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Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

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Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#81

Post by jacalata »

coldtea wrote: post #74
LargeCompanies wrote: post #43

I'm a six year iPhone owner who based off of the iPhone 7 rumors it's going to underwhelm in the innovation department and lose this customer. The Note 7 looks awesome due to it being waterproof and other features Apple hasn't bothered to include. Also, Google Now in terms of it understanding me is light years away from Siri, which I have used since 2011. Goigle Now's AI puts Siri to shame! See ya Apple!

> I'm a six year iPhone owner who based off of the iPhone 7 rumors it's going to underwhelm in the innovation department and lose this customer. Yeah, because better CPU, GPU, camera(s), and such are not innovative enough... > The Note 7 looks awesome due to it being waterproof and other features Apple hasn't bothered to include. Yeah, for those of us using our phone on the shower it will be a god-send. Waterproof! S…

Bizarrely, none of the phones I know of that died from water damage were being used in a shower. We must move in different circles.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#82

Post by freyr »

kkhire wrote: post #56
k-mcgrady wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> "Watches? Tried that." I don't understand how people think they've tried the watch and failed. They've put out ONE version. The first iPod was Mac only and therefore didn't sell very well. When the iPhone launched you had to buy the device outright - no subsidy and it was lacking features that other phones had for quite a while. It was a few versions before it really took off. I think people shrugging off the watc…

inherent problem with the watch is that it's not a standalone device, its an extension of the phone. but you're right, there's alot of revisionist history when it comes to apple product success during Jobs era. iPhone didn't become this massive product til 2010 when the 4 was released. that device changed everything for them

> iPhone didn't become this massive product til 2010 when the 4 was released

If we ignore the iPhone 3G, which was the top-selling mobile phone of 2008. Revisionist history indeed.

The original 2007 iPhone was hugely successful out of the gate within the smartphone category, which it shaped and then dominated for the next few years.

2010 was a tipping point for people abandoning feature phones for smartphones, and there wasn't yet a comparable Android competitor. But the seeds were sown years earlier.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#83

Post by tomdell »

mwfunk wrote: post #48
tomdell wrote: post #29

I like this - "The first all-new device during his tenure, the Apple Watch, is not yet a mega hit." - as if some day it just is going to be a mega hit.

I interpreted that as, someday it might yet be a mega hit. It's still a relatively new product that's only had one iteration, and even though it didn't set the world on fire, it didn't bomb either. Most tech companies iterate on things a few times before giving up on them, unless they are just fundamental market failures like the iPod HiFi. What did you like about that statement? Your interpretation made it sound lik…

Sorry, sarcasm doesn't translate well over text.

The tone of the sentence seemed to me to imply that some day the Apple Watch would be a hit, but I'm skeptical.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#84

Post by detaro »

coldtea wrote: post #74
LargeCompanies wrote: post #43

I'm a six year iPhone owner who based off of the iPhone 7 rumors it's going to underwhelm in the innovation department and lose this customer. The Note 7 looks awesome due to it being waterproof and other features Apple hasn't bothered to include. Also, Google Now in terms of it understanding me is light years away from Siri, which I have used since 2011. Goigle Now's AI puts Siri to shame! See ya Apple!

> I'm a six year iPhone owner who based off of the iPhone 7 rumors it's going to underwhelm in the innovation department and lose this customer. Yeah, because better CPU, GPU, camera(s), and such are not innovative enough... > The Note 7 looks awesome due to it being waterproof and other features Apple hasn't bothered to include. Yeah, for those of us using our phone on the shower it will be a god-send. Waterproof! S…

Isn't "faster hardware" by definition not innovative?

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#85

Post by saurik »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #23
Animats wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google is in some ways easier, because there's no real threat to their cash cow, search ads. Apple has to stay ahead of competition in phones. That competition is now quite good, and usually cheaper. As CEO of Apple, Cook is expected to deliver the Next Big Thing. So far, he hasn't, and he's running out of time. (Cars? Tough, low-margin business. VR? Niche market. Watches? Tried that. Robots? Not ready yet. Voice AI?…

>> "Watches? Tried that." I don't understand how people think they've tried the watch and failed. They've put out ONE version. The first iPod was Mac only and therefore didn't sell very well. When the iPhone launched you had to buy the device outright - no subsidy and it was lacking features that other phones had for quite a while. It was a few versions before it really took off. I think people shrugging off the watc…

(When the iPhone was first released the price actually was subsidized by AT&T, who got rather screwed by it because it was based on a "trust our security" model, and people would take it home and put it on T-Mobile. It is absolutely true that the first iPhone sucked vs. a normal phone, though. It wasn't until iPhoneOS 3 and the iPhone 3G[S] that the device started getting good.)

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#86

Post by ufmace »

tptacek wrote: post #45
Animats wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google is in some ways easier, because there's no real threat to their cash cow, search ads. Apple has to stay ahead of competition in phones. That competition is now quite good, and usually cheaper. As CEO of Apple, Cook is expected to deliver the Next Big Thing. So far, he hasn't, and he's running out of time. (Cars? Tough, low-margin business. VR? Niche market. Watches? Tried that. Robots? Not ready yet. Voice AI?…

Can you flesh out an argument that Cook and/or Apple is "running out of time"?

I'd say that "running out of time" is probably over the top, but there's some truth behind the idea. Their huge margins and huger stock price and market cap are based on the perception that they're the company that can produce industry-changing smash hits over and over again. But Jobs was really the one doing that. Can Cook's Apple produce the next big thing, something that takes the whole tech world by storm, like the iPhone or iPad did? How long will investors wait if he doesn't make any big hits? It's not hard to imagine Apple losing some of it's luster if they keep churning out modest revisions on existing products and uninspiring duds for new products.

On the other hand, even with no more hits, they do still have incredible customer loyalty and a massively profitable product line. And a lot of people have predicted Apple's doom over the years, only to be proven wrong later. Betting on Apple for the next 5 years seems safe. I wouldn't bet on Apple for the next 20 years right now though.

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#88

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

Olscore wrote: post #77
coldtea wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Basically at 25 he started running as fast as he could and it must seem to him that he hasn't stopped to catch his breath since. Every day new shit happens in the Google empire that only the CEO can deal with, and he, as CEO, has to deal with it. If he goes on vacation for even a week, a whole week's backlog of shit accumulates. With the difference that unlike a poor single working mother, or some 40-something fact…

> get less than zero sympathy if they talk about having difficult lives You just proved this part.

Are you also suggesting that they should get some sympathy? Why?

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#89

Post by discordance »

6stringmerc wrote: post #80

CTRL+F "music" & "iTunes" - only one result, as part of the framing by the writer. Unless Tim & co. decide to confront the reality that they're stepping up "vertical integration" model using the Robber Baron playbook when it comes to the actual arts, I think his "social responsibility" comments mean fuck-all. Go ahead, build a new environmentally friendly compound, that's great, good on you. And how's about that 30%…

"CTRL" is pretty revealing of inherent bias

Re: Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’

#90

Post by ufmace »

agumonkey wrote: post #17
Animats wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google is in some ways easier, because there's no real threat to their cash cow, search ads. Apple has to stay ahead of competition in phones. That competition is now quite good, and usually cheaper. As CEO of Apple, Cook is expected to deliver the Next Big Thing. So far, he hasn't, and he's running out of time. (Cars? Tough, low-margin business. VR? Niche market. Watches? Tried that. Robots? Not ready yet. Voice AI?…

Honestly, what could be the NBT in consumer tech ? I feel we reached cultural and ontological plateau in most areas. If there's a next it probably won't be a big thing.

I'm sure there will be a next Next Big Thing. I'm also sure that nobody here knows what it is. If you do, tell your stock broker instead of Hacker News, and become a billionaire if you're right. That's what makes geniuses geniuses - going all-in on the right thing at the right time.

People in the 1890s and 1690s and so on probably thought they were plateaued on things too. What are the odds that we're the real plateau? It might not be in consumer tech, but it's out there, waiting for the right person to discover it.

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