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Report: Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year'

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Re: Report: Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year'

#441
post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The iPad was launched in 2010 and seen as a device to play around with - a big ipod. Two years later they were in the midst of the big push for using iPads for business, in hospitals, in cafes to replace PoS, in factories, etc. So you say the CEO of Apple uses it for work, if it's good enough for him it's good enough for you. I highly doubt he doesn't use an actual computer.

He’s a CEO with a strong C suite backing him. I doubt Tim Cook has a need for an actual computer. I struggle to think of why he’d need one to perform his job duties.

It’s called eating your own dogfood

Re: Report: Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year'

#442
post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My only two iPhones have been the iPhone SE 2016, and the 13 mini. I miss the SE but the 13 mini is really nice too. It's a shame because the SE is still perfectly capable of running most software I use on a phone, but that software has just gotten more inefficient over time.

Apple says they stopped producing minis because they didn't sell. It seems they sold relatively better than the Air, and pretty much everyone I know who still uses a device of "13" or earlier generation, is on a mini. That's about 5 people just in my social circle still on a 13 Mini, and 0 people on any other non-Mini 13th or older generation. I reckon that's the real reason they stopped making them, people who use t…

Yes. The kind of people who use iPhone minis are generally more reasonable and won't spent too much time doomscrolling on them or overusing them for random stuff (like pretending you are a good photographer).

In that sense they are very bad customers because they won't upgrade for social status reason or just novelty. They actually need to come up with something that is worthwhile, which is pretty hard. That being said, I'm pretty sure many of those users would upgrade if they could keep the small format and make it more reasonably affordable by removing most of "useless" stuff. It seems like they tried that with the air (no multiple cameras, no multiple speakers) but they made it too big and went with thinness for feeling points. They could have just kept it reasonably sized (under 6") and designed the internals in the same way while keeping it flat but not too thick.

I think Apple is a bit lost because their design focus too much on looks/feelings and social status points. They lack the focus that Apple products used to have, this is what made them interesting: deceptively simple in presentation but actually providing everything that you need without going crazy on the gimmicks.

As it is, one wonders why he should go with an iPhone. They are just chasing specs sheet points, trying to maximise the amounts of stuff they can put on the phone in order to create the appearance of "value". At this game they get destroyed by competitors like Samsung and even more the Chinese. Before, one could argue for an iPhone because of the CPU lead or the software but nowadays none of those things really matters or can even be considered an advantage.

Apple will keep selling lot's of iPhone because they are still somewhat the "hip" brand and people really don't like to change habits. But they are going to need to provide more value in the long term. Since the high-end doesn't meaningfully evolve anymore, brands have started a price war and Apple will definitely need to adapt if it doesn't want to have its crown stollen. In the US they have some time, but I think they are already losing ground in the EU and China has clearly stopped caring about their devices.

Re: Report: Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year'

#443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you replaced your perfectly functional phone because they made the battery (a consumable) too expensive to replace?

The issue with batteries on older iPhones isn't even replacing the battery. Apple will do it for like $80 bucks or so out of warranty. That's WAY cheaper than a new phone. But every new OS version manages to use more CPU and GPU and burn down that battery faster even if it's brand new, since the older chips have to work harder to run them than they had to work to run the older OSes. I replaced my battery which was sh…

Yes software bloat and lack of optimisation is the problem. But this is exactly why Apple is full of shit. They pretend to do and know better by forcing updates and locking down your ability to install/manage software as you see fit; yet you do not get any meaningful value in exchange.

All the App Store discourse would be moot if they clearly enforced a minimum software quality but they are way too greedy to actually do that. So in the end you are subjected to the same software bloat as Android but you just pay more for the device.

Pixels get slow because they have very weak CPUs to begin with. If you had gone with a Samsung the experience would be much better (not too different than that of an iPhone, even though the look is of a different taste).

Re: Report: Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year'

#444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cook's Apple got you: - Apple Watch - Airpods (& Pro) & Beats - Apple Silicon - Vision Pro

No, Apple had been doing their own silicon (presumably you mean for their phones) while Jobs was still CEO, and he bought PA Semi in 2008 which put them on the path to do their own CPU cores (iPhone 5 with Swift CPU was released the year after he died so he'd obviously seen the core design process through from the beginning to likely initial tape-out or very close to).

Yes and even before that they had PowerPC. The only reason that even stopped is because R&D was done by Motorola and IBM and they ended up going in other directions which made working for Apple has a sole client not much of good deal.

If Apple had enough money back then to bankroll full R&D on both the chip design and the foundry, they would have never gone with Intel in the first place. Intel won because of massive volume PC sales got them with a similar amount of money thrown into PowerPC it would probably stayed competitive.

Apple Silicon share many similarities in design philosophy with PowerPC and Apple had invested in ARM way before Cook was even considered as a CEO replacement.

The best thing we can say about Cook is that he managed to not fuck it up. In practice he is just a greedy snake that is very good at sucking every last drop of profit of anything Apple manages to create. He has very little positive influence on the vision and roadmap side of things.

The fact that people keep praising Cook is just reflection of the times, where money in itself has become a goal and the sole worthwhile target.

Re: Report: Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year'

#445
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You forget, the camera gets better every year! I've had an iphone for 15 years. I mean, it's fine...i just wish there was incentive for durability and sustainability v's replace it every 12-24 months. I guess sustainability concerns at Apple ends at ensuring their stock price is sustainable.

What do you do with your phones that it doesn't last more than 24 months? I've had only two iPhones for almost 11 years. An iphone 6s and currently an iPhone 13 mini there entire time. They're solidly reliable

Honestly I wish i knew. I find the battery really gets substantially worse after 12-18 months, and eventually I'm living with it plugged in to avoid getting caught with it low when I'm out.

Recently I dropped my phone (while in a case) and now there's a black spot on the screen.

Stuff like this. I live a life between a lot of DIY work and software dev, so I'm physically probably rougher on it than most, but also a heavy user of the technology too.

Re: Report: Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year'

#446
post #67

Tim Cook at Apple was like Steve Ballmer at Microsoft. They scaled the company and made stock owners happy, but weren't true visionaries. I suppose there's a need for both types of leaders.

Microsoft's stock was flat for Ballmer's entire tenure. Investors were most definitely not happy, and that was the very reason he was forced out. Tim Cook meanwhile has grown the company 10x. It's an idiotic comparison.

Stock was flat, but revenue more than tripled from $25B to $78B. MSFT is a dividend stock.
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