Tim Cook Reflects on His Legacy in Final Weeks as Apple CEO

[MacRumors]

Apple CEO Tim Cook once said that what Steve Jobs stood for, in a word, was "innovation." In a CBS News interview conducted yesterday, Cook – in his final weeks at the helm of the company – was asked what his legacy stood for, and this was his response:

"In my view, your legacy is described by others, not yourself. And so, I hope that people will say that I was a good and decent man. And if they say that at the end of the day, I will feel like I have achieved something."

The interview was conducted as part of CBS News' coverage of Apple's opening of its Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC) in Houston, Texas. You can watch it in full here.

Article Link: Tim Cook Reflects on His Legacy in Final Weeks as Apple CEO

 

[I7guy]

Good luck Tim. You have done a stellar job in your tenure.

 

[dannyyankou]

His legacy in one word for me would be “pragmatic”.

I don’t even mean that in a negative way. He’s been highly effective. Being highly calculated and deliberate is often a good thing.

But I do hope Ternus brings some of that visionary energy back to Apple.

 

[iZac]

Mr AirPods - the most invisibly seismic product that completely changed the audio landscape.

I mean, I still use my old B&O H6's which have outlasted my original AirPods by years but I'm a stubborn old curmudgeon.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Mr AirPods - the most invisibly seismic product that completely changed the audio landscape

This is a good call.
On a positive note, his legacy around AirPods is amazing.

 

[iMac The Knife]

I'm not sure how you can say Tim Cook is a good and decent man, when he deals with countries who would sooner throw him (and others) off a building than work with him...if it weren't for the almighty dollar. And don't get me started on things like Foxconn.

 

[dannyyankou]

Mr AirPods - the most invisibly seismic product that completely changed the audio landscape

Really an under-appreciated achievement for him. People mocked the “courage” line about getting rid of the headphone jack, but it really did take courage in retrospect. And it paid off. And I know some people still miss it. But just grab a USB-C adapter and use MagSafe if you want to charge, lol

 

[Tig_one]

A phony who led Apple's ensh*ttification to satisfy stockholders at the expense of UX. That's his legacy.

 

[appleguy123]

Compared to the other tech CEOs, it’s hard to deny that Tim Cook’s decency as a man stands out among them. He has so much power but I’ve never seen him intoxicated by it in the way Musk, Zuckerberg, Altman and others are.

 

[Hajj.david]

I do not like him on a personal level, but business wise and innovation wise he did a lot of great things:
- Apple Watch
- Airpods
- Vision Pro
- The huge investment and development of the M series chip
- Making ipad something more than a huge iPhone.
- Swift language
- Pushing universal apps where I can make an iPhone app easily run on iPad and easily run on macOS.

And many more.

 

[I7guy]

A phony who led Apple's ensh*ttification to satisfy stockholders at the expense of UX. That's his legacy.

I hope you vote with your $$$. It may not be obvious but to please stockholders, customers have to be willing to buy your products and services. Ask BlackBerry how pleasing stockholders went for them.

 

[iBug2]

Airpods and Apple Watch are both great products and they were released under Cook. 2 revolutionary new categories is not bad.

 

[MichaelAdam]

Steve Jobs innovation was undeniable as for Tim I would say Consolidation … He helped Steve like no one in the company and then grew the company with steady pace and hints of innovations. Then it was time to shift to a new era and spend the cash to grow stronger

 

[I7guy]

What conclusion should we draw, then? Maybe a multi‑trillion‑dollar tech CEO isn’t nearly as powerful as we like to think. The mountain of cash he’s sitting on can melt like snow the moment he decides to be principled to the core.

My take is to substitute the word “unprincipled” for “principled”. Because Tim, imo, has principles. Nothing he has done has shown anything else.

 

[reden]

Goodbye! Don't let the door hit you on the way out! All we got with this CEO is a fragmentation of devices, Mac Pro cancellations and revivals and cancellations, what a crapshow seriously.

 

[zarmanto]

I don't claim to necessarily agree with everything Tim has done or stands for -- but he has been unarguably incredibly effective at managing the pipeline and finances of Apple, and he has ushered the company into an era where they are the single largest corporation in the world, and still growing. To me, that astonishing period of growth is his legacy, and he also leaves behind a huge amount of as yet not fully tapped future potential. Where things go from there, under Ternus' charge, will be interesting.

 

[citysnaps]

I don't claim to necessarily agree with everything Tim has done or stands for -- but he has been unarguably incredibly effective at managing the pipeline and finances of Apple, and he has ushered the company into an era where they are the single largest corporation in the world, and still growing. To me, that astonishing period of growth is his legacy, and he also leaves behind a huge amount of as yet not fully tapped future potential. Where things go from there, under Ternus' charge, will be interesting.

True. Also... 1+ Billion active and repeat happy Apple customers are the final arbiters of Apple's and Cook's success. And for sure not forum pundits.

 

[ThailandToo]

Good luck Tim. You have done a stellar job in your tenure.

Good for the shareholders - bad for the rest of the stakeholders!!! Evil corrupt human being for certain. Every choice he made was to make himself wealthier by making his shareholders wealthier and him not admitting it proves what characteristics he lacks. MLK his hero, please MLK would wipe the floor with Tim Crook.

 

[I7guy]

True. Also... 1+ Billion active and repeat happy Apple customers are the final arbiters of Apple's and Cook's success. And for sure not forum pundits.

Tim lead Apple through some of the most trying times in recent history and it speaks to the character and adaptability of the man and his amazing ability to solver massive supply chain issues.

Every time we hear the phrase “record breaking quarter” at an earnings call, is one customer apple satisfied.

 

[I7guy]

Good for the shareholders - bad for the rest of the stakeholders!!! Evil corrupt human being for certain. Every choice he made was to make himself wealthier by making his shareholders wealthier and him not admitting it proves what characteristics he lacks. MLK his hero, please MLK would wipe the floor with Tim Crook.

Fun fact. In order to please shareholders, customers have to be pleased first. There is no universe in where you can rationalize why apples’ customers kept on buying and buying, at times to produce record quarters.

That those customers that bought and bought enabled the shareholders to smile.

We know very little about the man. His actions seems to suggest a person who cares about humanity, a philanthropist, someone who believes apple should help out as well. And someone who has the courage to make difficult CEO decisions.

 

[Steve Adams]

I don’t know who we are but I believe most people buy products where value and price intersect. For me with respect to smartphones, Apple is the better choice, for others, they pick a different path.

In the mobile space there really is no difference only what you are used to. They are both the same with security etc I know you choose to state other wise, but as someone in the business there really is no difference now. I am moving back to apple because 1. Microsoft has completely ruined every product in their portfolio, and 2. I am sick of trying to find alternative ways for my devices to work together. The ecosystem (as much as I balk at it, WORKS).

The only thing we need in iPhones is call screening. Is that a thing? and recorder dictation for meetings. If iPhone provides us with both of that we will be happy. Oh, and I get the awesome fotogear retrogrip kit. ha ha.

 

[StuBeck]

Increase in service revenue seems to be his big accomplishment, which is what everyone wants especially when its passive income.

I'll remember him for his inability to wave a flag at the US Grand Prix like someone who'd ever seen a flag be waved at the end of a race.

 

[ThailandToo]

I do not like him on a personal level, but business wise and innovation wise he did a lot of great things:
- Apple Watch
- Airpods
- Vision Pro
- The huge investment and development of the M series chip
- Making ipad something more than a huge iPhone.
- Swift language
- Pushing universal apps where I can make an iPhone app easily run on iPad and easily run on macOS.

And many more.

How much of that do you think Crook greenlit other than Vision Pro? And how many of those products were lain out by Steve The Great before his passing. Certainly Apple Watch and Bluetooth would lead to much of it. You think Tim knows anything about Swift? He knows how to screw over everyone to make shareholders more money to make himself wealthier - I am an employer and I would rather shutdown business that screw over all the stakeholders for my profits.

 

[I7guy]

In the mobile space there really is no difference only what you are used to. They are both the same with security etc I know you choose to state other wise, but as someone in the business there really is no difference now. I am moving back to apple because 1. Microsoft has completely ruined every product in their portfolio, and 2. I am sick of trying to find alternative ways for my devices to work together. The ecosystem (as much as I balk at it, WORKS).

This post is kind of the poster child of the apple ecosystem and I agree with what you are saying. (Except for the part, you know about malware and such, but I digress)

The only thing we need in iPhones is call screening. Is that a thing? and recorder dictation for meetings. If iPhone provides us with both of that we will be happy. Oh, and I get the awesome fotogear retrogrip kit. ha ha.

I don’t believe iPhones implement call screening as android does. But there are some threads in the iPhone forum that may be of help.

My cell provider has a free app, that helps to eliminate about 60% of spam calls (and I get a lot)

 

[Steve Adams]

This post is kind of the poster child of the apple ecosystem and I agree with what you are saying. (Except for the part, you know about malware and such, but I digress)

I don’t believe iPhones implement call screening as android does. But there are some threads in the iPhone forum that may be of help.

My cell provider has a free app, that helps to eliminate about 60% of spam calls (and I get a lot)

I do. don't kid yourself. That's one thing apple should rip off Android right now for 27.1. Call screening on my pixel is amazing. even for non spam calls.