Tim Cook Talks About Apple's Future

[Paul Daniel Ash]

Tim Cook is Apple's second-in-command, the guy to whom Steve Jobs handed the reins of the company when he was sick last year. If - or when - Jobs decides to retire, it'll most likely be Cook who runs Apple. He's a gray corporate type as opposed to Steve Jobs's too-much-coffee-man personality, but he is considered one of the best managers in the industry. So when it was time for Apple to face the financial world, of course it was Cook who went, rather than Jobs. Cook didn't call people names in the meeting, but he did lay out Apple's plans in a way that the money people like. No bombshells were dropped, but he did indicate that the single-carrier relationship with AT&T was likely to continue, that the A4 chipset would be at the center of Apple's plans, and that the company was sticking with Mac OS X for the foreseeable future.

In a sit-down with David Bailey, an analyst with investment firm Goldman Sachs, Cook sang the praises of Apple's flagship iMac desktop computer, which he called "very key," adding that "it will continue to be very key." The iMac's sales have really propelled Apple's growth during the bad economy: it has sold faster than the average computer market in all but one quarter in the past year and a half. Noting that Apple sold 10 million Macs last year in a market where people bought 300 million PCs Cook said the sky is the limit for the iMac. "I think people will continue to want a very gorgeous, large screen, all-in-one, simple to use, very elegant machine," he said, "and we're going to continue to deliver it."

The iPhone and iPod touch are also bringing Apple big money, with iPod touch sales alone doubling since last year. Cook referred to the iPhone as a "runaway hit," and said that the app market was a "virtuous cycle," with more app sales bringing more developers to the platform and driving even more sales. With Apple poised to release the third iPhone OS-based product line, Bailey was curious if the company was moving away from Mac OS X. Cook made it clear that both platforms figured large in Apple's future plans. "What you're seeing from Apple is that the Mac OS is hugely scaleable," Cook said. "That's a huge competitive advantage... It allows us to innovate at an enormously fast speed with many fewer people." He said Apple would continue making its own chips rather than buying them from other people, saying they "had the best knowledge of what we wanted the silicon to do." he said. He noted that Apple had a long history designing its own chipsets, recalling that when Macs were based on the Motorola PowerPC, "Apple always personally crafted the northbridge and southbridge chipset, and so it's not new to us."

Regarding the latest addition to Apple's lineup, Cook revealed that he's been using the iPad for six months now and - in line with what a number of pundits who have gotten hands on time with the new device (even those who were initially disappointed) have reported - Cook gushed that "the experience is absolutely incredible." He asserted what has been the party line since the iPad announcement, which is the only reason people buy netbooks is the price, and that people quickly tire of dealing with the tiny computers. "When they play with the iPad and experience the magic of using it... I have a hard time believing they're going to go for a netbook," he said.

Cook said that Apple will be selling the iPad through its direct sales channels, such as its online and Apple Stores, and indirect channels such as the Apple Retail outlets at Best Buy stores and Apple premium resellers outside the US. He made no reference to AT&T selling the devices directly, but indicated that the retail plans could change over time, saying "where it goes and how fast it goes, we'll see." He did indicate that Apple will be opening close to 50 stores this year, including its first Apple Store in Shanghai and a new one in London that he said would be "jaw dropping."

Cook reaffirmed Apple's allegiance to AT&T in the US, saying that having a close relationship with just one carrier lets Apple "innovate and work with that carrier on a feature that would be difficult for multiple carriers to provide," such as Visual Voicemail which Apple and AT&T worked on before the original iPhone shipped. He said Apple made its deals "on a country-by-country basis," noting that there are different sorts of relationships between carriers and their customers in the nearly 100 countries in which the iPhone is available.

Cook also referred to Apple TV as a "hobby…" but didn't say whose hobby it was. "We're continuing to invest in it because our gut tells us there's something there," he said, but averred that Apple has no interest in making TVs. "Today, the go-to-market model for Apple TV is very difficult," he said, "because it would seem that that go-to-market model would lead to the TV. And we have no interest in being in the TV market."

[steve-z17]

Cook's a straight shooter, he should have the reins again. I'd like to see a preview of the Shanghai and London stores!

[Lt.Pyro]

IMO Apple Tv is great. i know hundreds of people wanting an Apple tv, but have waited in hopes for a new one after dropping the lower model and only keeping the 160Gb. i bet that is why the Apple Tv "market" isn't as high as anticipated. But than again maybe not.

[Mes]

Cook reaffirmed Apple's allegiance to AT&T in the US, saying that having a close relationship with just one carrier lets Apple "innovate and work with that carrier on a feature that would be difficult for multiple carriers to provide...

Looks like my next phone will be a droid. AT&T will never be my wireless carrier.

[PAKIS-RULEZ]

Looks like my next phone will be a droid. AT&T will never be my wireless carrier.

at&t sux... t-mobile rocks 55$ unlimited talk and text.
and it will take some time for android to have more apps and app crackers. then i will switch to android.

[hollow0]

Looks like my next phone will be a droid. AT&T will never be my wireless carrier.

See ya!

I personally want AT&T to invest in their network and improve it to meet customer demand. Especially with 3G. I have no issues where i stay so i'm happy for that, but for those who aren't i'd hope things get much better for them.

[rkswat]

at&t sux... t-mobile rocks 55$ unlimited talk and text.

Well thought out response, don't see how any one can argue that logic!

T-mobile may be swell for you but I like my iPhone to actually work like an iPhone. I have never had a problem with my AT&T service, and think that makes AT&T > T-Mobile. Now of course I wouldn't mind paying a lower phone bill but I am willing to pay the premium I do to have the iPhone.

[steve-z17]

Looks like my next phone will be a droid. AT&T will never be my wireless carrier.

Have fun with on and off 3G service, less responsive and accurate touch screen, not as good browsing, and a crappy crappy on screen keyboard with your droid phone! Probably see you back soon when the 4G comes out!

[hollow0]

at&t sux... t-mobile rocks 55$ unlimited talk and text.
and it will take some time for android to have more apps and app crackers. then i will switch to android.

lol funny thing is that t-mobile has way less 3g coverage than at&t so i'm assuming your main problem with them is the price difference. There's a reason why t-mobile is a 4th rate wireless provider in the U.S. :P

[ukoda]

I wonder if Apple TV sales will be hurt by the emergence of TVs with DLNA. I was looking at an Apple TV to play downloaded content on the main TV but I found my new Sony TV connects to my network and server to play content directly. Suddenly the idea of an Apple TV is looking redundant.

[TheDirtyDiddler]

The slight difference in carrier strength across phones/carriers could never, EVER compare to the enormous leg up that the iPhone as a device has over any other device. Apple worked on the iPhone for 5 years BEFORE other people started trying to copy it. They are about to release their 4th gen iPhone and in my opinion, no one else has even caught up to the 2g model yet. Plus, they patented all kind of technology in the process. The experience literally and legally cannot be recreated on another device.
Choosing another phone for the carrier is like choosing to watch a much shitter movie based on the room that you're watching it in. Not my thing.

[MikeT674]

well thought out response, don't see how any one can argue that logic!

T-mobile may be swell for you but i like my iphone to actually work like an iphone. I have never had a problem with my at&t service, and think that makes at&t > t-mobile. Now of course i wouldn't mind paying a lower phone bill but i am willing to pay the premium i do to have the iphone.

rofl!

have fun with on and off 3g service, less responsive and accurate touch screen, not as good browsing, and a crappy crappy on screen keyboard with your droid phone! Probably see you back soon when the 4g comes out!

rofl!

[reanimationxp]

Choosing another phone for the carrier is like choosing to watch a much shitter movie based on the room that you're watching it in. Not my thing.

A good analogy. Agreed.

[k.nitsua]

Great article.

Thanks.

[extremzocker]

"a new shop in london that will be jaw dropping"

the one in london is already massive, its the biggest europe-wide.

so even bigger... WOW

[hollow0]

Sounds like they're on the right track. I completely disagree with an iPad over a netbook though. Full operating system (that supports Flash), or a crippled giant iPod? The choice is easy for me.



Ah, someone who hasn't used a Droid.

I've used one and i agree with him. You can't deny the fact that android virtual keyboard isn't as good as the iPhone OS keyboard. Good thing the Droid has a physical keyboard.

Web pages are ok quality is good but the multi-touch feature is lacking. I don't like using buttons to zoom in and out but i guess given enough time one would adapt to it.

[Conas]

I don't know if the exclusive rights between AT&T and Apple is good for Apple, honestly. Seems like other carriers are going to push companies to really compete with iPhone. Competition is great for business as far as consumers are concerned, but Apple will always have a dang "iPhone Killer" on their curtails at a rival carrier. And silly people, like Mes, will go experience a less superior phone on networks that get surpassed every month by AT&T's ever-growing network.
I assume iPhone brings more money into AT&T than any single phone does for it's respective carrier (not fact checked at all). More money for network upgrades, hopefully!
----
Cook is great. But I think his teamwork with Captain Steve is what keeps this company together. We've got silly Steve probably wearing Converse Allstars and we've got Tim Cook wearing the suit. I bet they've had some great brainstorming meetings. I wonder how many times they see eye-to-eye on an idea though.

[pyromcr]

i kind of stopped reading after they said that they were going to stay exclusive to att. please go to verizon. please...

[steve-z17]

Sounds like they're on the right track. I completely disagree with an iPad over a netbook though. Full operating system (that supports Flash), or a crippled giant iPod? The choice is easy for me.



Ah, someone who hasn't used a Droid.

I actually own two droid phones, a Nexus One and a myTouch 3G. So I know exactly how they work, and all those things I stated are true. It doesn't mean that android sucks, there's things I like about it that the iPhone doesn't do. Overall though the iPhone still tops!

[glendoor]

Now I hate Apple (except for the iphone-the reason im here) but Cook seems to know what he's doing. Get out of here Steve Jobs, you had a bad run so might as well end it now