Tim Cook Needs to Go

[bousozoku]

Apple needs a visionary, as do most technology companies. Tim Cook is doing what a CEO needs to do.

Many companies need a breakthrough in the sciences right now. There just aren't enough innovations likely to be possible with the knowledge we currently have in physics.

 

[Alpha God Vonn]

True, Cook has turned into a multi-trillion dollar behemoth. But let's be absolutely honest, here - he inherited a company on a massive upward trajectory caused by Jobs' "Greatest Hits" of product releases - the Mac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone and iPad. By the time of his death, the latter two were becoming near-unstoppable in their growth. Apple coasted for years on those products - some would argue they still are.

The iPhone is the cash cow that keeps on giving - it generates sales of Apple Watch, AirPods and services. These are Cook-era products, all of which are utterly dependant on the creations of his predecessor.

With all this said, and all my other criticisms, I still believe Cook is a phenomenal CEO. Apple has been in safe hands and more profitable than ever, laying a safe foundation for whoever succeeds him. Do I wish he was more of a visionary? Yes. But his tenure can only be seen as a success for Apple, if not always for consumers.

Exactly!! This was my whole point of this Post. I just think it’s time for him to move on. Bring back Scott Forstall

 

[Alpha God Vonn]

Apple needs a visionary, as do most technology companies. Tim Cook is doing what a CEO needs to do.

Many companies need a breakthrough in the sciences right now. There just aren't enough innovations likely to be possible with the knowledge we currently have in physics.

Samsung. Breakthroughs after breakthroughs. The folding phone . Apple is just getting money hungry comfortable & lazy

 

[Alpha God Vonn]

Tim Cook is fine for Apple. What he needs is to do is showcase some of their more experimental projects. Maybe make an Apple "Labs" where they can "cook" up some new technology to showcase, like Detroit does with Auto Shows.

I think Scott Forstall should be in Charge & Run Apple. He was the closest thing to Steve Jobs

 

[Alpha God Vonn]

His track record is pretty spotty then.

Apple Watch - success, but useless without an iPhone
HomePod - failure, already discontinued
Apple TV Plus - failure? Possibly. Who’s watching it? More importantly, who’s paying for it?
Current Mac Monitor - just the one, then, and outside the realm of most mortal budgets
Apple Fitness Plus - failure? Difficult to tell, but who is talking about it?
CarPlay - success I guess, but it‘s a necessary feature. Where’s the revenue stream?
Air Tags - too early to call
AirPods - success, no doubt
Full screen iPhone with Face ID - it’s not full screen at all, there’s a huge notch with a compromised notification area. Face ID is problematic as the only biometric authentication in the COVID mask-wearing era
M1 Processor - success, off to a great start. Not without problems though - app compatibility still iffy and dreadful glitches on some hardware (e.g. Mac Mini Bluetooth issues, monitors won’t wake etc)

Don’t forget he also presided over 3 years of Mac laptops (the biggest part of the Mac market) with known keyboard failures; even releasing new models under a repair programme!

As for the S-Pen - it’s way more than a PDA stylus. It’s a Wacom pen, with precise functionality. It’s not needed for UI navigation. To criticise it means applying the same criticism to the Apple Pencil, especially when paired with a device like the iPad Mini. Both have their place.

Tim is a numbers man. These wasn’t his ideas. Believe me. They came to him and showed them what they wanted to create. Steve Jobs was a visionary he would of came to his team with the vision & cussed them out and been on their a*s until his vision came to life.

 

[Alpha God Vonn]

I actually agree 100%. Under Cook the company became a greedy evil empire. They cut customer service quite a bit in many areas. The quality of Mac laptops deteriorated into cheap PC level with tons of recalls. There's more but it's a long list. Let me just put it this way - usually I replaced my phones every 2 years with a new one. Last year I passed on the 12. Apple is a trillion dollar company and they couldn't come up with a better thing to do than to stretch their own 10 year old design to fit a larger screen? And where are the innovative features? Pretty much everything it has many Androids had for years now. And now they're giving up their security with this CSAM crap. Thanks but no thanks. Might have to squeeze out another year out of my XS Max and if they don't get their stuff together next year just move to Android or something. As much as that pains me to say.

Thank YOU! They need to bring back

Scott Forstall​

 

[Alpha God Vonn]

If your defense of Cook is to immediately start talking about numbers then you've already missed the point. The vision of early computer pioneers such as Jobs are the ones to credit for Apple's success today. Cook has simply been riding that wave for over a decade now. Cook's magical idea to change up Apple's revenue structure is to bolster their services division by copying the tried and tested consumer platforms like Netflix or Spotify... big deal.

Apple has a history of making electronic computation a thing for normal people -- giving normal people the ability to become creators and better workers. In essence, they shifted the power structure of computing by making it something ordinary people could harness. They haven't fundamentally improved upon that mission since the introduction of the iPhone. They have plenty of opportunities to radically change the software world but they haven't done so, instead they play it safe by simply introducing new APIs for sandboxes apps every year rather than shaking up the sandboxed apps paradigm in any meaningful way. They haven't even bothered to innovate on their cloud services enough to make a unique privacy-first tech stack, instead their approach is practically the same as Google's: "privacy means we get all your data and you just have to put blind trust in us."

Apple haven't taken an innovative risk in years. That's a fact. They haven't created anything paradigm shifting in years. That's another fact. I think the closest product is the Apple Watch making relatively detailed health tracking accessible for a lot of people. Outside of that, stuff like M1 isn't innovation at all since it's merely changing the underlying hardware for an otherwise identical technological paradigm. People are not fundamentally using their computers differently with Intel vs. Apple Silicon. Maybe they will change this pattern with AR goggles but if we're being realistic their approach for that will likely just be "iOS and iOS apps but in AR" rather than inventing a new digital paradigm of work.

What would be Jobs' take on cloud computing with everything we know now? Would he be content with just iCloud Drive, iWork Cloud, and simple email services?

What would be Jobs' take on mobile photography with everything we know now?

What would be Jobs' approach to providing unique tools to the next generation of internet-first creators? Would he call it a day at Logic Pro X and Final Cut? I doubt it. What sort of tools would he create? Would he try to empower creators with rival platforms to things like YouTube rather than just copying the Netflix-like power structure Cook has done?

What would Jobs do to bridge the gap between powerful coding workflows and the no-code consumer market? Would he call it a day at the Shortcuts app? Would he be content with the same files + apps computing paradigm we've had since the introduction of consumer computers?

Wow!! Wow!! Great response! Wow I’m lost of words. This is my original post. I miss the old days. Apple had a soul . Today’s Apple is almost like it’s powered by greed. Question do you think it was a bad idea for them to get rid of Scott Forstall?

 

[Alpha God Vonn]

thanks for the lolz. Its funny seeing people talking about things they have absolute no clue about with such confidence ?

I been following Apple since 2006. Believe me I know all about them. Today’s Apple Lack a Core( Heart & Soul). It’s almost like a Demon just driven by $$$ Power & Greed. This was my whole point of this post. To put someone back in charge that Has a Passion for tec & wants to help & change people’s lives.

 

[Alpha God Vonn]

Well you cannot fool them forever. It’s not a charity.

The Point was as Soon as Tim Cook got in office Apple became less customer friendly & more $$$ hungry. Back in the day if your phone broke they would of just fixed it for you as a friendly gesture. Today’s Apple these none of that. Not even for a power cord that only cost them 35¢ to make.

 

[Alpha God Vonn]

Exactly, All of the crazy major changes and innovation is done. The only thing now would be some crazy stuff, aside from tweaks. There is physics in play now, thinner/lighter = smaller battery = less runtime, more runtime = thicker tiger device. Better image quality = bigger battery, etc.

Galaxy Z Fold 3. Debate is over.

 

[Alpha God Vonn]

Lol, so you are saying under Tim Cook Apple has cracked down on fraud. Seems like a good move to me.

Lmao no I’m saying Under him if your cord breaks under warranty they still want to charge you for a new one Vs Steve Jobs era the employees where friendlier & they would of said” oh just your cord is broken? No problem I’ll be right back here’s a new one”

Tim Cook “ I’m sorry that will $19.99 + tax. “ (we want all of your $$)

 

[Alpha God Vonn]

Wasn't Steve the person who put Tim in charge?

Yes lol & now he is probably rolling over in his Grave lol

 

[cmaier]

Tim is a numbers man. These wasn’t his ideas.

Yes these was.

 

[macOS Lynx]

Having been using Apple since the late 90s/early 2000s, I’m satisfied with where Apple is at now. I don’t really have any major complaints about Tim Cook’s leadership personally, other than the stronger focus on numbers. Steve Jobs is extremely important to Apple’s history and released some absolutely insane and category inventing products, but Apple was genuinely getting stale under him toward the end, and it took new leadership for Apple to make the moves that would really put them to where they are now.

No human is perfect, but Cook’s been good overall. We‘ve gotten the Apple Watch, the iPad Pro, Apple TV+, Apple Card, etc., and a lot of these things I don’t think would exist or be anywhere to the level they are now under Steve. I still love both of them though. I’ll never forget how amazing my first iBook was (and how incredible internet with no wires seemed!)

 

[bousozoku]

Samsung. Breakthroughs after breakthroughs. The folding phone . Apple is just getting money hungry comfortable & lazy

Samsung has copied parts/products of more companies than any other company has, I'm sure. They've improved on someone else's designs and sold those parts and products as their own.

 

[avz]

It takes a lot of time to gain experience running a corporation. There is a very good reason why they don’t change leadership every 4 years.

The “democratic” rule of changing leadership of the country every 4(max 8) years is a bit of manipulation as it is much easier to control and manipulate any country through it’s inexperienced leader. This does not apply to the well established country like USA though.

 

[Saladin12]

Yes lol & now he is probably rolling over in his Grave lol

I think you’re overhyping the Jobs iPhone years. Yes, he released some unbelievable products that changed the course of Apple forever but I’ll argue it’s harder to keep Apple on that course, and at an accelerated rate no less. Cook took what Jobs built and has turned Apple into a behemoth.

And while Jobs launched numerous new product categories, Cook has expanded Apple into the ‘accessories’ and services world:
- Airpods
- Airtags
- Apple Watch
- Apple Music
- TV+
- Apple Card!?
- Apple News
And many more…

All the while increasing sales for existing product lines and going from intel to in-house chips for MacBooks and iMacs.

You can say that none of these were his ideas but it doesn't matter. Let’s say they were the ideas of those under him. He STILL gave the green light. If they had failed he knows HE would get the blame. The role of the leader is not to create. I think you’re forgetting that Jobs was FIRED from Apple originally?

Jobs will always be remembered in a special way compared to Cook because Steve WAS Apple. May he rest in peace, in spite of your comment.

Let Cook reign, man.

 

[ian87w]

Not arguing about Apple being "greedy" (the fact that it's a publicly traded company), but even when Jobs were the CEO, Tim Cook had been the the one doing CEO stuff. Jobs realized that he's not a management person, he's a product person, thus he hired Tim Cook to do the job. The succession was natural as Cook was hand picked by Jobs himself.

Imo Apple's problem lies elsewhere. Eg. The previous retail executive, the Burberry lady. She is no longer with Apple, but Imo the damage is done. I believe there were plenty of bad decisions in retail when she was the head, and unfortunately support was part of it, at least from what I remembered about the stories back then from Apple employees.

I believe there's still great people at Apple. The Apple Silicon is the true test of real innovation. But like any large company, there are definitely "bad" apples inside.

 

[incoherent_1]

Does it really matter who is CEO-in-name? At the end of the day, the company must fulfill both needs:

• Logistics and fulfillment
• Design and creativity

Would it be cool to see Craig as Apple CEO? Absolutely! But honestly, I think the company is actually a better company with him focusing only making better products with cooler features. Having Tim worry about the other stuff so people like Craig can focus their energy on creativity seems a win-win to me.

Completely agree that the company needs more innovation, but firing Tim won't fix that -- only external pressure from competitors will.

 

[Bluetoot-]

Tim is as interesting and exciting as a wet rag, but Steve must have known there was no one who could really replace him. I’m not saying he was some kind of God, but I’m sure he thought there was no one else like him. Thus, he installed a supply chain master who could keep the business running.

Tim Apple’s Apple is boring, but I think that’s necessary. It’s building up the coffers to do something different? We’ll see if that actually happens.

 

[ericwn]

The Point was as Soon as Tim Cook got in office Apple became less customer friendly & more $$$ hungry. Back in the day if your phone broke they would of just fixed it for you as a friendly gesture. Today’s Apple these none of that. Not even for a power cord that only cost them 35¢ to make.

There nothing customer friendly in providing free service to frauds.

 

[ericwn]

Scott Forstall needs to make a Return & lead Apple. He was the only person similar to Steve Jobs. Bring him back!​

And why would anyone want the person who’s unable to apologise for the terrible Apple maps launch to head the company? Scott is done and gone for many years, and left no further impact on the computer industry after failing at Apple.

 

[ericwn]

Yes lol & now he is probably rolling over in his Grave lol

He was pretty specific in that Tim should continue to run the show just like he did as his right hand for over a decade before. And looking at the company today I doubt Steve would be unhappy.

 

[Abazigal]

Tim is as interesting and exciting as a wet rag, but Steve must have known there was no one who could really replace him. I’m not saying he was some kind of God, but I’m sure he thought there was no one else like him. Thus, he installed a supply chain master who could keep the business running.

Tim Apple’s Apple is boring, but I think that’s necessary. It’s building up the coffers to do something different? We’ll see if that actually happens.

I dunno - it feels like a good type of “boring”.

I have come to accept that the iphone business is not about adding new, groundbreaking features every year that is geared towards pushing the entire iphone user base to upgrade on the spot. It’s expensive, wasteful, and just not sustainable in the long term. Nor is Apple capable of manufacturing that many iPhones to sell anyways.

Instead, apple products are about ongoing refinements that include a handful of new features every year. By itself, longer battery life (via Promotion, A15 and larger battery) and better cameras don’t seem like much, but they are nice improvements nonetheless.

Then you have the overall cost of iphone ownership actually decreasing despite higher iphone prices due to strong resale values (due to improved durability of iPhones and longer software support) and the prevalence of more financing options.

At the same time, the entire ecosystem is built to allow Apple to continue to earn from existing iphone users via the sales of accessories, apps and services. So Apple doesn’t need people to keep buying iPhones, they just need them to keep using them.

So bit by bit, Apple is removing the reasons for choosing android phones by eventually offering features that android users like to boast of having had for some time now, while also doubling down on things like power management, durability, software support and the overall stickiness of the Apple ecosystem (which the competition can’t match). And their sales numbers show that all this is resonating with the end user.

You don’t see this sort of thing being discussed enough in forums like this where people are more wont to obsess over how many megapixels a smartphone camera has. It just feels like an entire thesis could be written on how Apple is pulling away from the competition by sticking to the fundamentals of business, while the competition is imploding despite apparently offering you more features for your money, because they are overserving the market by either rushing them to market or packing these devices to the gills with extra functionality that people don’t want or need.

It’s just all very fascinating to watch play out in real time, and I think Tim Cook has a stronger business acumen than people give him credit for.

 

[Spidder]

My 2 cents:

Apple products got better in the last couple years. Remember the iPhone 6SSSSS's? Or Macs not even getting a spec bump for years? Pro lineup practically abandoned? I could go on and on...

The Apple of today is way more exciting compared to a couple of years ago. The only thing I don't like are the keynotes, they're over the top, almost cringy over the top, but I hope this will stop once the pandemic ends.