Apple’s software is the best in the non-free software world compared to Google's or Microsoft's, IMO. But that doesn't mean it can't be better.

The shareholders expect more profits. So no, the only way is ads and fees on the best sellers.

If they can make 50B from ads in the iPhone in 12 months why invent a new device that will make pennies.

Sorry folks, the math is brutal for the big corps. They cannot pivot and make cool things, the market demands to be milked until they bleed.

Curious as an outsider what you mean with US politics? Seems like Apple has a pretty strong stance when it comes to things like privacy that pushes back on some things (that could be smoke and mirrors though I guess).

For all the faults of these companies, their founders and CEOs, I genuinely believe the world would have been a bit of a sadder place without companies like Apple and Google. That’s not something I can say about most companies (Microsoft), and honestly, there are companies I think the world would be better off without entirely (Oracle).

The less companies “participate in US politics”, the better for all involved

If he were going to do that he'd already have been doing it just like Tim locking down logistics long before he became CEO.

Don't count on it.

Cook was a steward of Apple as an offshored manufacturing behemoth. I'm looking forward to where this reset goes. Hopefully better and American made products.

The privacy focus is why Apple is dominant today, keep that up.

My guess is that Cook will continue to handle some of the hairier political situations, letting Ternus focus on Apple itself.

> Apple hardware is already amazing

Apple also made some amazing hardware blunders.

My personal favorite is the force-touch home button on the previous generation iPhones and iPads wouldn't work if you were wearing a band-aid. I don't mean the fingerprint reader, it wouldn't even click. So don't ever cut yourself if you were planning to unlock your phone ever. It added basically nothing for the end user over the previous physical home button besides rendering the vibrate function wimpy and useless.

> a renaissance

How many renaissances does one company need? Apple hasn't had enough? lol

> maybe a change in leadership will change how Apple participates in US politics

I think you're attributing a lot more agency to a CEO role (for a publicly listed company, at the least) than they actually have.

I feel like Apple's biggest challenges these next 10 years will be logistics, being able to create or take advantage of additional redundancy in the supply chain for their major components.

The user privacy can’t be overstressed. It and a sane release cycle are what keeps me on Apple.

Apple under Tim Cook stopped innovating, entirely. If Steve was stil alive he'd still be competing we'd probably have Safari on Windows to this day... and cheaper computers (like the NEO but with upgradeable RAM)

FTA:

> As executive chairman, Cook will assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world.

This gives me the impression that at least for the near-term, Cook will still be the one groveling to the Trump White House. Whatever you think about that, that's probably helpful for Ternus' dealings with the next administration.

re: US Politics, I view Apple's gift of the gold & glass trophy to Trump more as a humiliation ritual Cook had to endure so that they can continue to uphold their principles, but with a less adversarial government.

Sure it's gross but it does not necessarily signal an abandonment of values from Apple.

I'll forever associate Tim Cook with Zuck

And his "kind of glib"

No, Zuck, you're just mad Apple introduced fine grained control so you can't constantly scrape people's credentials

> Apple software is terrible

I killed a Finder process that was at 1.2 G ram consumed today...

Tapping a hardware guy as CEO sends a good signal, at least to me, looking in from the outside. The company is leading from its strength, and getting back to its roots. I wonder how Woz feels today, seeing this.

But somewhere in the mix, Apple could also really use another great product mind, like the other Steve. It has been too long since the last era-defining product from Cupertino.

I have no idea what that next big thing would be. And of course, a bad product mind in charge is worse than none at all! If the next big leaps come from other companies while Apple just keeps doing what it does best in the hardware categories that it already dominates, then I guess that's fine, too.

by apple software, you mean ios or macos?

> Apple software is terrible

When is the last time you used Windows 11? I begrudgingly have to run it on my gaming PC and almost every time it's a frustrating experience where I want to put my fist through my monitor. Absolutely awful, zero taste, that will-do software. Windows explorer I believe is still single threaded, the integration of OneDrive into everything (my desktop is stored in OneDrive for some reason) with little to no way to undo it. Don't even get me started on Copilot. My blood pressure just rose off the charts.

> Apple software is terrible

The Vision Pro software team did an incredible job. Its software is more impressive than its hardware.

>Apple software is terrible

That's a wild claim.

I admire how Tim Cook participates in US politics. He is doing the most while giving the least. I would do the same in his position, he is making the best of a difficult situation, and it is his duty to protect his company and employees.

Giving a golden statue of Trump has no effect on you and me, and a very large effect on Trump. He is gaining significant political capital while giving up nothing that matters (feel free to correct if I am wrong). Contrast with every other tech executive, lawyer, and university dean in America, most of whom have been cowed into compromising on their deepest values, or even worse, have done so without hesitation. I cannot think of many tech execs whom history will be kinder towards.

I'm genuinely curious why you think Apple software is terrible?

I can name some terrible software, but it wouldn't be Apple's.

Saying Apple Software is 'terrible' is a blatant hyperbole. Has it degraded meaningfully over the last decade in terms of stability? Yes. Has it's capability increased though? Yes. Has it become more secure by design? Yes. Is the UX better than anything else in market? By a country mile.

Let's hope John takes his job Siriously