Apple CEO Cook: More 'game changers' ahead
Apple CEO Tim Cook on stage at the All Things Digital conference.(Photo: Asa Mathat, All Things Digital)
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. — Apple CEO Tim Cook stayed true to form during an on stage interview at the All Things D conference here. "We release products when they're ready (and) we believe very much in the elements of surprise," Cook told an audience packed with tech luminaries, investors, and journalists. "I have no plan of changing that."
In a wide-ranging interview that covered taxes, his management style, even Google Glass, Cook was short on specifics about any futuristic plans. But for those of us product guys, Cook did provide a few clues on what might be coming next.
"We have several more game changers in us," Cook said.
DETAILS: Full coverage of Tim Cook's appearance[1]
We already know that on June 10 at its Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, Apple plans to show off new versions of the iOS software used in iPhones, iPads and iPod touches and the OS X software that is at the core of Macintosh computers. Cook wouldn't disclose what the new software might look like or what features might be included. He did confirm that iOS is under the watchful eye of famed Apple designer Jony Ive. "Jony has contributed significantly to the look and feel of Apple over many, many years and could do that for our software as well," he says."
I for one am counting on seeing something fresh at WWDC and would be disappointed if that doesn't turn out to be the case. And I say that as a fan of iOS. A "flat" user interface, for one, has been the subject of online rumors but we'll see.
As to whatever the final result turns out to be, "I'll let you judge," Cook told the D crowd.
I'm one of those folks who have increasingly been seduced by the larger screens on Samsung's and other Android phones and phablets (combination phone-tablet) . So I'm ready for an even larger display iPhone 6 or whatever Apple ends up calling the next version of its flagship phone. Again Cook was non-committal, but then he didn't rule anything out either. "A large screen today comes with a lot of trade-offs," he says. "People do look at the size. But they also look at things like did the photo show the proper color, the white balance. battery life…longevity. What our customers want is for us to weigh those and make a decision."
Cook said Apple remains interested in improving the television experience but — this is becoming a broken record — he was skimpy with the details. He did say that Apple has now sold 13 million Apple TV set-top boxes, about half in the last year. You'll recall that this is the product line Steve Jobs used to refer to as a "hobby" business. In any case there is definite growth there—Cook says Apple used to sell Apple TVs in the hundreds of thousands.
When you look at the TV, "it's not an experience that has been brought up to date for this decade," Cook says. "I don't want to go further on this...there is a very grand vision."
Another development to watch is what Apple might do with, well, a watch, or at least other types of wearable computers. Cook, who had praise for the Nike FuelBand he wears, says he hasn't seen any wearable computers that do more than one thing well.
And it seems unlikely that Apple, for now anyway, is going to do anything along the lines of Google Glass, a product whose broad appeal Cook questions.
On wearable computers generally, Cook says many issues still have to be solved, "but it's an area ripe for exploration" with "tons of companies playing in this."
Even if he didn't say so, I imagine anyway that Apple will be one of those companies.
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References
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/05/28/apple-tim-cook-d-conference-live/2367689/ (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ http://www.twitter.com/edbaig (www.twitter.com)