Apple post Tim Cook: go for the Moonshots again?
New CEO could put focus back on cool hardware
All of the sudden, less than three weeks after Apple’s 50th anniversary tour, with CEO Tim Cook doing a series of look back interviews, Apple announced this week that Cook was stepping down from his role, and moving into a new “executive chairman” position.
That it happened wasn’t a surprise, just that it occured so quickly and suddenly.
Cook’s replacement, John Ternus, comes from the hardware division, and I’ve seen all sorts of articles this week suggesting that now Apple will be free from the cautious approach the company has taken since the Steve Jobs era, and it would wow us again with tons of new, innovative products.
While Apple hasn’t had an iPhone size hit since the release of the iPad in 2010, it did introduce two huge successes during Cook’s watch, the AirPods and the Apple Watch. Cook has one major dud to his credit, the VisionPro $3,000 headset, and the HomePod, the talking speaker that copied what Amazon and Google were already doing did not set the world on fire.
Meanwhile, Wall Street hasn’t been happy with Apple for seemingly missing out on the AI revolution, and letting Google, OpenAI and others run with it.
My take: first of all, from a shareholder perspective (which I am not) Cook has quadrupled sales, the iPhone is way more popular than it ever was during the Steve Jobs era, and if you want anyone to blame for the constant nag messages about how you’ve run out of room for photo taking on your iPhone, Cook is your guy. He’s built “Services” into Apple’s no. 2 division, generating over $100 billion in fiscal 2025, selling us monthly subscriptions to iCloud, Apple Care, Apple Music and other recurring monthly charges. Cook built this division from nothing into something that’s now 25% of the company, compared to 50% and $210 billion for the iPhone.
From a tech reviewer perspective, Cook has pushed Apple to update products yearly with small iterations that have been hard to get excited about. (Ditto for rivals Samsung and Google.) While I do believe the iPhone 17 Pro is the best model Apple has ever made and a major upgrade, due to the expanded view of the Selfie camera, the 16 wasn’t much, and the 11, 12, 13 and 14 weren’t exactly memorable. If you have any idea what the differences are of any of the current iPad models, please fill me in. Also explain to me why anyone would want to spend $1,000 for an iPad when the entry-level model is just over $300.
But consumers don’t seem to mind, as Apple has reported record quarters for years in a row.
On the new era with Ternus, will his watch produce more exciting new products?
The fact is, Ternus just did take a bold swing, with the introduction of the Macbook Neo, Apple’s first economical laptop, starting at $600. That Apple could pull this off, after years of being the luxury brand was a wow. And this came from the hardware division Ternus leads. Could there be more like this to come?
Many of these same pundits claim there will be a day at some point without an iPhone, where it just goes away, like a VCR, DVD and cassette tapes did.
I don’t necessarily buy that—you gave up a landline, but not the phone experience. Is your screen time actually less than it was a few years ago? Not for me. I don’t see phones going anywhere. Would I have to go back to shooting on big cameras again?
But still, Ternus has to plan for a future with new products that could replace the cash cow.
In the works:
Apple is expected to launch a foldable iPhone in the fall that copies what Samsung and Google have been offering, with a steep price tag and hopefully better usability. The advantage for the foldable phone is you get a way bigger screen. The con is inferior cameras and a big crease in the middle.
Video/AI glasses: Like the ones being sold by Meta, Apple is looking at specs that will take photos and video, play music and answer AI questions. I like my Meta sunglasses, although I rarely use them for anything beyond shielding the sun. Perhaps Apple will find a way to make them more usable.
An all-new, more productive and useful Siri. The digital assistant, first introduced in 2011, was initially a laughing stock, then got way better at answering basics like weather and time. In 2024, Apple announced the Siri upgrade, but never introduced it, because it couldn’t get it right. Instead, it’s thrown in the towel and will have Siri be taken over by Google’s Gemini. How that will work within our iPhone system is questionable, but kudos to Apple for realizing it just couldn’t do it right and farming it out to a company that does know a thing or two about AI. (On the all new and “improved” Siri though, I’ll believe when I see it.)
Talking AirPods. What if Apple could turn the music listening devices into an AI machine that could talk to us, answer questions, do a better job of translating and and help us navigate, while grooving to music? That sounds promising, but I still have to believe most people just want to hear their tunes or talk on the phone handsfree.
Apple is also said to be working on a small AI device that could clip on to your lapel and talk to you with AI stuff all day long. Useful? I’m skeptical, but ready to be proved wrong.
Finally, the date Apple watchers look to is June 8th. That’s the opening day of the Worldwide Developers Conference, when Apple offers previews of what’s to come in the ecosystem, and it will give us great concrete clues to what is truly next for Apple.
Cook steps down September 1, and shortly after Labor day, the company historically launches the new iPhone with a splashy event in Cupertino—an event Ternus will be expected to lead. For those of us looking for any signs of a new direction for Apple—that would be the first place to check out. I can’t wait!
NAB SHOW
Walking the floor of the National Association of Broadcasters convention this week for me was geek heaven. I got to check out new cameras before they’re released, lighting and audio accessories I’m interested in, and most importantly, get to talk to company reps about problems I’m having with their products, and how to solve them. Fun times!
The most interesting camera: Insta360, the cutting-edge Chinese company, is in a cut-throat battle with Chinese rival DJI to one up the other with clones of other products, usually at the expense of California based GoPro.
The Trump administration has banned the sale of new Chinese made drones, so DJI, which makes most consumer drones, responds by introducing great sounding products that can’t be sold here. The sequel to the Pocket 3, arguably the most popular new camera introduced over the last few years, was displayed at NAB, and it won’t be available for sale in the U.S. due to the company’s battles with the U.S. The Pocket 4 has nothing to do with flying cameras. You have to hold it in your hand.
Meanwhile, Insta360, which hasn’t been stung because it only offers one drone, one that’s sold through another company, introduced its answer to the Pocket 3, the Luna, with a twist that it has 2 lenses.
Details are scarce, and Insta360 didn’t announce pricing. The release is expected later this year.
The company that has suffered the most from the Chinese clones, GoPro, came to NAB showing off its latest, a massive upgrade called the Mission 1 series, which has a way larger image sensor and a new concept beyond the action camera, pivoting towards cinema, but in the same smaller body. The test footage shown off at NAB was truly awesome.
For GoPro, this means higher resolution and better low light performance on a camera that you can still stick onto a bike helmet or car. The first Mission camera will have a higher price point than the Hero line, over $600.
I want to see try them all, especially the Mission 1, but I sure wish the Chinese companies could innovate in a way that isn’t just making knockoffs of other products.
Otherwise, NAB was about speaking on a whole lot of sessions, catching up with old friends and acquaintances, and having yet another opportunity to visit the world’s great restaurant, and her name would be Juan’s Flaming Fajitas.
Catalina Island!
On Sunday’s episode of Photowalks, we return to the island of Santa Catalina, one of my favorite places in the world. I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you why I love it so much, but first, let me just invite you to tune in and check out the episide, which debuts Sunday at 10 a.m. ET on Scripps News, and replays later on YouTube.
Thanks as always for watching, reading and listening!
Jeff