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I agree with this. I get the feeling that Tim Cook cares a lot more about shareholders than Steve Jobs ever did, and he's really trying to optimise for average

I agree with this. I get the feeling that Tim Cook cares a lot more about shareholders than Steve Jobs ever did, and he's really trying to optimise for average selling price (and with that, gross margin) of devices. MacBooks have went up substantially in price. AppleTV (as this article shows) is really expensive vs competition. The $10k Apple Watch was a laughable misstep. The iPad Pro is very expensive for a tablet also. If I had more balls I would short AAPL stock. I have never been so confused after an Apple event than this one. They are all over the place and it suggests that they really don't know what customers want in 'mature' product categories.

dmd 10y ago
"Tim Cook cares a lot more about shareholders than Steve Jobs ever did" ... "If I had more balls I would short AAPL stock." Can you expand on this? Those seem at odds to me.
- skyyler 10y ago
  Perhaps catering to shareholders isn't a good idea for Apple.
  - bennyg 10y ago
    Shareholders should come second to product for Apple. Time and time again, when they focus and nail the product it translates directly to increased shareholder value. Trying to marginally increase shareholder value the way they have lately looks great in the short-term but hurts their brand specifically in the long-term.
- busyant 10y ago
  I think he's saying that focusing on shareholders is (counterintuitively) a bad sign for company health in the long term.
  - xenobioticants 10y ago
    Didn't work out for Kodak, Blackberry or Microsoft. It's a very bad sign for tech companies.
- martinald 10y ago
  Yes, fair point, I was trying to say that rarely does focussing on short term shareholder value actually do that. Look at Steve Ballmer: delivered outstanding sales growth at the expense of basically missing every major play Microsoft should've made. An example: by killing off the lower cost MacBooks, students may end up not buying as many Macs (I would almost certainly have got a Windows/Linux laptop if the entry level macbook was so expensive when I was younger). They won't learn iOS development skills, since you really have to have a Mac to do that. Net result: I bet in ~3-5 years all the killer social media apps will end up on Android first. Back in the iBook/original MacBook era Mac laptops were actually about the same price as a comparable Windows laptop, plus they were WAY nicer. I even remember the first core duo macbook being the cheapest dual core laptop out on the market. I bet a load of people who now make iOS apps (me included) learnt because they picked up those machines because they were affordable and offered great value. While I am sure that the new Macbooks offer good 'value' if you like the touch pad, I don't think they are affordable at the entry level.
Razengan 10y ago
The iPad Pro is an excellent device. I have the 9.7" one with the Apple Pencil. The wide color screen and it's true tone feature are simply unparalleled [1], and as a drawing tablet it beats pretty much everything out there [2]. There is virtually no lag in anything and everything's buttery smooth. The side-by-side multitasking greatly improves many workflows even if it's still just two apps a time for now. For example I can watch a drawing tutorial on YouTube while practicing in Procreate (which by the way, beats many-times-more-expensive desktop painting apps in some ways.) You can even literally control two apps simultaneously, one with each hand; something that isn't possible with a mouse pointer. There is a lot more made-for-iPad software than there is for Android tablets, including many AA+ games with all the content that you get in the PC version (just finished Broken Age and Primordia, amazing stuff!) The battery more or less gets me through an entire day on a single charge. I can't really think of anything more that I want in a tablet at the moment, and it'll get even better through software updates. In fact, what the recent MacBook event has helped me decide, is that most of my portability needs are fulfilled by the iPad Pro — I can do almost everything on it that I need or want to do when I'm away from my desk. So my next Mac will actually be an iMac (need a big screen at home anyway) while the iPad Pro will be replacing my 12" MacBook. As for the Apple TV 4, it's actually a nice little $150 games console in addition to its media-consumption features, especially if you already purchased games for your iPhone or iPad, since quite a few apps have Apple TV versions that you get for free. The UI is also pretty nice, compared to other boxes. [1] http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_Pro9_ShootOut_1.htm http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_Pro9_ShootOut_1.htm [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMA25CqKcn8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMA25CqKcn8
- martinald 10y ago
  Not saying they are not good devices, just they're expensive. Keep in mind the original iPad was $499 - really great value. I don't think the Apple TV offers particularly good value, considering you can get an Xbox One or PS4 for not much more money if you are into gaming.
kmfrk 10y ago
The margins on the cables and adapters have also always been laughable.
- mahyarm 10y ago
  A few years after a new cable format although, you can get fairly affordable 3rd party cables although. And now they are moving to USB-C, which doesn't have any thing apple specific other than the lightning connector.
  - Bud 10y ago
    A few years? More like a couple weeks.
    - mahyarm 10y ago
      It took a while for $2 lightning cables that worked well to show up in dollar stores. In the first year or two, they weren't around.
    - gumby 10y ago
      I have Retina MacBook and can tell you that two years after the RMB introduction the USB Type C ecosystem barely exists. Although to be fair I don't plug much into my machine any more so it doesn't really affect me.
  - kmfrk 10y ago
    Well, two things: 1) On iOS, Apple have a record of disabling third-party cables through software updates. Ask me how I know. :) 2) USB-C cables have a horrible reputation for quality control that's all over the place. This is one place where Apple might have a leg up, because a third-party cable could literally blow up your computer. Honestly, it's mainly the combination of the high price tag and their shitty build quality that leads to near-instant fraying that pisses me off about Apple cables more than anything.
hyperbovine 10y ago
Steve Jobs increased the value of AAPL by close to 200x during the period 1997-2011.
- jackweirdy 10y ago
  But do you think he went in to work every day thinking about how he could increase AAPLs stock price before the end of the quarter? I don't think so, but I think Tim Cook does.
  - hyperbovine 10y ago
    I have no idea. I'm simply pointing out that empirically it's hard to make the case that Tim Cook "cares" more about the stock price than Steve did.

dmd 10y ago

"Tim Cook cares a lot more about shareholders than Steve Jobs ever did" ... "If I had more balls I would short AAPL stock." Can you expand on this? Those seem at odds to me.

skyyler 10y ago
Perhaps catering to shareholders isn't a good idea for Apple.
- bennyg 10y ago
  Shareholders should come second to product for Apple. Time and time again, when they focus and nail the product it translates directly to increased shareholder value. Trying to marginally increase shareholder value the way they have lately looks great in the short-term but hurts their brand specifically in the long-term.
busyant 10y ago
I think he's saying that focusing on shareholders is (counterintuitively) a bad sign for company health in the long term.
- xenobioticants 10y ago
  Didn't work out for Kodak, Blackberry or Microsoft. It's a very bad sign for tech companies.
martinald 10y ago
Yes, fair point, I was trying to say that rarely does focussing on short term shareholder value actually do that. Look at Steve Ballmer: delivered outstanding sales growth at the expense of basically missing every major play Microsoft should've made. An example: by killing off the lower cost MacBooks, students may end up not buying as many Macs (I would almost certainly have got a Windows/Linux laptop if the entry level macbook was so expensive when I was younger). They won't learn iOS development skills, since you really have to have a Mac to do that. Net result: I bet in ~3-5 years all the killer social media apps will end up on Android first. Back in the iBook/original MacBook era Mac laptops were actually about the same price as a comparable Windows laptop, plus they were WAY nicer. I even remember the first core duo macbook being the cheapest dual core laptop out on the market. I bet a load of people who now make iOS apps (me included) learnt because they picked up those machines because they were affordable and offered great value. While I am sure that the new Macbooks offer good 'value' if you like the touch pad, I don't think they are affordable at the entry level.

Razengan 10y ago

The iPad Pro is an excellent device. I have the 9.7" one with the Apple Pencil. The wide color screen and it's true tone feature are simply unparalleled [1], and as a drawing tablet it beats pretty much everything out there [2]. There is virtually no lag in anything and everything's buttery smooth. The side-by-side multitasking greatly improves many workflows even if it's still just two apps a time for now. For example I can watch a drawing tutorial on YouTube while practicing in Procreate (which by the way, beats many-times-more-expensive desktop painting apps in some ways.) You can even literally control two apps simultaneously, one with each hand; something that isn't possible with a mouse pointer. There is a lot more made-for-iPad software than there is for Android tablets, including many AA+ games with all the content that you get in the PC version (just finished Broken Age and Primordia, amazing stuff!) The battery more or less gets me through an entire day on a single charge. I can't really think of anything more that I want in a tablet at the moment, and it'll get even better through software updates. In fact, what the recent MacBook event has helped me decide, is that most of my portability needs are fulfilled by the iPad Pro — I can do almost everything on it that I need or want to do when I'm away from my desk. So my next Mac will actually be an iMac (need a big screen at home anyway) while the iPad Pro will be replacing my 12" MacBook. As for the Apple TV 4, it's actually a nice little $150 games console in addition to its media-consumption features, especially if you already purchased games for your iPhone or iPad, since quite a few apps have Apple TV versions that you get for free. The UI is also pretty nice, compared to other boxes. [1] http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_Pro9_ShootOut_1.htm http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_Pro9_ShootOut_1.htm [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMA25CqKcn8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMA25CqKcn8

martinald 10y ago
Not saying they are not good devices, just they're expensive. Keep in mind the original iPad was $499 - really great value. I don't think the Apple TV offers particularly good value, considering you can get an Xbox One or PS4 for not much more money if you are into gaming.

kmfrk 10y ago

The margins on the cables and adapters have also always been laughable.

mahyarm 10y ago
A few years after a new cable format although, you can get fairly affordable 3rd party cables although. And now they are moving to USB-C, which doesn't have any thing apple specific other than the lightning connector.
- Bud 10y ago
  A few years? More like a couple weeks.
  - mahyarm 10y ago
    It took a while for $2 lightning cables that worked well to show up in dollar stores. In the first year or two, they weren't around.
  - gumby 10y ago
    I have Retina MacBook and can tell you that two years after the RMB introduction the USB Type C ecosystem barely exists. Although to be fair I don't plug much into my machine any more so it doesn't really affect me.
- kmfrk 10y ago
  Well, two things: 1) On iOS, Apple have a record of disabling third-party cables through software updates. Ask me how I know. :) 2) USB-C cables have a horrible reputation for quality control that's all over the place. This is one place where Apple might have a leg up, because a third-party cable could literally blow up your computer. Honestly, it's mainly the combination of the high price tag and their shitty build quality that leads to near-instant fraying that pisses me off about Apple cables more than anything.

hyperbovine 10y ago

Steve Jobs increased the value of AAPL by close to 200x during the period 1997-2011.

jackweirdy 10y ago
But do you think he went in to work every day thinking about how he could increase AAPLs stock price before the end of the quarter? I don't think so, but I think Tim Cook does.
- hyperbovine 10y ago
  I have no idea. I'm simply pointing out that empirically it's hard to make the case that Tim Cook "cares" more about the stock price than Steve did.