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[Go_Ly_Dow]

UnHerd's Freddie Sayers speaks with journalist and author of new book Apple in China, Patrick McGee – who was the Financial Times's principal Apple reporter from 2019 to 2023 – about the man at the centre of Apple's China story: CEO Tim Cook.On August 1st, Cook quietly became Apple's longest-serving leader, overtaking Steve Jobs — a milestone that came days before a high-profile White House appearance in which he warmly praised Donald Trump. The move was widely seen as a calculated bid to secure political goodwill as US–China tensions threaten Apple's business.Before becoming CEO, Cook built Apple's vast Chinese supply chain — training millions of workers and investing billions in infrastructure — giving the company unmatched manufacturing power but also a deep reliance on China's authoritarian system. Now, McGee says, he is scrambling to shift production elsewhere while navigating Washington politics. His book, Apple in China, charts how Cook's choices drove Apple's rise — and its vulnerabilities — as speculation grows over his future and who might replace him.

AppleGAF what say you?

 

[AJUMP23]

I think you mean Tim Apple.

 

[Avid Reading Horse]

Tim Apple was sent by God to teach us that gay people can be bad too.

 

[YCoCg]

No vision motherfucker, he'd be nowhere if he wasn't riding on the coattails of Steve Jobs.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

 

[Musashipan]

He is garbage, just like his predecessor

 

[Rockondevil]

He's a good salesman and has been amazing for their profits. I don't think he's anymore evil than another salesman.

Obviously Steve Jobs is preferred for those that don't have shares in Apple as he drove innovation and wouldn't release something until it was perfect.

Under Tim everything is slowly stagnating. Design has all but halted and innovation is not making any impressive strides.

 

[AJUMP23]

He is as lazy as CEO as his school Auburn is in recruiting right now.

 

[LordCBH]

Tim Cook: Genius, Villain…Idiot.

 

[WhiteWaterM00se]

He is likely one of the smartest designers of supply chain on the planet. Logistics and numbers is what Tim Cook is. He is not an inventor at all.

Apples' rise is 100% related to Tim Cook. But Cook will be judged more, is he can remake Apples supply chain outside of China!

The next ceo will likely be an inventor type again. IMO

 

[UltimaKilo]

He is as lazy as CEO as his school Auburn is in recruiting right now.

 

[Chittagong]

One of the most successful bean counters in the world

Not good, not evil, just so fucking boring. He has sapped out all the joy from new Apple products. The only really great thing under his watch have been AirPods. Apple Watch has always been functionally lukewarm, and Vision Pro is just cringe.

 

[Wildebeest]

Tim Apple is going to save you from the surveillance state by spying on you more than they do and save you from AI by not having any clue on what to do about it.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Tim Apple is neither a genius nor a villain. He was the right hand man of Steve Jobs who was really good at supply chain management

His tenure as CEO of Apple was marked by massive increase in shareholder value but zero innovation or new products

Steve would be proud of how much money Tim Apple made with his company, but not so proud of how completely the company has lost the innovative edge it once had

 

[bigedole]

Tim Apple is neither a genius nor a villain. He was the right hand man of Steve Jobs who was really good at supply chain management

His tenure as CEO of Apple was marked by massive increase in shareholder value but zero innovation or new products

Steve would be proud of how much money Tim Apple made with his company, but not so proud of how completely the company has lost the innovative edge it once had

Why just make things up when there's plenty of legitimate things to criticise. Both airpods and the watch have been wildly successful. Did you know Apple watch is one of the best selling watch brands in the world? Not just for smart watches.