Tim Cook Says Apple is Always Focused on 'Products and People' Over Wall Street Expectations

[clauzzz203]

Fast Company: What makes a good year for Apple? Is it the new hit products? The stock price?
Tim Cook: Stock price is a result, not an achievement by itself. For me, it's about products and people. No it's not. It's all about the share prices and your bonus tied to that KPI. Did we make the best product, and did we enrich people's lives? No, Apple products are the worst made in years. If you’re doing both of those things–and obviously those things are incredibly connected because one leads to the other—then you have a good year. You misspelled 'doing none of those things' and 'stock price KPI achieved'.

Fast Company: Music has always been part of the Apple brand. Apple Music has had a lot of user growth, but streaming is not a major moneymaker. Do you think about streaming as a potential stand-alone profit area, or is it important for other reasons?
Tim Cook: […] Music is a service that we think our users want us to provide. It's a service that we worry about the humanity being drained out of. We worry about it becoming a bits-and-bytes kind of world, instead of the art and craft. You should ofer the subscription free for the lowest tier. Do you really not make a profit at least 30 times more than those 5 dollars, with each iphone sold?
You're right, we're not in it for the money. I think it's important for artists. If we're going to continue to have a great creative community, [artists] have to be funded.He added that Apple is an "outlier" in the sense that Wall Street has "little to no effect" on the company—which is the world's most valuable. Jobs was the audiophile. For you it's just a business suggestion from one of your execs.

Fast Company: Do the investment markets make innovation harder? Or does Wall Street motivate change?
Tim Cook: The truth is, it has little to no effect on us. But we are an outlier. More generally, if you look at America, the 90-day clock [measuring results by each fiscal quarter] is a negative. Why would you ever measure a business on 90 days when its investments are long term?Cook said what drives Apple is creating products that "change the world for the better" with innovative new features. That's actually true, lol.
Tim Cook: Take iPhone X, the portrait-lighting feature. This is something that you had to be a professional photographer with a certain setup to do in the past. Now, iPhone X is not a cheap product, but a lighting rig–these things were tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars.He added that one of Apple's unique qualities is patience in perfecting its products, rather than rushing to be first to the market. This feature is cool but is not worth wasting the potential of the AI team and chip design team.

Fast Company: Sometimes Apple takes the lead, introducing unique features–Face ID, for instance. Other times you're okay to follow, as long as you deliver what you feel is better, like HomePod, which is not the first home speaker. How do you decide when it's okay to follow?
Tim Cook: I wouldn't say "follow." I wouldn’t use that word because that implies we waited for somebody to see what they were doing. That's actually not what's happening. What's happening if you look under the sheets, which we probably don't let people do, is that we start projects years before they come out. You could take every one of our products–iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch–they weren't the first, but they were the first modern one, right? That's also right, at the idea phase. However the execution is centered un useless s**t like animoji instead of a feature that truly improves people's lives.
In each case, if you look at when we started, I would guess that we started much before other people did, but we took our time to get it right. Because we don't believe in using our customers as a laboratory. What we have that I think is unique is patience. We have patience to wait until something is great before we ship it. That's why I feel that you've putting out largely the same products for about 5 years? Oh that's right, that's when we lost Steve. Thank God he left you with a few years of ideas.

Bold is my take.

 

[Constable Odo]

That's the reason why Apple will soon become second in value to Amazon. Tim Cook is simply too passive. It's no wonder the things that come out of Tim Cook's mouth leaves big investors cringing and running to Amazon or any other major tech company, for that matter. What freaking greedy big investor wants to hear a CEO saying they're not into something for the money. Greed powers the stock market. Amazon never settles for a slice. Jeff Bezos wants the whole pie. It might be nice that Tim Cook is altruistic but greedy investors hate hearing that sort of talk. They don't want other people getting anything for free if it comes out of their pocket. If Tim Cook wants to think about altruism, then fine. Just don't be in the earshot of any big investor if he's going to be talking out loud. Wall Street wants Amazon to put every other retailer out of business and they're proud of it. F*** those people who'll lose their jobs when Amazon becomes a monopoly. Those things just doesn't matter if investors get wealthy.

I really liked all my Airport and Time Capsules I'd owned and now I need a newer one that will never see the light of day. Thanks, Apple for killing off a really good product line. For me, they were "set 'em and forget 'em" products. They never needed my attention except for firmware upgrades. Go figure why Apple killed them.

 

[rtomyj]

Didn't even read half and I can already say "Yeah right"



Examples:

• No Aux on HomePod.
• iPhone X price.
• Always opening store in Appstore on Mac even when you click on a notification which announces new software can be downloaded, hell you have to click twice on Updates if you click on it right after opening Appstore.
• Dongles
• ....

Ironically you proved Tim's point.

- People who hated the headphone jack being taken away left Apple.
- The price would drive others to cheaper iPhones or away from Apple.
- Projections/venting
- Drives people who really care away. Also this point is the same as the first one.

People not on this site will choose what's best for them rather than complain about hypotheticals and whatnot.

 

[dogslobber]

They sure as heck better be in it for the money as they have a legal obligation to maximize shareholder investment. If Cook is telling me he isn't doing that then it sounds like a class action lawsuit from shareholders could spring up.

 

[wigby]

Aren't all companies focused on selling products to people?

They are in marketing speak and interviews but many think about revenue first and everything else second. I believe all of Cook's answers except for the last one. I think Apple has become more accustomed to letting user habits and feedback dictate the direction of the product's future. Sometimes it makes the product better but sometimes it doesn't work out and I just feel like a beta tester. Funny thing is, even Apple's betas are better than most other's finished products.

 

[justperry]

Does any smart speaker have that? I would like Aux In, but Google Home, Amazon Echo, Sonos One, and Apple Homepod all don't have it. I think they don't want an audio source that cannot be controlled in any way, but it would be really useful to me even if the only control I had was volume.

The Google Max has one.

 

[kingofwale]

I wish i can just flat out lie like that without blinking.

because we all know that moving money to Ireland is "for people" right?

 

[wigby]

As always, Cook says nothing.

If their priority would be products, they would not have had that many failed products (Mac Pro, latest Macbook Pro). You only started working on a new Mac PRo after many Pro users complained so much that Schiller had to come out and do an interview saying that Apple "still care" about their Pro users.

If their priority would be products, they would not have waited that long to upgrade the Mac mini, and the Mac Pro and the iMac.

If their priority would be people they would not have done what they did to the iPhone and cheated with the battery performance.

The only thing you care is not about innovation, products and users, but about making money with the iphones...

Sad...

Waiting to release a product is not a failure and does not shortchange the customer. Apple doesn't duo things the way most companies do because they can afford it and because they are driven by design rather than technology. Apple could (and probably should) have better communication with customers so they can plan their future purchases and product cycles but that's not really Apple's job (as they see it). They have good communication with their enterprise teams and customers and generally good communication with their consumers (except for battery throttling behind the scenes). They focus much less on the pro these days but any pro already knows this. It's up to the pros, prosumers and consumers to figure out (and sometimes guess) if Apple will be there for them a few years down the line.

 

[78Bandit]

Tim went a little over the top in this interview. While Apple does make what I consider to be the best products in the mobile field, it is quite obvious that Apple is continuously prioritizing revenue above all else. I can't find any legal fault in that mentality, but it puts executives and shareholders in a superior position to customers. All one has to do is look at the increasingly visible position Angela Ahrendts is taking in the company. Her sole reason for being hired from fashion retailer Burberry was to push Apple as far into the luxury goods market as possible. Steve Jobs was always about the intersection of liberal arts and technology. Apple seems to be heading in a different direction now and the pursuit of maximum revenue has taken over from innovative product design.

 

[DNichter]

That’s fine for you but I am in the professional A/V for live events. Can’t use iOS devices for that.

That’s cool! Maybe one day it could be. Sounds like a fun profession.
[doublepost=1519240827][/doublepost]

Same here. And Apple is off to an outstanding 2018 start with HomePod.

I’ve heard good things, but I am going to wait on one for now.

 

[JediZenMaster]

I would say apple is focused on how to aligned their products with people's needs. Because if they really cared about people the would be paying all their taxes which go to fighter fighters, police departments, street maintenance, etc. you know things people need and use.

So if that’s the case then don’t try to claim extra on your taxes etc because if you cared about people then you would pay all your taxes as mentioned above.

 

[69650]

“Not in it for the money” - Total BS

 

[wigby]

They sure as heck better be in it for the money as they have a legal obligation to maximize shareholder investment. If Cook is telling me he isn't doing that then it sounds like a class action lawsuit from shareholders could spring up.

Just how would shareholders go about proving they've been hurt by reaping the rewards of investing in the richest company in the world?

 

[Lioness~]

Of course he focus on people, it's where the money comes from

And products, it’s what we buy.
But nothing about the software, that gets worse and worse.

Too bad we wont find out what SJ would say about todays 

 

[justperry]

Ironically you proved Tim's point.

- People who hated the headphone jack being taken away left Apple.
- The price would drive others to cheaper iPhones or away from Apple.
- Projections/venting
- Drives people who really care away. Also this point is the same as the first one.

People not on this site will choose what's best for them rather than complain about hypotheticals and whatnot.

You are right if we live in an ideal world, since it isn't, you are wrong, people still blindly buy Apple's products even though they are in many ways not what I/you would like to buy.
Just an example, I like the iPhone X as much as others do, the blind people just buy them-price is set higher to offset the ones which didn't buy it/think it was too expensive, so they make even more money.
Don't get me wrong, I do have Apple gear but I won't buy them at retail prices here where an iPhone X will set me back €1160 while I can get it for about €300 less if I just wait and buy them later in another country.

 

[wigby]

Umm, as for Portrait mode, while it is decent for a home user, it doesn't match what can be done with the professional rigs, the sooner Apple and other phone manufacturers realize that a point and shoot camera, especially on a phone will never be able to compete with professional photography equipment, the better off we all will be.

Now I am not saying it isn't good for what it is, but don't pretend that it can replace thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

I feel like you're partially making Cook's point. Apple doesn't make tech for pros. They make tech that allows regular users to become pros...eventually. I'm not saying the results from a prosumer and pro are comparable. I'm saying that by opening up possibilities to consumers, you allow them to dip their toe in that professional world without being overwhelmed by options and the expense. After that, they can figure out if professional video editing or photography or app development is really for them and make the necessary investments going forward. Sometimes they will invest in higher end Apple gear and sometimes they will have to go to PC or Canon or Sony or whatever. it's one of the reasons why Apple customers are so loyal even after some of them have outgrown Apple.

 

[thelookingglass]

Man, rough crowd. My question to most of you is, why not just go and use another company's products? Why hang around here? I have a whole house full of Apple products that work beautifully together for the most part and look amazing. Build quality is also amazing. That's not to say things couldn't have gone more smoothly. But even when they don't go smoothly, they're still great experiences. My Macbook Pro's logic board failed after 3 months, but the Apple Store took care of me quickly and covered it under warranty.

In short, Apple provides an ecosystem of well-integrated products with outstanding build quality, supported by a network of stores globally that provide some of the best customer service in the world. Yet people still find things to btch and moan about. Maybe just switch to a Samsung phone and a Dell PC and see if that world is better for you?

 

[WaxedJacket]

For some reason I just don't believe him.

 

[Mike MA]

iPhone X pricing speaks another language.

 

[cmwade77]

Man, rough crowd. My question to most of you is, why not just go and use another company's products? Why hang around here? I have a whole house full of Apple products that work beautifully together for the most part and look amazing. Build quality is also amazing. That's not to say things couldn't have gone more smoothly. But even when they don't go smoothly, they're still great experiences. My Macbook Pro's logic board failed after 3 months, but the Apple Store took care of me quickly and covered it under warranty.

In short, Apple provides an ecosystem of well-integrated products with outstanding build quality, supported by a network of stores globally that provide some of the best customer service in the world. Yet people still find things to btch and moan about. Maybe just switch to a Samsung phone and a Dell PC and see if that world is better for you?

The problem is that many of us are hoping that Apple will return to their old ways and produce quality products that are actually innovative and not just copying others. At least products that work better than the competition.
[doublepost=1519242269][/doublepost]

I feel like you're partially making Cook's point. Apple doesn't make tech for pros. They make tech that allows regular users to become pros...eventually. I'm not saying the results from a prosumer and pro are comparable. I'm saying that by opening up possibilities to consumers, you allow them to dip their toe in that professional world without being overwhelmed by options and the expense. After that, they can figure out if professional video editing or photography or app development is really for them and make the necessary investments going forward. Sometimes they will invest in higher end Apple gear and sometimes they will have to go to PC or Canon or Sony or whatever. it's one of the reasons why Apple customers are so loyal even after some of them have outgrown Apple.

No, he is trying to say that an iPhone X can replace high end photography equipment that costs thousands of dollars, anyone who has used such equipment knows this is nonsense, but he spouts it off as fact.

 

[0488568]

So if that’s the case then don’t try to claim extra on your taxes etc because if you cared about people then you would pay all your taxes as mentioned above.

I dont claim extra on my taxes. Any case are you hearing your self? You are defending a company that is using loop holes to not pay taxes which YOU end up paying.

 

[I7guy]

The problem is that many of us are hoping that Apple will return to their old ways and produce quality products that are actually innovative and not just copying others. At least products that work better than the competition.

There are some of us who like Apple products, think they are innovative without ripping off designs from others and work better than the competition.

 

[DNichter]

Man, rough crowd. My question to most of you is, why not just go and use another company's products? Why hang around here? I have a whole house full of Apple products that work beautifully together for the most part and look amazing. Build quality is also amazing. That's not to say things couldn't have gone more smoothly. But even when they don't go smoothly, they're still great experiences. My Macbook Pro's logic board failed after 3 months, but the Apple Store took care of me quickly and covered it under warranty.

In short, Apple provides an ecosystem of well-integrated products with outstanding build quality, supported by a network of stores globally that provide some of the best customer service in the world. Yet people still find things to btch and moan about. Maybe just switch to a Samsung phone and a Dell PC and see if that world is better for you?

Couldn't agree more. I never understood it. There are plenty of options out there. If you think another company is providing a better experience, go for it. I certainly don't agree.

 

[avanpelt]

Tim's just doing his best to give the customer (and potential customer) warm fuzzies.

In my opinion, Apple is not releasing much that seems to be 'products and people first' right now -- iOS 11, a half-baked 'personal assistant' that is way too stupid to be as sarcastic as it is, a half-baked speaker, a lousy remote for a TV device, a mouse that can't be used while it's charging. The list just goes on and on. It seems to me that Tim is just saying what he thinks Steve Jobs would've said; but if and when Steve Jobs said something like that, Apple probably would've been firing on more 'products and people first' cylinders than it seems to be doing as of late.

 

[Cameroncafe10a]

So fast company labelled Apple as the 'most innovative company in the world' so that they could get an interview with Timmy for more clicks on their website...