing the right thing and not blame him.

Also if after a decade long running the company , those are the best "digs" you have , then he has done a remarkable job.

See my other response above: it's Tim's job to ensure the right people make the right robust decisions and minimize having to go into disaster fix / backtrack mode. Clearly Apple or Tim has started backtracking and fixing a bunch of their minimalist/thinner-than-last-year and change for the sake of change decisions of the past 7 years, so yes, good job Tim fixing things you let your team create.

 

[citysnaps]

Tim Cook has done an amazing job over the time he's been CEO. That Apple customers, many repeat, willingly open their wallets and pay premium prices for Apple products and services, year after year after year, is testament.

Super stoked with my M1 MBA and am looking forward to the full transition to Apple Silicon over the coming year or two. Hat-tip to Mr. Cook for his leadership on that and other projects/products underway!

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

Where all my finance bros at?!

 

[derekamoss]

Wow what a shortsighted thought process. Every company has blunders. Faulty keyboards on a 4 year product line would never hurt Apple's position or finances in any way shape or form. Same with the "trash can" Mac Pro. iPhone 6 design was perfectly fine. I have one and it never bent and a few of my friends never had a single issue with them. Are you even serious about the Apple Watch? It's opposing companies like Samsung and Unbox Therapy on YouTube who create Apple drama to try and screw over the company's sales.
By your logic Lenovo should've gone out of business by now. The Thinkpads have been (and still are) shipping with warped screens. The lid bows when closed so it's a very noticeable gap. Plastics breaking off the Thinkpads, and these computers are priced the same as MacBooks. This along with Lenovos horrible customer service should've killed the company, but things like this don't do this.
You have to look further out of the box. Product blunders don't hurt companies.

Product blunders don't hurt companies is correct. Continuing to use such product plunder (butterfly keyboards) through multiple products and generations of products when the flaw was so obvious that they had a replacement program for the keyboard already set when they released the new macbook pro's with the same keyboard and have yet to actually acknowledge the flaw IS HURTFUL. It might not hurt Apples position in any way or form as you say but it shows the type of company it is now.

 

[derekamoss]

It just shows you how limited these people are by brining up butterfly keyboards. These same limited people here will never be capable of running a big company. Just laugh at them and move on to more sane educated posts.

These limited people here are the reason Apple is still in business. I'm guessing your one of the people whose first Apple experience was an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad... and just had to have an Apple Laptop because it was trendy and all the movies had people using Macs so they must be cool. I say this because those people are the type that would just comment to blanket demean people for bringing up pertinent faults

 

[derekamoss]

Tim Cook has done an amazing job over the time he's been CEO. That Apple customers, many repeat, willingly open their wallets and pay premium prices for Apple products and services, year after year after year, is testament.

Super stoked with my M1 MBA and am looking forward to the full transition to Apple Silicon over the coming year or two. Hat-tip to Mr. Cook for his leadership on that and other projects/products underway!

They don't willingly. They are entrenched in the ecosystem and the time isnt worth the money to jump to something else.

 

[citysnaps]

They don't willingly. They are entrenched in the ecosystem and the time isnt worth the money to jump to something else.

Sure they do it willingly. As adults we have choices based on considerations. And having an outstanding and seamless ecosystem is a major consideration; similar to performance, ease of use, reliability, customer service, frequent software updates, security/privacy, etc.

Roughly 600,000 iPhones per day speaks volumes.

 

[derekamoss]

Sure they do it willingly. As adults we have choices based on considerations. And having an outstanding and seamless ecosystem is a major consideration; similar to performance, ease of use, reliability, customer service, frequent software updates, security/privacy, etc.

Roughly 600,000 iPhones per day speaks volumes.

Because it's the least amount of hassle. If I showed you a shortcut to someplace you were going that saved you tie gas and money and along that path there were signs for advertisements that if you purchased from i benefited financially did you willingly take that path or were you just taking the path I steered you towards?

 

[citysnaps]

Because it's the least amount of hassle. If I showed you a shortcut to someplace you were going that saved you tie gas and money and along that path there were signs for advertisements that if you purchased from i benefited financially did you willingly take that path or were you just taking the path I steered you towards?

The good news is, as adults, we make choices. If you might be steered through advertisements, that's ok.

But that's neither here nor there with respect to people making product choices. Apple delivers what many people want with respect to phones, tablets, computers, and services.

If I wasn't pleased with the Apple products I own, I'd take personal responsibility and stop opening my wallet purchasing Apple products, and find other products instead.

 

[redcaptrickster]

And yet, there are still people that want to bring him down.

He can have complete respect when he focuses 100% on the damn company and stops playing social justice warrior wannabe.

I don't give a **** what he thinks about Black History Month because his company's "diversity" tells a different story.

I don't give a **** what he thinks about climate change because his entire business model is based on encouraging customers to overconsume.

What I do give a **** about is that he actually leads the company and ensures his teams commit and focus on fixing all the little annoyances that have been languishing in Apple's hardware and software products for years. You know, acting like a leader.

The guy couldn't win the "leader of the year" award if he ran against a pet rock.

 

[I7guy]

He can have complete respect when he focuses 100% on the damn company and stops playing social justice warrior wannabe.

I don't give a **** what he thinks about Black History Month because his company's "diversity" tells a different story.

I don't give a **** what he thinks about climate change because his entire business model is based on encouraging customers to overconsume.

What I do give a **** about is that he actually leads the company and ensures his teams commit and focus on fixing all the little annoyances that have been languishing in Apple's hardware and software products for years. You know, acting like a leader.

The guy couldn't win the "leader of the year" award if he ran against a pet rock.

There are others that do care about what Apple does for Black History month. And yet others do care about Apples' stance on the environment and climate change.

Apple is a big company and can fix a bug and release an emoji simultaneously...unlike what some posters think.

Think Mr. Cook already won the "leader of the year" award.

 

[the8thark]

Time to move on buddy.

You didn't even quote all of my post. You ignoring the part where I said Apple under Cook is doing great in the hardare space and keeping their shareholders happy.

Next time take everything I say into account, and not cherry pick out part of it out thanks.

 

[I7guy]

[...]

If Tim isn't responsible for ensuring things like the butterfly keyboard don't get to market, then by your logic Tim shouldn't take any responsibility for Apple's home run successes that make it to market. Therefore my point stands: Apple's success story is more about the products over the last 10+ years than Tim.

Not really. Clear Tim Cook as a successor had Apples foundation, which he nurtured and grew. If Cook had stuck to the Jobs era of product development, Apple would have been left in the dust.

Could somebody else have done as good as or better a job with someone other than him? Likely.

Likely not.

Could Apple have done a hell of a lot better if he had put people in place to make more robust product decisions? Very likely.

Hard to imagine Apple doing better than they are already doing.

Around 2013, Apple went away from the company whose products I looked forward to splurging on even if I didn’t necessarily need an upgrade. The next five or so years of uber-minimalist hardware and software kind of turned me off, and I wasn't alone there.

You maybe weren't alone, but those who stood in your company were a minority. Proven by Apple financials.

But I did purchase things when I needed them instead of wanting them.

Happens all the time. I needed a new car, didn't want one, for example.

The products were still better than Microsoft and android, even with their designed-in shortcomings. But the direction of the last year or so and the rumors of the hardware looking forward suggest to me someone at Apple realized some backtracking was necessary. Whoever that decision maker(s) is deserves some credit here, with likely even more financial success coming at Apple.

Apple isn't perfect, nobody, no company is perfect. And if you look hard enough and tilt your use case really askew, you can find shortcomings in every product under the sun.

 

[Tozovac]

Happens all the time. I needed a new car, didn't want one, for example.

You completely miss the point. Completely. I shifted from 7 years of excitedly buying Apple products merely when I wanted it regardless of need, and into waiting till I needed. Why? Because the offerings in the Apple store (hardware and software) veered away from being luxurious and intuitive to the point of being a fun experience that the teams led by Steve Jobs were masterful at creating, towards what seemed more like artistic minimalist corporate expressions frought with certain usage compromises at times that were not previously encountered...and under whose reign did that happen at Apple.

 

[acorntoy]

Second rule: blame everything on China.

While profiting off them.

 

[I7guy]

You completely miss the point. Completely. I shifted from 7 years of excitedly buying Apple products merely when I wanted it regardless of need, and into waiting till I needed. Why? Because the offerings in the Apple store (hardware and software) veered away from being luxurious and intuitive to the point of being a fun experience that the teams led by Steve Jobs were masterful at creating, towards what seemed more like artistic minimalist corporate expressions frought with certain usage compromises at times that were not previously encountered...and under whose reign did that happen at Apple.

I thought that analogy summed up the subtlety of the opinion of the criticism being leveled at apple.

In other words it’s how you saw it and not the absolute truth as the universe saw it.

 

[Seanm87]

I think some people above conveniently forgot products with design over function like charging port under the mouse, the butterfly keyboard, overly flat iOS 7, all happened when Jony Ive got unlimited and unchecked power (given by Jobs), and after his departure from Apple, now everything is going back to 'normal'.

And I think some people conveniently forget the vast majority of well designed and made products in Jony’s tenure that many have copied over the years. A few duds doesn‘t negate all the other design successes.

Also, what was wrong with ios 7 design?

 

[Tozovac]

Also, what was wrong with ios 7 design?

Given how much of iOS7 was changed rather quickly within the first few updates after its introduction (too pastel, too bright, and some rather vague aspects of the user interface that were (unnecessarily to me and to many) completely overhauled), it’s safe to say that iOS7 was not a universal success like can be attributed to the original iOS interface was. And given how much “neumorphism” has crept back into the user interface to add back in some of the intuitiveness that was washed away by ios7, many felt that, overall, iOS7 was more to the negative than positive, where the negatives centered around all the forced changes that often felt more like change for the sake of change, and where the positives were generally things that could have been introduced into any iteration of iOS, even the much-disdained-by-some iOS6 (control center, airdrop, some improved notification aspects, some smarter multi-tasking, etc.).

 

[Seanm87]

Given how much of iOS7 was changed rather quickly within the first few updates after its introduction (too pastel, too bright, and some rather vague aspects of the user interface that were (unnecessarily to me and to many) completely overhauled), it’s safe to say that iOS7 was not a universal success like can be attributed to the original iOS interface was. And given how much “neumorphism” has crept back into the user interface to add back in some of the intuitiveness that was washed away by ios7, many felt that, overall, iOS7 was more to the negative than positive, where the negatives centered around all the forced changes that often felt more like change for the sake of change, and where the positives were generally things that could have been introduced into any iteration of iOS, even the much-disdained-by-some iOS6 (control center, airdrop, some improved notification aspects, some smarter multi-tasking, etc.).

That seems like a very long way of saying it’s my opinion

 

[Tozovac]

That seems like a very long way of saying it’s my opinion

That’s your opinion.

If you feel quick about-face changes are not the result of a poor initial design, then so be it.

Restated, iterative changes (think: initial iPhone OS thru iOS6) are the result of starting with a good, robust design and making incremental improvement. The fact that the current iOS is slowly implementing “neumorphism” changes resembling certain the “skeuomorphic“ interface elements paints a picture to me at least of what is considered a robust, intuitive mobile interface. (I.e., what we had before iOS7)

 

[ericwn]

You obviously don’t have a clue what you are talking about. As if the butterfly keyboard was something a ceo decides.. btw I had no problems with that keyboard and I love thin devices. Looks like many people feel the same or how do you explain all that record sales from Apple oder the years?
Look at all the failures Steve Jobs had in his lifetime.
You don’t need to like Tim but he made apple stronger than Steve could ever have dreamed of.

What a great way to begin a debate with an ad hominem.

 

[ericwn]

It baffles me to watch people argue the successes of the most profitable company in the world. Apple makes a bazillion dollars a year and people are talking about butterfly keyboards and a mac pro from 8 years ago.

Probably as signs of “lesson learned” these are still nice examples because as silly as these products were it’s worth taking note that Apple was able to reverse course on them. Which is one of the signs of good leadership.