Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

[Lounge vibes 05]

Eddy Cue is the most talented and inspiring replacement for CEO.

First of all I don’t agree.
But even if I did agree, there’s no getting around the fact that Apple is very obviously going to want their new CEO to be young enough that they can retain that title for as long as Steve (14 years) or Cook (15 years) have and Eddy is already 61.
John is 50, Tim was also 50 when he became CEO.
Jobs was 42 when he became CEO.

 

[OverTheHill]

Hmm...

Why fears of a trillion-dollar AI bubble are growing

For almost as long as the artificial intelligence boom has been in full swing, there have been warnings of a speculative bubble that could rival the dot-com craze of the late 1990s that ended in a spectacular crash and a wave of bankruptcies.

techxplore.com

Maybe it's not such a bad thing to sit out entire trends, especially if they turn out to be flops in the long term.

When it comes to AI I want it as dumb as possible. Everyone’s on crack over it and quite frankly it’s making people stupid. Schools are scrambling to lock it down so kids don’t cheat. Workers are leaning on it because their writing skills already suck. Artists are terrified. There’s good tech and then there is crap we really don’t need. Being a tortoise isn’t necessarily a bad thing when the bandwagon is going off the rails.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I kind of admire the work ethic of these old rich people but it couldn't be me. I'd be relaxing on some remote Island for the rest of my life with their kind of money.

It becomes about ego above a certain level.

Money is an afterthought once reaching these levels.

 

[Dark_Omen]

Different people are needed at different parts of Apple’s trajectory.

Steve Jobs was Churchhill.

Tim Cook is Eisenhower.

What kind of leader do you want his successor to be?

True. Different types of leadership styles.

The next CEO could do an overhaul and invest the savings elsewhere. Examples:

1) Cut retail stores by 90% since most are a waste of money. People buy online, and stores like Best Buy, Walmart, and cell phone carrier stores can display demo models of what people typically purchase. A significant savings on payroll, operations, and "renovation" costs. Warranty replacements can be mailed in or picked up with a deal through Best Buy.

2) Increase the cost of the phones to $1,199 for the base phone, increasing each model by $100 increments over that. People will continue to buy iPhones regardless of the price increase -- especially with carrier subsidies.

3) Remove the iPad mini from the lineup entirely.

4) Remove Apple TV from the lineup entirely.

5) Slice the dividend even further.


And then reinvest savings into people to retain talent, so that the software can be improved.

 

[Corefile]

First of all I don’t agree.
But even if I did agree, there’s no getting around the fact that Apple is very obviously going to want their new CEO to be young enough that they can retain that title for as long as Steve (14 years) or Cook (15 years) have and Eddy is already 61.
John is 50, Tim was also 50 when he became CEO.
Jobs was 42 when he became CEO.

Eddy Cue is immortal.

 

[1037]

Can we start skipping the 12 month product cycle?

 

[OverTheHill]

True. Different types of leadership styles.

The next CEO could do an overhaul and invest the savings elsewhere. Examples:

1) Cut retail stores by 90% since most are a waste of money. People buy online, and stores like Best Buy, Walmart, and cell phone carrier stores can display demo models of what people typically purchase. A significant savings on payroll, operations, and "renovation" costs. Warranty replacements can be mailed in or picked up with a deal through Best Buy.

2) Increase the cost of the phones to $1,199 for the base phone, increasing each model by $100 increments over that. People will continue to buy iPhones regardless of the price increase -- especially with carrier subsidies.

3) Remove the iPad mini from the lineup entirely.

4) Remove Apple TV from the lineup entirely.

5) Slice the dividend even further.


And then reinvest savings into people to retain talent, so that the software can be improved.

Removing Retail? I don’t need UPS to drop check my next Studio Display or some clown stealing my device off my front porch. No thanks. Dumping AppleTV would be incredibly dumb.

 

[DocMultimedia]

If Gurman says Cook isn't leaving yet... That means Cook will retire next week.

Cook has done an amazing job creating a massive company. Hopefully the next one can keep things going.

 

[TMRJIJ]

Are you kidding?
There were Mac rumors comments in 2007 saying Steve had lost it after the introduction of the iPhone.
The announcement that Apple would be changing their name from Apple computer Inc. to just Apple Inc. was met with some of the harshest criticism this place has ever seen, that was at the same event as the iPhone.
Plenty of “Steve should give up on his touch screen toy and update the MacPro” comments even then.
A very common sentiment on here at the time was “Steve is turning Apple into Sony instead of focusing on the og Mac customers”. And this was 2007.
Thank God these people never had a say.

This 100%.

 

[Dark_Omen]

Removing Retail? I don’t need UPS to drop check my next Studio Display or some clown stealing my device off my front porch. No thanks. Dumping AppleTV would be incredibly dumb.

How many people actually use AppleTV and what purpose does it serve? TV's have the same apps.

Retail has been dying for years. It's only a matter of time before the stores are mostly gone. UPS/Apple requires a signature for expensive items.

 

[jb333]

I'd argue Apple under Jobs was more influential on the industry and society as a whole than Apple under Cook has been. Profit isn't everything. Jobs understood that.

It was a different era

 

[TMRJIJ]

The kids loved them, didn’t ask for phones until they were 18

We all had phones when we were 10-12 years old.
(Note: I’m 29 now but was the only kid without a phone in 5th grade)

 

[delsoul]

It's time for Tim. He and the people under him failed to recognize the AI boom, Apple Intelligence has been an abysmal failure.

As CEO, it ultimately falls on him.

He refuses to clear house with a horrible software team and marketing team
Being a close second. As you said, it ultimately falls on him. Things would be different if he had a spine

 

[JaydenA]

Credit for the mouse goes to Doug Englebart at SRI

One considers credit might go to Ralph Bengamin who did it in 1946 well before Englebart et al. in the 1960s.

All Englebart et al. really did was turn Bengamin's invention upside down.

 

[platinumaqua]

You don’t run a successful business by giving customers everything they want.

Apple products have never really been perfect under Steve Jobs either (I remember the first iPad with 256gb of ram, or the 2012 MacBook Air with 2 gb ram, so even before Tim Cook, Apple products have already been pretty stingy with specs).

And Steve Jobs went to war with Flash because he wanted to steer developers to the iOS App Store instead. Proprietary connectors like 30-pin? They all started with Steve, and people cheered him on for it.

The shortcomings were easier to tolerate since the entire package was so polished, easy to use, and has a good wow factor. Not so much now.

 

[nfl46]

Tim’s efforts were truly commendable! The company now possesses sufficient cash reserves to embark on innovative endeavors once more.

 

[grilledcheesesandwich]

What’s the point of quoting Gurman? His suggestion of a plant made me laugh given the track record of the FT.

 

[PowerButton]

This is due to Apple’s initial lack of investment in AI early on and subsequent delays in Apple Intelligence.

 

[citysnaps]

One considers credit might go to Ralph Bengamin who did it in 1946 well before Englebart et al. in the 1960s.

View attachment 2579895

All Englebart et al. really did was turn Bengamin's invention upside down.

Was there a button to make a selection on a computer screen's graphical user interface, like a mouse? Likely not. More like a trackball.

I suspect the above was to move an image around, or to zoom an image in and out, on some kind of maps display. For military/defense purposes.

 

[PowerButton]

Tim’s efforts were truly commendable! The company now possesses sufficient cash reserves to embark on innovative endeavors once more.

Well it’s because of Tim that they didn’t invest in AI early on, sold Apple Intelligence promises he couldn’t keep, and continued to have a useless Siri who apparently self activates and records private conversations.

 

[Richard700]

Even though I think there has been a decline in Apple quality as of late, thanks for the ride Tim Apple! You did well during your time. I bought AAPL in 2013 when it was $14 (accounting for the split(s)) betting that Mr. Jobs wouldn't put someone in that would let the business fail; he did mych more than that.

Two Thumbs Up

View attachment 2579859

Bought APPL the year they announced the iPhone - I've done very well thanks to Apple's management - and I can afford to buy what they sell!

 

[dguisinger]

Thank god....

Get rid of the guy who spent billions on a car that had nothing to do with Apple's core competencies.
Get rid of the guy who spent hundreds of millions or billions on Apple Vision Pro
Get rid of the guy who hasn't paused software releases to be able to focus on a bug fix release (ahem, Jobs did)
Get rid of the guy who thinks we want to buy mini-apps inside of apps
Get rid of the guy who thought all they needed was a thin sheet of plastic added to my macbook keyboard to make it work (it didn't)
Get rid of the guy who announced their AI initiative without anything tangeble working
Get rid of the guy who seems to think Apple's primary business should be in rent-seeking and charging interest

The only good thing to come out of Apple under Cook is the M-series processors.

 

[citysnaps]

Are you kidding?
There were Mac rumors comments in 2007 saying Steve had lost it after the introduction of the iPhone.
The announcement that Apple would be changing their name from Apple computer Inc. to just Apple Inc. was met with some of the harshest criticism this place has ever seen, that was at the same event as the iPhone.
Plenty of “Steve should give up on his touch screen toy and update the MacPro” comments even then.
A very common sentiment on here at the time was “Steve is turning Apple into Sony instead of focusing on the og Mac customers”. And this was 2007.
Thank God these people never had a say.

Spot on assessment. Many people are not able to feel good inside unless they're taking a swing at or complaining about someone else. I remember all of the awful swings leveled at Cook and his lifestyle.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Spot on. Many people are not able to feel good inside unless they're taking a swing at or complaining about someone else.

Give it 24 hours after Tim retires before every front page article on this entire website is flooded with “Tim would never ever’s” because they slightly changed the exact shade of spaceblack on that year’s Apple Watch or slightly tweak the Safari icon.

 

[nfl46]

Well it’s because of Tim that they didn’t invest in AI early on, sold Apple Intelligence promises he couldn’t keep, and continued to have a useless Siri who apparently self activates and records private conversations.

Perhaps. However, Apple is still doing well. They are still profitable and in the green, which is a positive sign. Now, if Apple were headed towards a downward spiral, the numbers would indicate that. But the current numbers suggest otherwise. He’s leaving the company is a damn good position.