Apple CEO Tim Cook: It 'Means More to Us to Get it Right' Than to Be First

[LordVic]

So would Mavericks...

Tim Cook is getting lots of practice telling people what they want to hear. Even better they actually believe it. As a company you can't ask for more than blind faith.

This is my problem too.

he's right. Apple traditionally isn't the "First" company to do anything. They're typically the company that could read the market, what it wanted, and deliver a package using technology from everywhere they could muster in a new or more consumer friendly way.

IT generally isn't about being first for Apple.

however, Tim Cook preaches the Apple reality distortion field, and hasn't generally backed that up in his tenure. I get he's not jobs. That's not what he is, nor is it what he is expected to be.

But so far, for a few products under his watch he hasn't lived up to that 2nd part of his statement. Apple has not done it "right" for several instances. Look through this thread and you'll alone see many examples of Apple releasing things that just don't live up to that hype of "it just works" or flawless execution.

Software that has been full of bugs and unexpected "features". Several large security problems.

hardware that just didnt see the success they expected, or having less than the expected Apple execution.

I don't necessary think it's Cookies fault. Apple is a much larger company than it was even 5 or 10 years ago and as Corporation they've hit what most large ones do. They're just too big for one man to provide oversight into all the everyday workings and execution.

 

[macbreakweekly]

As always, MR is full of folk with hot heads and big opinions which they speak as if their words are respected and influential in things.

You're all full of yourselves, and hilariously post opinion as retaliation to others' posts instead of pre-considered rational musings. If you want a balanced view of what the Apple world is doing, watch/listen to "MacBreak Weekly" and experience grown ups talking calmly and rationally about the things which this muck mill tends to grind over and over and consistently get nowhere on.

 

[gentlefury]

Is that so? Explan iOS 7, iWork and Final Cut Pro X then.

Best portable OS on the market, best productivity suite, absolutely best NLE!! They all function a little different from their stale counterparts and that scares people away.

 

[LordVic]

As always, MR is full of folk with hot heads and big opinions which they speak as if their words are respected and influential in things.

You're all full of yourselves, and hilariously post opinion as retaliation to others' posts instead of pre-considered rational musings. If you want a balanced view of what the Apple world is doing, watch/listen to "MacBreak Weekly" and experience grown ups talking calmly and rationally about the things which this muck mill tends to grind over and over and consistently get nowhere on.

this is rich considering you're posting this on a chat forum designed exclusively for us armchair CEO's to discuss and chat our opinions.

nobody here believes their words have any impact on apple's future or direction.

 

[sixrom]

Tim Cook preaches the Apple reality distortion field, and hasn't generally backed that up in his tenure. I get he's not jobs. That's not what he is, nor is it what he is expected to be.

But so far, for a few products under his watch he hasn't lived up to that 2nd part of his statement. Apple has not done it "right" for several instances. Look through this thread and you'll alone see many examples of Apple releasing things that just don't live up to that hype of "it just works" or flawless execution.

Software that has been full of bugs and unexpected "features". Several large security problems.

hardware that just didnt see the success they expected, or having less than the expected Apple execution.

I don't necessary think it's Cookies fault. Apple is a much larger company than it was even 5 or 10 years ago and as Corporation they've hit what most large ones do. They're just too big for one man to provide oversight into all the everyday workings and execution.

Very well said, you've hit the nail on the head.

As a very long time Apple enthusiast it pains me to witness some of the decisions, or lack thereof that are occurring currently. I know what Apple is capable of and wish they'd return to form.

 

[numlock]

The iPad Air? The iPad mini with Retina Display? The new Mac Pro?

are we to count every new release/update as interesting/exciting then? a thinner and smaller bezel ipad and finally adding retina display to the ipad mini.

the mac pro was released on the 19th of December which is not fall and i would question whether that should count given how small a segment it is targeted for.

obviously im not alone in feeling underwhelmed.

btw im not expecting groundbreaking products every other quarter but tim cook with his constant yapping brings it on himself and sadly the company. i dont recall jobs needing to validate his tenure like this and for the simple reason that he wasnt charmless he made things feel and seem more interesting.

 

[Bare]

Getting it right first, like Maps, iOS7, and iPhone 5C?
Time to take a good, hard look in the mirror, Tim!

There was clearly not much thought put into this comment.

You have somewhat of a point with Maps, but there's one huge difference -- Maps is not a product in and of itself. Maps is just a feature. It also worked just fine for me, but because it wasn't perfect, people flipped out. But what choice did Apple have but to create its own Maps app when they couldn't come to an agreement to continue to use Google Maps?

iOS7 is fantastic. Again, I've never had an issue with it. I was quite excited to put it on my phone and both my iPads, and I've never regretted it.

And what's wrong with the 5C? It's basically a repackaged 5, following the same strategy of lowering the price on the previous generation phone that Apple has been using for years. It has also sold quite well -- it's one of the top 5 smart phones in terms of sales (over the period that it has been available), and it's not even a flagship product.

But yeah, man, Apple doesn't put time into its products. LOOK IN THE MIRROR, TIM!!!!!!!!!11ONE

 

[proline]

Very well said, you've hit the nail on the head.

As a very long time Apple enthusiast it pains me to witness some of the decisions, or lack thereof that are occurring currently. I know what Apple is capable of and wish they'd return to form.

More of the usual foolishness. Apple's commitment to getting it right is a FAR cry from saying that no Apple product has flaws and "it just works or flawless execution". No Apple product from the past was ever flawless. Every piece of Apple software ever has had bugs and needed updates. Some of the ones that came out under Jobs were particularly bad, such as MobileMe. Every piece of hardware has also had imperfections of one sort or another, especially under Jobs. The iMac, for example, required you to open a side door and pull out all the cables before sticking a pin in a hole to restart it (that was in a time pre-OS X of highly flaw software when freezes were common). Not to mention the hockey puck mouse.

What Tim is Jobs spoke of was the pursuit of perfection, rather than the Microsoft/Samsung approach of the pursuit of money, or the Google approach which is the pursuit of ad impressions.

 

[Mockenrue]

Is that so? Explan iOS 7, iWork and Final Cut Pro X then.

Very true... if Tim makes this statement, it raises the bar on what they do release - it better be great, not half-baked. Those are just a few examples where it hasn't happened. While we're at it, could they also apply this thinking to code review and QA testing so GotoFail doesn't get out? Or the 5.1 AppleTV bug that could have been flagged with even the most cursory acceptance testing?

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

"Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well." - Jim Rohn #leadership #social #influence

 

[dannyyankou]

iOS 7 has been the most exciting release in a long time for me. And I love it. If you let it... will grow on you. Problem is people a lot of times refuse to accept change, even if it's for the better. They immediately discredit it for garbage.

Agree with this 95%. While I love iOS 7 and the direction it's headed in, there's no denying that they didn't wait until it was stable enough for release. That's what iOS 7.1 was for.

 

[SusanK]

It's been a while since I've heard "insanely great" from Apple management...

The good old days.

 

[Mockenrue]

however, Tim Cook preaches the Apple reality distortion field, and hasn't generally backed that up in his tenure.

That's what frustrates those of us who are platform agnostic. When Jobs was around, I'd roll my eyes at the reality distortion, but often think, "you know... the truth isn't SO far off. This stuff is better." The reality distortion has not waned, but Apple innovation has, while other platforms have narrowed the gap or surpassed. I like a confident Apple, but not over-confidence to the point of complacency and endless incremental evolution.

 

[TallManNY]

Okay, T Cook is doubling down on product innovation in a public setting AGAIN. I'm excited to see what is new.

The iCar thing is probably nice, but since I'm not replacing my car until my current one dies (and it is 2006, so I'm hoping I've got several more years in it), the iCar isn't going to be part of my life for a long time.

I will likely buy iPhone 6 to replace my 5. That will be nice, but I don't know what it will do that my iPhone 5 doesn't do. Also my iMini will also probably do everything the i6 can do.

iMac not getting replaced for years.

So what neat next thing is coming from Apple? I'm hoping for something new and neat this year. Presumably something in the TV and wearable categories, but will it be compelling?

 

[AppleScruff1]

There was clearly not much thought put into this comment.

You have somewhat of a point with Maps, but there's one huge difference -- Maps is not a product in and of itself. Maps is just a feature. It also worked just fine for me, but because it wasn't perfect, people flipped out. But what choice did Apple have but to create its own Maps app when they couldn't come to an agreement to continue to use Google Maps?

iOS7 is fantastic. Again, I've never had an issue with it. I was quite excited to put it on my phone and both my iPads, and I've never regretted it.

And what's wrong with the 5C? It's basically a repackaged 5, following the same strategy of lowering the price on the previous generation phone that Apple has been using for years. It has also sold quite well -- it's one of the top 5 smart phones in terms of sales (over the period that it has been available), and it's not even a flagship product.

But yeah, man, Apple doesn't put time into its products. LOOK IN THE MIRROR, TIM!!!!!!!!!11ONE

I don't know about you, but the tab reloading problem is still there for me in Safari on the iPad Air. So I wouldn't call iOS 7 fantastic.

 

[samcraig]

What Tim is Jobs spoke of was the pursuit of perfection, rather than the Microsoft/Samsung approach of the pursuit of money, or the Google approach which is the pursuit of ad impressions.

Right. Apple isn't in it for the money. Seriously? And clearly every other company in the industry doesn't care about perfection, JUST about making a buck. And of course, Google ONLY cares about ad impressions.

Thanks for the funny post.

 

[darbus69]

No new products in 6 months is pretty ridiculous

It's the ADHD Generation in all it's impatient glory...Expecting groundbreaking technology advances every three months is insanely insane. How many new products did you release in the last 6 months???

 

[Razeus]

It's mind boggling how many of these phones they can produce in 1 quarter. Insane.

 

[Sky Blue]

It's the ADHD Generation in all it's impatient glory...Expecting groundbreaking technology advances every three months is insanely insane. How many new products did you release in the last 6 months???

No ones expecting "groundbreaking technology advances" all the time, just shuffle the release calendar so they release product updates across the calendar instead of almost everything in September/October.

 

[Konrad9]

Congratulations on recycling the most well-known complaints. I'd bet my left nut that you've never even used Final Cut Pro 7, let alone FCP X.

Why are you even here?

90% of the anti-Samsung posts are the most well-known recycled complaints, funny how you aren't criticizing them.

 

[ADudeInBoston]

What is with the criticsms with iOS7? I have personally found it much more usable and visually appealing than prior versions of iOS.

And I'm truly happy (no sarcasm!) that it's worked out so well for you. I'll agree that it seems stable and certainly brings some welcome new features. But I need to go beyond the "iOS 7 sucks! It's ugly!" baseline and explain what a lot of folks can't seem to grasp: All considerations of stylistic preferences aside, iOS 7 is simply very hard for a lot of us to see. Apparently this is one of those things where it's hard to believe unless it happens to someone personally, but it's true: Razor-thin text (especially red) on a bright white background is darned near invisible to some people's eyes, including mine. The newer revs of iOS 7 have helped, certainly, with some of the accessibility tweaks. But it's nowhere near as pleasant as iOS 6.x was.

This isn't me being a luddite and "resisting change" -- this is an actual usability issue that is very real for a portion of the user base. We're not blind or stupid (or even just plain disagreeable! ) . Just wanted to get that out there. Cheers!

 

[ghost of jobs]

Indeed. Contrary to the nonsense HTC and Samsung have spewed in the courts, "swipe to unlock" is neither the obvious nor the optimal nor the inevitable way to activate a phone. Had either company been focused on innovation they might have invented Touch ID first. Instead they focused on copying. Well, you can make a living like that but it sucks having to spend your life a step behind.

Are you suggesting Apple invented touchID, .. oh.dear... But then I suspect you think they invented siri as well...

 

[Razeus]

Samsung's little watch is going to look pretty silly once Apple launches theirs. Talk about getting it wrong and totally guessing.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

80% of Worldwide market at what cost to profitability? Profits matter, market share is just there for Blandroid cheerleaders to mentally masterbate over. It lets them think they are "winning".

How on earth do profits matter to the end user? Marketshare matters to the end user and this is the metric which developers take notice of. See the number of applications of Windows vs. OS X for an example of this.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Samsung's little watch is going to look pretty silly once Apple launches theirs. Talk about getting it wrong and totally guessing.

What does the Apple watch look like and what will it do?

----------

How on earth do profits matter to the end user? Marketshare matters to the end user and this is the metric which developers take notice of. See the number of applications of Windows vs. OS X for an example of this.

Profits are important to Apple customers, even when they aren't shareholders.