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Bloomberg: Jeff Williams is Second-Most Important Person at Apple, Operates Similar to Tim Cook
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Much respect for Jeff. He’s very health oriented and I believe he’s been a big part of pushing the Apple Watch in a different direction other than just being a ‘communication device’, being more focused on the health aspect. Either way, I’d say he is another great leader under Cook.
Jobs was NOT successful because of the risks. He was successful because he ALSO had Cook to make a viable supply chain possible. They needed each other. Jobs didn't lose to Microsoft out of the blue, and Jobs wouldn't have been able to deliver ANY of the iMac, iPod, iPhone etc lines without a way to actually make them and deliver. And since when did Apple drop the car platform and AR?
Yes but your examples, standard components, cheaper productions and cheaper components haven’t materialized in the present or foreseeable future, which would negate your prediction.
That’s because apple in the 90s was lead by sales people, which is not the same as operations.
They are responsible for making sure that apple products can be built. That’s actually a good thing.
"...Apple has also more than doubled its market value under Cook, so any concerns that Apple has fallen behind in the post-Jobs era are arguably overblown."
Apple seems like one of those unicorns where it just FEELS like they've 'fallen behind' DESPITE having doubled its market value.
It's not as though one precludes the other.
Apple seems like one of those unicorns where it just FEELS like they've 'fallen behind' DESPITE having doubled its market value.
It's not as though one precludes the other.
Apple's margins were higher under Steve Jobs, and Tim Cook's job under Steve Jobs was efficiency.
So much for your theory.
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Yeah because Steve Jobs didn't care AT ALL about profit. NO ONE ever complained about an Apple tax when Steve Jobs running the show.
Geez
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It's been nearly 9 years since Tim Cook took over, and that has yet to happen. Let us know the date when that is supposed to begin.
Seeing these two side by side triggers an acute depression. I doubt that either of those two would draw a rect with round edges without attending a seminar first.
Apples products now will be “overseen” and checked with green markers and corrected using red circles.
One might think that the picture is clipped that way just to hide their pocket protectors.
Apples products now will be “overseen” and checked with green markers and corrected using red circles.
One might think that the picture is clipped that way just to hide their pocket protectors.
As someone who watched this show before when Jobs left, I wonder how the ending is any different this time? Scully at least tried to do tech; the Newton was created under his watch and while not perfect, was pretty amazing technology (and Apple's first use of ARM technology). Jobs killed Newton on his return so we'll never know what a few more iterations could have looked like (although some bits live on in the iPhone).
This current crop of execs (minus maybe Federighi) seems to not understand products or care about them. Eddie Cue is off in music and tv la la land. Phil is increasingly MIA. The best tech designer of maybe all time just left because "leadership doesn't care about design." Ahrendts (left recently) just made the Apple store experience worse, not understanding it is not Burberry. Tim seems to think "sell half as many, then double the price" is just fine. But this time Jobs is not waiting in the wings to save the company again.
With an operations guy, we'll get a long, comfortable slide into overpriced mediocrity. Bump out the case 0.01 more to save $2 per machine on memory. Don't go all in on 3D Touch (too expensive) and then in the future cut it as needed (happening, and long-press is 'good enough'). Let the phones go 3 generations in the same shell to make manufacturing and supply chain easier (6-6s-7, X-XS-11). Take 6+ years to update a Mac Pro because nobody understands or cares about high end creatives when the exec team is using e-mail and PowerPoints and can probably do that from an iPad (plus the spreadsheet says this is a low-volume machine so it must not be important). Release a smart speaker years late because everyone else is, charge too much for it, and then neglect it because its not selling in high volumes so why keep investing? Have a Mac, an iPad Pro, and an iPhone? Use 3 different wired headsets. Buy a Beats headset? Charge with MicroUSB.
Don't have any product passion what to do? Don't buy Sonos (clearly aligned). Don't buy Nest (clearly aligned). Don't buy Tesla. Instead let Eddie run off and start making TV shows because he at least seems passionate about something and Netflix seems to be onto something. Oh, and don't buy Netflix either. Instead, listen to investors (not designers) and hand that money back as share repurchases and dividends. Huh?
What's next? Cut fan slots underneath to help with cooling instead of engineering air channels in the sides and save $5 per machine? Put an Intel Inside sticker on the palmrest to get $3 per machine in Intel marketing money (hey, customers can peel it off later if they don't like it)? Pretty soon we all get 'me too' devices. I just hope that the ecosystem integration keeps holding strong for another decade.
The only thing keeping beige boxes from returning is that Apple will have Huawei, Microsoft, and Google to copy. Ironically, those companies were all inspired by Apple's past. I think the current CEO of Huawei understands Apple better than Tim Cook does.
This current crop of execs (minus maybe Federighi) seems to not understand products or care about them. Eddie Cue is off in music and tv la la land. Phil is increasingly MIA. The best tech designer of maybe all time just left because "leadership doesn't care about design." Ahrendts (left recently) just made the Apple store experience worse, not understanding it is not Burberry. Tim seems to think "sell half as many, then double the price" is just fine. But this time Jobs is not waiting in the wings to save the company again.
With an operations guy, we'll get a long, comfortable slide into overpriced mediocrity. Bump out the case 0.01 more to save $2 per machine on memory. Don't go all in on 3D Touch (too expensive) and then in the future cut it as needed (happening, and long-press is 'good enough'). Let the phones go 3 generations in the same shell to make manufacturing and supply chain easier (6-6s-7, X-XS-11). Take 6+ years to update a Mac Pro because nobody understands or cares about high end creatives when the exec team is using e-mail and PowerPoints and can probably do that from an iPad (plus the spreadsheet says this is a low-volume machine so it must not be important). Release a smart speaker years late because everyone else is, charge too much for it, and then neglect it because its not selling in high volumes so why keep investing? Have a Mac, an iPad Pro, and an iPhone? Use 3 different wired headsets. Buy a Beats headset? Charge with MicroUSB.
Don't have any product passion what to do? Don't buy Sonos (clearly aligned). Don't buy Nest (clearly aligned). Don't buy Tesla. Instead let Eddie run off and start making TV shows because he at least seems passionate about something and Netflix seems to be onto something. Oh, and don't buy Netflix either. Instead, listen to investors (not designers) and hand that money back as share repurchases and dividends. Huh?
What's next? Cut fan slots underneath to help with cooling instead of engineering air channels in the sides and save $5 per machine? Put an Intel Inside sticker on the palmrest to get $3 per machine in Intel marketing money (hey, customers can peel it off later if they don't like it)? Pretty soon we all get 'me too' devices. I just hope that the ecosystem integration keeps holding strong for another decade.
The only thing keeping beige boxes from returning is that Apple will have Huawei, Microsoft, and Google to copy. Ironically, those companies were all inspired by Apple's past. I think the current CEO of Huawei understands Apple better than Tim Cook does.
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Maybe in the medium to long term this style of management adopted by Tim Cook will make Apple retract and go back to being a niche company again. That seems a very likely consequence.
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People were happy to pay the Apple tax when the products were interesting.
It should. Apple is slipping in user retention and marketshare because of faulty beliefs like this.
Everyone should watch that video because it has happened to Apple. Steve Jobs knew what he was saying and was prescient here even. Great throwback. That is the current state of Apple.
Oh gosh that's so true and annoying. It feels like even jokes and pauses for laughter are scripted.
So they’re becoming run by the sales and marketing people, like Jobs said would happen. The talent is being driven out because the company has forgotten how to differentiate between a good product and a bad one.
“So what?” Well, nothing right now. The exodus will take time. You won’t be asking so what five-ten years from now if Apple doesn’t make a change, because the entire ecosystem and App Store will be deserted and people will have jumped to a better operating system.
I like tim cook and williams, but it is not black and white as to whether tim is responsible for the growth under his helm as there was a huge momentum behind the company when he took over. Just as we cannot give Trump credit for the economy as it was already recovering.
SJ on the other hand took a company that was dying and left it in great shape.
What we can gauge what their own specific actions achieve. And the full impact of that remains to be seen.
SJ on the other hand took a company that was dying and left it in great shape.
What we can gauge what their own specific actions achieve. And the full impact of that remains to be seen.
If not Jeff Williams, then whom? There has to be someone that's groomed to be the next CEO.