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An email to Tim Cook!

matjamca

matjamca

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 2, 2013
271
286
St Helens, Merseyside, England
This is a copy of an email I've just sent to Tim Cook, CEO at Apple, regarding the new iPhone.

Alas, I doubt he'll even take any notice.


Hi Tim,

I've emailed you a few times about things in the past. I don't know if you actually receive, or read them, but I hope you do.

That said, I want to express my frustrations at what I am seeing (photo's and videos) and reading about the upcoming iPhone.

Things like, same design as iPhone 6/6s, lack of headphone jack and a constant obsession with ever thinner devices forsaking decent battery capacity.

I have purchased every iPhone apart from the 3GS, 5c, 6 and 6s (having purchased the 5s, 6 and 6s Plus).

However, of late, I'm fed up with what seems like a standstill in progress. Put it this way, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is an exceptionally impressive device - something I didn't think I'd ever say about a Samsung product. Just a shame about the ****** software on it.

I am prepared to give Apple the benefit of the doubt and wait for your keynote in September. Rumours are of course just rumours until official word. But and this a BIG but, I will not be buying the phone if it turns out to be everything I've seen in the 'supposed leaks' this time around.

I work hard for my money and have been a loyal Apple iPhone customer. But Apple is falling behind the competition and not listening to what it's customers want.

Judging from the Apple related rumour/forum websites I visit frequently, I'm far far far from the only one who feels this way.

I'll be sure to update you after the keynote with my final verdict. That said, you probably won't lose a tremendous amount of sleep if I chose not to buy the next model. Will you?

Thanks for taking the time to read my email.

Regards,
Matt

Sent from my iPhone
 
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midwestfisherma said:
Colossal waste of time on your part and a bit silly too!
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say a colossal waste of time. It took me two minutes to write.

I wouldn't say silly either. Unless people express dissatisfaction, how will they know people are dissatisfied?
[doublepost=1470425919][/doublepost]
noobinator said:
You should probably wait until they announce a product to bitch about it.
Click to expand...

Which is why I'm still prepared to give the benefit of the doubt.
 
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joeblow7777 said:
Don't take this the wrong way, but do you think that anyone of importance at Apple will read or care about what you have to say? What's the expected outcome here?
Click to expand...

I have no expectation of a response as stated in the email itself. I always take the view that you should feedback dissatisfaction to those who can best do something about it. Unless you do so, nothing will ever change.
 
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matjamca said:
This is a copy of an email I've just sent to Tim Cook, CEO at Apple, regarding the new iPhone.

Alas, I doubt he'll even take any notice.


Hi Tim,

I've emailed you a few times about things in the past. I don't know if you actually receive, or read them, but I hope you do.

That said, I want to express my frustrations at what I am seeing (photo's and videos) and reading about the upcoming iPhone.

Things like, same design as iPhone 6/6s, lack of headphone jack and a constant obsession with ever thinner devices forsaking decent battery capacity.

I have purchased every iPhone apart from the 3GS, 5c, 6 and 6s (having purchased the 5s, 6 and 6s Plus).

However, of late, I'm fed up with what seems like a standstill in progress. Put it this way, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is an exceptionally impressive device - something I didn't think I'd ever say about a Samsung product. Just a shame about the ****** software on it.

I am prepared to give Apple the benefit of the doubt and wait for your keynote in September. Rumours are of course just rumours until official word. But and this a BIG but, I will not be buying the phone if it turns out to be everything I've seen in the 'supposed leaks' this time around.

I work hard for my money and have been a loyal Apple iPhone customer. But Apple is falling behind the competition and not listening to what it's customers want.

Judging from the Apple related rumour/forum websites I visit frequently, I'm far far far from the only one who feels this way.

I'll be sure to update you after the keynote with my final verdict. That said, you probably won't lose a tremendous amount of sleep if I chose not to buy the next model. Will you?

Thanks for taking the time to read my email.

Regards,
Matt

Sent from my iPhone
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1470427103][/doublepost]How did you find his email address
 
matjamca said:
I have no expectation of a response as stated in the email itself. I always take the view that you should feedback dissatisfaction to those who can best do something about it. Unless you do so, nothing will ever change.
Click to expand...

When dealing with a huge company like Apple the only thing that will prompt change is declining profit, and given that they sell products by the tens of millions, one or two or even a thousand letters aren't even going to be noticed. But, if it makes you feel better then knock yourself out. A little constructive criticism though; don't swear (even with asterisks) in a letter that you want to be taken seriously.
 
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Jyatch1 said:
[doublepost=1470427103][/doublepost]How did you find his email address
Click to expand...

It's tcook@apple.com

I can't remember where I got it, probably from this forum.

I first emailed him when I started getting a lot of spam to my iCloud email address. An email address I am very very careful not to put anywhere that could generate spam.

He never responded, but the emails stopped. I don't know if Apple did anything, but something changed.

I've also emailed Craig Federigi in the past and had a response from him.
[doublepost=1470427922][/doublepost]
joeblow7777 said:
When dealing with a huge company like Apple the only thing that will prompt change is declining profit, and given that they sell products by the tens of millions, one or two or even a thousand letters aren't even going to be noticed. But, if it makes you feel better then knock yourself out. A little constructive criticism though; don't swear (even with asterisks) in a letter that you want to be taken seriously.
Click to expand...

It's people taking this kind of attitude i.e. nothing will change, so why bother, that means nothing changes. Unless those who can make a difference hear the message loud and clear they'll never take notice.

Trust me. I know how to complain. I work for an Ombudsman/Alternative Dispute Resolution organisation in the UK and deal with disputes between different parties every day of the week.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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The best part about the e-mail is saying that Apple doesn't listen to what its customers want. They obviously know what their customers want, and remember their customers don't just reside on the macrumors forum.

The new iOS messaging features signal that they know exactly what the customers want. I would personally guarantee that more iOS users will utilize those messaging features, as gimmicky as they actually are, more than Note 7 owners will use the iris scanner.

Apple has been successful with iPhone since the beginning without all the useless features because most customers just don't care about those. They decided as a company to deliver the user with a software/hardware experience that just works, which is what customers really want weeks, months and years down the road.

Do they always include what you want? No. Do they always include what I want? No. We are just two customers among millions.
 
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Cryates said:
The best part about the e-mail is saying that Apple doesn't listen to what its customers want. They obviously know what their customers want, and remember their customers don't just reside on the macrumors forum.

The new iOS messaging features signal that they know exactly what the customers want. I would personally guarantee that more iOS users will utilize those messaging features, as gimmicky as they actually are, more than Note 7 owners will use the iris scanner.

Apple has been successful with iPhone since the beginning without all the useless features because most customers just don't care about those. They decided as a company to deliver the user with a software/hardware experience that just works, which is what customers really want weeks, months and years down the road.

Do they always include what you want? No. Do they always include what I want? No. We are just two customers among millions.
Click to expand...

I fully understand and respect your point of view, but again, unless enough people (who are dissatisfied) speak up, nothing will change. It probably is a futile exercise, but got to be worth at least a try. No? You just never know!
 
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matjamca said:
It's tcook@apple.com

I can't remember where I got it, probably from this forum.

I first emailed him when I started getting a lot of spam to my iCloud email address. An email address I am very very careful not to put anywhere that could generate spam.

He never responded, but the emails stopped. I don't know if Apple did anything, but something changed.

I've also emailed Craig Federigi in the past and had a response from him.
[doublepost=1470427922][/doublepost]

It's people taking this kind of attitude i.e. nothing will change, so why bother, that means nothing changes. Unless those who can make a difference hear the message loud and clear they'll never take notice.

Trust me. I know how to complain. I work for an Ombudsman/Alternative Dispute Resolution organisation in the UK and deal with disputes between different parties every day of the week.
Click to expand...

Even so, the days of simply writing a letter are over, because email makes it too easy. Tim Cook probably gets a thousand emails a day, and it's probably someone's job (or the job of a really good spam filter) to make sure that ones like yours never actually reach him.

In this day and age if you want to make a difference go to social media. Post a copy of your letter on Facebook and encourage people to share. Take a picture of it and tweet it with a clever hashtag and encourage people to retweet. Start a YouTube channel.

I'm really not kidding. These days the only why a single voice is ever heard is by going viral. A simple tweet can be seen and retweeted by thousands. No one at Apple will notice your letter.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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joeblow7777 said:
Even so, the days of simply writing a letter are over, because email makes it too easy. Tim Cook probably gets a thousand emails a day, and it's probably someone's job (or the job of a really good spam filter) to make sure that ones like yours never actually reach him.

In this day and age if you want to make a difference go to social media. Post a copy of your letter on Facebook and encourage people to share. Take a picture of it and tweet it with a clever hashtag and encourage people to retweet. Start a YouTube channel.

I'm really not kidding. These days the only why a single voice is ever heard is by going viral. A simple tweet can be seen and retweeted by thousands. No one at Apple will notice your letter.
Click to expand...

You're more than likely right.
A YouTube Channel might be a bit extreme though LOL :)
 
Also, when you tweet or post include Cook's email address.
matjamca said:
You're more than likely right.
A YouTube Channel might be a bit extreme though LOL :)
Click to expand...

You can always include Cook's email address in your posts/tweets too. Go to social media and make some noise!

It's still a million to one shot that it will make a difference, but I'd say it's better than trying to write to Cook directly on your own.
[doublepost=1470429439][/doublepost]
The Game 161 said:
Well if we get an extra hours battery life will you still be angry
Click to expand...

Personally I'd rather have the headphone jack, as my phone already gets me though nearly two days on average, but let's not turn this into another debate about the pros and cons as there's already enough of those.
 
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I have emailed Cook before and have gotten a response from his executive team. But not for complaining, but for actually having an issue with a product. This when the Apple Watch stopped reading your heart rate every 10 minutes unless you were completely still. I dealt with his team for over 3 months as I spoke with engineers on a weekly basis.

This type of email is truly a waste of time and probably reduces the chances of customers that actually need to contact Cook from getting emails in return. Instead of complaining about a rumored device, wait till it launches. If it's the same device then just don't buy it. Apple will probably sell over 100M of the new iPhone. 10k people on Macrumors being upset and not buying it hardly makes a mark on 100M units. Besides, Cook did mention a while back that the next iPhone will include a feature that everyone will have to have.
 
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The Game 161 said:
What would need to be included for you to take a U turn and be ok with say no headphone jack?
Click to expand...

To be honest, the lack of a headphone jack is probably not a huge concern for me personally - apart from the fact you might not be able to charge whilst listening.

My main gripe is thiness at any cost. I really don't understand the obsession - especially when this impacts battery capacity.

I've never heard a single person say they'd rather have a thinner phone instead of a longer lasting battery. Not one person. :confused:
 
matjamca said:
To be honest, the lack of a headphone jack is probably not a huge concern for me personally - apart from the fact you might not be able to charge whilst listening.

My main gripe is thiness at any cost. I really don't understand the obsession - especially when this impacts battery capacity.

I've never heard a single person say they'd rather have a thinner phone instead of a longer lasting battery. Not one person. :confused:
Click to expand...

You do know the battery rumors have shown it having like 15% more capacity, right?

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/07/13/iphone-7-1960-mah-battery/
 
Mlrollin91 said:
I have emailed Cook before and have gotten a response from his executive team. But not for complaining, but for actually having an issue with a product. This when the Apple Watch stopped reading your heart rate every 10 minutes unless you were completely still. I dealt with his team for over 3 months as I spoke with engineers on a weekly basis.

This type of email is truly a waste of time and probably reduces the chances of customers that actually need to contact Cook from getting emails in return. Instead of complaining about a rumored device, wait till it launches. If it's the same device then just don't buy it. Apple will probably sell over 100M of the new iPhone. 10k people on Macrumors being upset and not buying it hardly makes a mark on 100M units. Besides, Cook did mention a while back that the next iPhone will include a feature that everyone will have to have.
Click to expand...

Did he specifically say the next iPhone would have a feature that everyone must have?
 
Good for you, it doesn't hurt to tell a company your frustrations. There is always a chance someone will read it. We live in the email age it costs nothing to send one out. I get emails everyday about crap I will never buy from companies they are taking a chance that I will read and maybe buy. It costs them nothing to do.

edit: Let me add the true way to show your frustrations is not to buy the next version
 
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matjamca said:
I have no expectation of a response as stated in the email itself. I always take the view that you should feedback dissatisfaction to those who can best do something about it. Unless you do so, nothing will ever change.
Click to expand...
How can you possibly express dissatisfaction with an unannounced product which none of us know anything about except rumour.
 
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