Tim Cook Says iPhone Launch Was His Favorite Apple Moment in 50th Anniversary Interview

[MacRumors]

For its 50th anniversary celebration, Apple invited The Wall Street Journal's Ben Cohen to Apple Park to meet up with Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Cohen and Cook took a look at rare archival materials from the early days of Apple, some of which Cook wasn't even familiar with. Cook said that he had seen a lot of the devices for the first time while preparing for Apple's 50th anniversary.

Items on display included the first patent Apple filed, which was for the Apple II, the original 2001 iPod, early iPhone components and prototypes, the Apple Watch Cook wore on stage when announcing the device, and more.

According to Cook, the launch of the iPhone was his favorite moment at Apple. When asked why, he said it was because a phone was something everyone at Apple was using every day.

We were using that generation's smart phone, and it was such an awful experience. And I love the fact that all of a sudden you had this touch interface, and it worked like your mind worked.

Cook declined to speak on future products, but he suggested Apple's next hit would be something that "finds the intersection of hardware, software, and services." Cook also declined to comment on talk about him retiring. "My answer to that is when the day comes, I'll know it," he said.

Apple celebrated its 50th anniversary with a Paul McCartney concert for employees last night, and today, in addition to speaking with the Wall Street Journal, Cook sent out a heartfelt letter to employees.

Today officially marks Apple's 50th anniversary. And as we've celebrated that milestone this month, I've been reflecting on some powerful words from Steve.

"When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is," he said. "But life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. You can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again."

This is the ethos that brought Apple into the world in 1976--and for fifty years, it's what has drawn the smartest, most passionate, most creative and most committed people to this company.

We come here to do the best work of our lives, and to reach beyond what any of us could do alone. To be part of a culture that asks us to stay curious, to collaborate deeply, to demand excellence of ourselves and the people around us, and to believe--genuinely believe--that we can do the impossible.

Across our teams and across generations, we've been united by a simple belief: the future isn't something you wait for. It's something you build. And it is staggering to think of everything we've built together.

Fifty years ago, there was a single computer prototype in a garage. Today, there are 2.5 billion active Apple devices in the hands of people in every corner of the earth - helping them create, communicate, learn and connect in ways that would have seemed unimaginable then.

It's impossible to fully quantify the profound impact this company and its people have had on the world. And it's a truly special thing to do what we do every day, knowing that our work is squarely focused on empowering people and enriching their lives.

Whether you joined this year or have been here for dozens of years, I hope you take a minute to reflect on how much your work means. Thank you.

Thank you for pushing yourselves further than you thought you could go. Thank you for believing in our mission and holding fast to our values. Thank you for dedicating yourself to something so much bigger than any one of us.

As extraordinary as it is to reflect on the past fifty years, what excites me most is what comes next. The opportunities ahead of us are among the greatest we have ever seen - and there's no team in the world better positioned to meet them.

Thank you for everything and here's to the next fifty years.

Prior to today, Apple also celebrated its 50th anniversary with a series of concerts and events around the world.

Article Link: Tim Cook Says iPhone Launch Was His Favorite Apple Moment in 50th Anniversary Interview

 

[MacUserFella]

Tim’s favorite moment in Apple history was when they released their cash cow product, what a surprise

 

[Cobalt`]

It’s cool to see the early prototype of the iPhone! That development board is massive!

 

[svish]

Did not see the whole video yet. iPhone is a huge part of Apple and will continue to do so in the years to come. I like all my Apple devices and they work well.

 

[boswald]

We all miss Steve dearly, but you have to admit, Tim Cook got to see some cool stuff in his time. I'd be floored to just hold the first iPhone, let alone stand next to Steve and Tim.

 

[kiensoy]

Not Vision Pro?

 

[ThomasJL]

Cohen and Cook took a look at rare archival materials from the early days of Apple, some of which Cook wasn't even familiar with. Cook said that he had seen a lot of the devices for the first time while preparing for Apple's 50th anniversary.

That speaks volumes about how Tim Cook is not a products person. He's admitting that he's not even famlilar with Apple's history and their previous devices. No wonder Apple has been sorely lacking in innovation ever since he became CEO in 2011! No wonder he fired Apple's most Steve Jobs-like innovator, Scott Forstall! No wonder he didn't even mention one of Apple's three founders, Ronald Wayne, on the 50th anniversary day of Apple's founding! Wayne is the one who typed up Apple's founding document, which was the legal document that officially established Apple on April 1, 1976.

 

[CEmajr]

No surprise there. It's only the biggest invention in modern human history.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Not Vision Pro?

Ahh ... the sad little scuba mask the world has largely forgotten already.

So much flop.

 

[Apple$]

Hahaha! LOVED this interview!

 

[lazyrighteye]

Easily my fav moment as well.

 

[Jonas Danielsson]

Tim Cook came from Compaq and now it shows. Apple has drifted from its original vision into a bland, consumer-first company, churning out questionable design choices and cluttered experiences. Even the intrusive pop-ups feel more like Windows than the Apple we once knew. The answer is this wanky company compaq

 

[klasma]

he suggested Apple's next hit would be something that "finds the intersection of hardware, software, and services."

Isn’t the intersection of hardware and software the empty set? 🧐

Also, one would think they’d have found the intersection by now. 😉

 

[kalsta]

Apple celebrated its 50th anniversary with a Paul McCartney concert for employees last night, and today, in addition to speaking with the Wall Street Journal, Cook sent out a heartfelt letter to employees. …

"When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is," he said. "But life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. You can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again."

That’s one of my favourite quotes from Steve Jobs as well — a wonderful insight and way of expressing the concept of becoming a change-maker. It was certainly at the heart of the whole ‘Think different’ campaign.

 

[Naraxus]

Ahh ... the sad little scuba mask the world has largely forgotten already.

So much flop.

No matter how many times you repeat this nonsense, it will never be true.

 

[diblasio]

I’m scared to speak up about Tim; every time I try, I’m banned by admins here.

I think the admins do a really good job here tbh.

 

[swingerofbirch]

Two founders of Apple are still alive, and I haven't heard them comment on this milestone or about them being included in any of the festivities. Yes, there was a garage in 1976 . . . and Woz was in it, too. Cook wrote to employees about building the future; Woz was the person who did the technical work to make that happen at Apple's inception, which is more relevant to the rank and file employees Cook is writing to than Jobs being a visionary (and as a rogue pirate who would not be tolerated were he an employee rather than a CEO—in fact, he wasn't tolerated as an employee; he was pushed out of Apple when he was chairman and head of the Mac division but not CEO in the 80s). I understand why Cook invokes Jobs, but it's still probably less relevant in the day-to-day work of most workers. If an alternate Jobs were somehow alive today as a 20 year-old Apple retail employee and taking the advice from the real Steve Jobs, he wouldn't stay there long. He'd be starting his own company.

 

[bryo]

That’s one of my favourite quotes from Steve Jobs as well — a wonderful insight and way of expressing the concept of becoming a change-maker. It was certainly at the heart of the whole ‘Think different’ campaign.

Steve may not be perfect, but things like this are what get me to really admire him!

 

[turbineseaplane]

No matter how many times you repeat this nonsense, it will never be true.

It's ok brother.
We all enjoy some of the flops.

I love my 13 Mini that flopped too!

 

[Scoob Redux]

He talks the talk, but no amount of parroting Jobs' words can make Cook a visionary. Either you got it or you don't, and he don't.

 

[Scoob Redux]

Tim Cook came from Compaq and now it shows. Apple has drifted from its original vision into a bland, consumer-first company, churning out questionable design choices and cluttered experiences. Even the intrusive pop-ups feel more like Windows than the Apple we once knew. The answer is this wanky company compaq

Well, yeah. Cook is just your average boardroom exec. He doesn't really understand technology or user-centered design. He can announce iterative products each year and track revenues on a spreadsheet. That's enough to make him and Apple obscenely rich.

 

[transpo1]

Ahh ... the sad little scuba mask the world has largely forgotten already.

So much flop.

View attachment 2618968

It's about the big picture: it's an investment in future technology. They needed to release the AVP in order to get devs on board for the future. Beta device. When people can have eyeglasses that give them a heads up display and some of the same features, that's when it will take off.

For all the grief Tim Cook gets, he's got a lot of heart. Remember that Steve said to him (I'll paraphrase) about running Apple: "Don't think about what I would do. Do what you would do."

 

[Chet-NYC]

I could watch hours of an interview like that.

Also, Apple really needs to open a museum to show off all of that amazing stuff!

 

[bradman83]

It's ok brother.
We all enjoy some of the flops.

I love my 13 Mini that flopped too!

I wanted a Power Mac G4 cube so bad back in the day, despite it also being a flop. I wound up with an iMac G4 17" instead which I absolutely adored despite it being ridiculously underpowered.

 

[citysnaps]

Ahh ... the sad little scuba mask the world has largely forgotten already.

So much flop.

View attachment 2618968

"So much flop."

Jobs holds the record for the number of Apple flops.