Ondrej Holzman Apple CEO Tim Cook attended the Goldman Sachs Technology Conference on Tuesday and answered questions about Apple during the opening keynote. He talked about innovation, acquisitions, retail, operations and much more…
Understandably, Cook also received questions regarding the future products of the Californian company, but he traditionally refused to give an answer to them. However, he was not tight-lipped about other matters such as design or product sales.
The Goldman Sachs Technology Conference echoed many of the things Cook had already said on the last call to shareholders, however this time he didn't keep so brief and talked about his own feelings.
About cash register status, technical parameters and great products
It started with the state of the cash register, which is literally overflowing at Apple. Cook was asked if the mood in Cupertino was somewhat depressed. "Apple is not suffering from depression. We make bold and ambitious decisions and are financially conservative,” Cook explained to those present. “We invest in retail, distribution, product innovation, development, new products, supply chain, buying some companies. I don't know how a depressed society could afford such a thing.'
Many like Apple advise what products the company should make. For example, a larger iPhone or a faster iPad should come. However, Tim Cook is not interested in parameters.
[do action=”quote”]The only thing we will never do is a crappy product.[/do]
"First of all, I'm not going to talk about what we might do in the future. But if we look at the computer industry, companies have been fighting on two fronts in recent years - specifications and prices. But customers are much more interested in the experience. It doesn't matter if you know the speed of the Ax processor,” the Apple executive is convinced. "The user experience is always much broader than what can be expressed by a single number."
However, Cook then emphasized that this does not mean that Apple cannot come up with something that does not exist now. "The only thing we never make is a crappy product," he said clearly. “That is the only religion we practice. We have to create something great, bold, ambitious. We fine-tune every detail, and over the years we've shown that we can really do this."
About innovations and acquisitions
"It's never been stronger. She's so ingrained in Apple," Cook talked about innovation and the associated culture in Californian society. "There is a desire to create the best products in the world."
According to Cook, it is important to connect the three industries in which Apple excels. “Apple has expertise in software, hardware and services. The model that was set up in the computer industry, where one company focuses on one thing and another on another, no longer works. Users want a smooth experience while technology stays in the background. Real magic happens by connecting these three spheres, and we have the ability to do magic." stated the successor of Steve Jobs.
[do action=”citation”]Thanks to the interconnection of software, hardware and services, we have the opportunity to do magic.[/do]
During the performance, Tim Cook did not forget his closest colleagues, i.e. the highest-ranking men of Apple. "I see stars alone," Cook stated. He described Jony Ive as "the best designer in the world" and confirmed that he is now also focusing on software. "Bob Mansfield is the leading expert on silicon, no one does micro operations better than Jeff Williams," he addressed his colleagues Cook and also mentioned Phil Schiller and Dan Ricci.
The various acquisitions that Apple makes are also related to the culture at Apple. However, mostly these are only smaller companies, the big ones are bypassed in Cupertino. “If we look back over the last three years, on average we bought a company every other month. The companies we bought had really smart people at their core, which we moved to our own projects." explained Cook, further revealing that Apple was also looking at larger companies to take under its wing, but none would provide what it wanted. “We don't feel the need to take the money and go buy something just for the sake of the returns. But if there is a large acquisition that will be suitable for us, we will go for it."
About the word border, cheaper products and cannibalization
"We don't know the word 'boundary,'" Cook stated bluntly. "That's because of what we've been able to do over the years and offer users something they didn't even know they wanted." Cook then followed up with numbers from iPhone sales. He noted that of the 500 million iPhones that Apple sold from 2007 to the end of last year, more than 40 percent were sold last year alone. “It's an incredible turn of events… Plus, developers benefit as well because we've created a great ecosystem that powers the entire development industry. We've now paid out over $8 billion to developers.” boasted Cook, who still sees huge potential in the mobile world, in his words "a wide open field", so he doesn't think about any boundaries at all, there is still room for development.
In response to a question about making more affordable products for developing markets, Cook had to reiterate: "Our main goal is to create great products." Nevertheless, Apple tries to offer its customers cheaper products. Cook pointed to the discounting of the iPhone 4 and 4S after the introduction of the iPhone 5.
"If you look at the history of Apple and take an iPod like that, when it came out it cost $399. Today you can buy an iPod shuffle for $49. Rather than cheapening products, we create others with a different experience, a different experience." Cook revealed, admitting that people keep asking why Apple doesn't make a Mac for less than $500 or $1000. "Honestly, we've been working on it. It's just that we've come to the conclusion that we simply can't make a great product at that price. But what did we do instead? We invented the iPad. Sometimes you just have to look at the problem a little differently and solve it in a different way."
The topic of cannibalization is related to the iPad, and Cook repeated his thesis again. “When we released the iPad, people said we were going to kill the Mac. But we don't think too much about it because we think that if we don't cannibalize it, someone else will."
The computer market is so huge that Cook doesn't think the cannibalization should be limited to the Mac or even the iPad (which could cut into iPhone sales). So, according to its CEO, Apple has nothing to worry about. Concerns would only be justified if cannibalization were to be the main factor interfering with decision-making. "If a company starts basing its decisions on self-cannibalizing doubt, it's a road to hell because there's always going to be someone else."
There was also talk of an extensive retail network, which Cook attaches great importance to, for example, when launching the iPad. "I don't think we would be nearly as successful with iPad if it weren't for our stores," he told the audience. “When the iPad came out, people thought of the tablet as something heavy that nobody wanted. But they could come to our stores to see for themselves and find out what the iPad can actually do. I don't think the iPad launch would have been as successful if it weren't for these stores, which have 10 million visitors a week, and offer these options."
What is Tim Cook most proud of in his first year at the helm of the company
"I am most proud of our employees. I have the privilege of working every day with people who want to create the best products in the world.” Cook boasts. "They are not just there to do their job, but to do the best job of their lives. They are the most creative people under the sun, and it is the honor of my life to be at Apple right now and to have the opportunity to work with them.”
However, it is not only the employees, but also the products that Tim Cook is quite proud of. According to him, the iPhone and iPad are the best phone and the best tablet on the market, respectively. "I am very optimistic about the future and what Apple can bring to the world."
Cook also praised Apple's concern for the environment. “I am proud that we have the largest private solar farm in the world and that we can power our data centers with 100% renewable energy. I don't want to be a jerk, but that's how I feel."
Nicely written, thanks for the article :)
somehow the information about the fact that apple is going to open 30 new Apple stores mostly outside the US this year has been lost, which seems to me to be more important information than the fact that some director is proud of the approval of an employee (who wouldn't be at such turnovers :D)
PS: maybe I just skimmed it, I just skimmed the article, because the information was generally known several hours before seeing this article
PS2: Beautifully written, thanks for the article :)
It is possible that some information is missing. I drew from multiple sources and there was something everywhere, so I tried to put most of it together.
For me, and I think not only for me, Apple will make really high-quality products only when they 1. agree with game producers on versions for Mac 2. adapt the Mac itself to this. Otherwise, I like the Mac, but I just miss this on it - to play a game with good graphics and more demanding gameplay.