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Tim Cook on iPhone XS: People Want the Most Innovative Phone Possible and 'It's Not Cheap to Do That'
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QFT, my sentiments exactly
Me thinks u need to change ur tar to Tony Robbins, and go all over the country informing the masses, this should be taught in grade school, to all of the us presidents, most of the Dems & Repubs in congress...what deficit, the nxt gen can worry about that, pass it on to them, we'll all be dead by then anyway, just like McCain. While you're at it, how about doing a tour with Tim Cook, since he don't give a hoot, how many ppl in China over spend chasing the status symbol (yeah, u got that right Cook, in China the ip is a symbol)
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/soc...w-graduates-earn-us588-month-less-cost-iphone
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The cheapest iPhone 7 model, with a 32-gigabyte capacity, costs 5,388 yuan in mainland China, where the phones are highly popular.
Graduates with masters degrees offered monthly salaries of 1,600 yuan at job fair in northern China
By comparison, US college graduates’ median starting salary is US$47,358 annually, or around US$3,950 a month assuming a 12-month package, according to a report by the non-profit National Association of Colleges and Employers. The monthly amount is enough to buy six 32GB iPhone 7s in the United States, where the phone costs US$649.
The annual salary figure was based on a survey of 5,600 bachelor’s degree students who indicated they would be graduating or had already graduated in the 2015/2016 academic year.
In Japan, the starting monthly salary for college graduates was about US$1,800 in 2015, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
New graduates in Malaysia – whose average GDP per capita is the closest to China’s among other Asian countries – earned between US$491 and US$585 in 2015, according to recruitment platform JobStreet.
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In addition to that most great interview...of which here is the full transcript that I quote from
http://americanhistory.si.edu/comphist/sj1.html
"DM: You're talking made me think of the other side of that. You talk about the passion side. What would you say, there's passion and then there's power. What you would say about the responsibilities of power, once you've achieved a certain level of success?
SJ: Power? What is that?
DM: You need passion to build a company like Apple or IBM or any other major company. Once you've taken the passion to that level and built a company and are in the position like a Bill Gates at Microsoft or anybody else, yourself, what are the responsibilities of those who have succeeded and have economic power, social power? I mean, you've changed the world. What are your responsibilities within that?
SJ: That question can be taken on many levels. Obviously if you're running a company you have responsibilities but as an individual I don't think you have responsibilities. I think the work speaks for itself. I don't think that people have special responsibilities just because they've done something that other people like or don't like. I think the work speaks for itself. I think people could choose to do things if they want to but we're all going to be dead soon, that's my point of view. Somebody once told me, they said "Live each day as if it would be your last and one day you'll certainly be right." I do that. You never know when you're going to go but you are going to go pretty soon. If you're going to leave anything behind its going to be your kids, a few friends and your work. So that's what I tend to worry about. I don't tend to think about responsibility. A matter of fact I tend to like to on occasion pretend I don't have any responsibilities. I try to remember the last day when I didn't have anything to do and didn't have anything to do the following day that I had to do and I had no responsibilities. It was decades ago. I pretend when I want to feel that way. I don't think in those terms. I think you have a responsibility to do really good stuff and get it out there for people to use and let them build on the shoulders of it and keep making better stuff.
DM: So the responsibility is to yourself and your own standards.
SJ: In our business, one person can't do anything anymore. You create a team of people around you. You have a responsibility of integrity of work to that team. Everybody does try to turn out the best work that they can."
Steve said that before he came back to Apple, before he was even close to getting cancer, he saw his own mortality much sooner than most of us do, when he was in his early 40's...that's the one single thing that stood out to me in this unrehearsed interview. wow.
another great 'Steve' vid is this one, yep, Jobs doesn't know alot about alot of things and he apologizes for that...snarky?
No transcript her but this is a great comeback, and what he says Apple needed to focus on...the end users experience, they don't care how it comes out/how it's designed, what went into that, all the tech, they just want to have it. As we all focus on the 'new tech' in the ip, that is a solemn reminder of what Jobs said then, and in the interview with Cook, it's around here somewhere, Cook said Jobs was unlike any1 he knew in how fast Jobs could simply change course, leave behind old concepts, move to something else, faster than any other exec he has met since....found it:
https://www.fastcompany.com/3042432/the-steve-jobs-you-didnt-know-kind-patient-and-human
In Cook's own words, assuming he was quoted correctly, which reading it now, is very sad...and in this day and age, who knows...Pulitzer Prize means nothing;
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“He had the courage to admit he was wrong, and to change, a quality which many people at that level, who have accomplished that much, lack. You don’t see many people at that level who will change directions even though they should. He wasn’t beholden to anything except a set of core values. Anything else he could walk away from. He could do it faster than anyone I’d ever seen before. It was an absolute gift. He always changed. Steve had this ability to go through a learning curve quickly, more quickly than anybody I’ve known, about such a wide variety of things.
“The Steve I knew was the guy pestering me to have a social life, not because he was being a pest, but because he knew how important family was in his life, and he wanted it for me, too,” says Cook, who came out as a gay man late in 2014. “One day he calls my mom—he doesn’t even know my mom, she lives in Alabama. He said he was looking for me, but he knows how to find me! He talked to her about me. There are lots of these things where you saw the very soft or caring or feeling or whatever you want to call it side of him. He had that gene. Someone who’s viewing life only as a transactional relationship with people…doesn’t do that.”
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You don't need to be a Fortune 500 CEO to have disposable income.
I do well for myself, but am not a gazillionaire. $1,000.00 on a phone wasn't something I stressed over.
I have enough in the bank to buy dozens of them in full. I still don't consider that disposable income. That is just my opinion though.
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That simply means you aren’t very affluent. Lots of other Americans are, and they aren’t even close to Tim Cook levels of compensation.
Exactly. My net worth fluctuates by several thousand every day due to changes in investment value. I may not CHOOSE to purchase an iPhone Xs but that’s not an indicator of whether I CAN.
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Your “opinion” would diverge from that of even the most conservative financial advisors, unless by “dozens” you mean you’d be flat broke after buying exactly 2 dozen.
If you have an emergency fund of about 6 months of salary and aren’t on the hook for some crippling amount of debt, then $1000 is most certainly, BY THE DEFINITION, “disposable income.” You don’t get to take real terms that have real definitions and assign them new meanings because it suits you.
dis·pos·a·ble in·come
dəˈspōzəbəl ˈinˌkəm,dəˈspōzəbəl ˈiNGˌkəm/
noun
- income remaining after deduction of taxes and other mandatory charges, available to be spent or saved as one wishes.
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As I have said, I can get dozens of iPhone XS Max at full cost if I wanted to and still have plenty left over. That is on top of my costs of living and bill payments. But in no way do I consider this disposable income. If I am out of work for 4-8 months, I will be glad to have every dollar.
That extra $1,000 might not seem like a lot compared to my savings, but it would definitely be handy to keep around if the worst happens.
In some ways, it is beneficial. I upgrade pretty much every year. I am a year behind just now getting the X, next year I will get this year's models. I would rather pay monthly and trade it in (I am not a collector or have any need to "own" these devices) and get a new one and save money in the long run.
Now Creative Cloud, no way in hell is the "subscription model" good. I would gladly pay $3,000 for that software!
To be fair, I don’t think Tim Cook mentioned that you can get the XS Max for $30 a month.
If you have enough in the bank to buy dozens of iPhone Xs', then you have disposable income. You might not choose to use it; but you certainly have it.
And also---who cares?
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Sorta have that now with the iPhone leasing thing, don't they?
I'd love to know how popular that is and how many people use it.
I wouldn't do it, as I'd prefer to own and hand down my older phone to my wife or one of my parents, but I can see many other people taking advantage of it.
The current Apple leadership is so far from SJ's vision of what makes a company great over the long haul. It's really astounding. I'm glad Cook did this interview, because it sort of exposed the real ethic behind his leadership - it's all about profit and making people pay the most possible for whatever Apple spews out. Apple is a profit machine - I'm aware that business thrives off profit and the bottom line, but Apple these days in ONLY about profit. It has no vision other than to produce the least possible for the most money derived. That is NOT the Apple of the Steve Jobs eras. I fully expect the Mac to be discontinued within 5 years - either farmed out or dissolved entirely. Apple will continue to be an iOS company catering to the upper crust customer that will shell out whatever prices they proffer for the latest gadget. We'll see how long that lasts, but frankly, Cook was born in 1960, is in his late 50s, and will retire with golden parachutes within the next 5 to 10 years, so what does he care?
If the goal of this company is to make as much money as possible, Tim Cook is doing an incredible job. This year especially---they are really pushing the average selling price up (ASP) to make up for lack of growth. I don't think they can push that envelope any further ($1,500.00 phones? I think that's the ceiling).
Tim better find a new product or paradigm quickly, because Apple is running out of road.
To be fair, Apple has turned into a financial gorilla since Job's death, so who knows how he would have handled the company 7 years later.
Like I said, that just means you’re not very affluent and don’t have that much in savings. “Dozens” of iPhone in net worth isn’t very big. Again, not an insult—just stating a fact.
Sounds like you agree with me 100%. Tell it to that xWhiplash guy! Maybe if he hears it from enough people it'll finally start to sink in.
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"Cook explained that monthly payment plans provided by carriers help make the cost of the iPhones easier to digest."
Ya, over a two year period. Till then, you really don't own the phone either. Mobile carriers say its to 'get out of contact" but no one sells these expensive phone for only $100 if it *were* pure contact you getting out of
Ya, over a two year period. Till then, you really don't own the phone either. Mobile carriers say its to 'get out of contact" but no one sells these expensive phone for only $100 if it *were* pure contact you getting out of
Many of us have $1,000 disposable income, but we're not stupid enough to blow it on a useless phone.
The old one is good enough, they stopped giving us innovative features.
Well maybe I should have clarified. I do not know a name of someone who makes high 6-figures. That is what I was going for. I guess the example I provided was too extreme, sorry. People like Pewdiepie or some fairly common Twitch streamers make a crap load of money and they are not Fortune 500 CEO level. I would consider those to have disposable income based on living expenses.
There really is no good example for what I meant, because in some areas making $500,000 a year is better than a different area. People's living expenses or their situations are also different. Someone could be making $750,000 a year and not have as much savings as someone making $50,000 a year in some weird situations.
You are right. I am not rich and I make six figures. What is the average for this country? Mid 5-figures I think. That was my entire argument. I do have enough to buy the phone at full cost, but prefer to keep that $1,000 extra in my savings and just get hit ~$35 a month. Every grand matters, even though I have enough for bills and living expenses to last 8 months unemployment with 0 income (so no unemployment checks). How much money do you make? Figures wise not exact amount. I am at a senior level in my career and just hitting the six figures.
We can disagree what is considered disposable income. Yes I have a lot in my savings. Heck, I do not even consider buying a $20 movie as "disposable". I always question "do I really want this, will I watch it again or just wait and rent it for $4". Even that is questionable on some movies. Like Solo a Star Wars Story. Renting that is too expensive IMO (sorry if you like it, its not for me and that is okay). Will that $20 or $4 rental break me? NO. But I still don't consider that disposable income. If you do, great. It just shows we have different end goals.
If I buy dozens of iPhones or several iMacs, and get my ass fired (not intentional obviously), I would be massively screwed and would need to sell all of that. I have taken classes and spoke with MANY advisors. They all say act like there is no such thing as disposable income until you get to the high 6 figures and in some areas 7 figures (low 6-figures is not very impressive where I am).
I could sell my house and just get a cheapo apartment and have MORE in my savings. I have what they call long-term savings. I have enough in my savings where if something catastrophic occurs, I am safe for up to 8 months. It has happened to colleagues where they were out of work for 6-months.
I was raised this way, trained this way with financial advisors, and have a mindset of SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE and act like you are broke. In the long run, it is better. My kids will end up with great inheritance money
Sorry, I didn't mean for my few sentence comment to turn into this giant discussion haha.
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Yeah what a weird thing for him to do during a Good Morning America interview.
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Not taking advantage of interest free loans when provided is financially irresponsible.
There is always interest, there is no free lunch. You're just not paying it as a line item. Carriers that finance phones are always more expensive than those that don't - they're charging you for that "free" financing in higher monthly service fees.
It's all about opportunity cost. To me, it's better to pay in full for my phone and use a cheaper carrier. Others would rather use a more expensive carrier and finance their phone. I would rather spend my money on vacations, family, etc., than cell phones and cell phone plans.