Apple’s CEO Tim Cook got a profile piece written by The New York Times, where several employees talked about Cook’s handling of Apple post-Steve Jobs and how he has settled into the role of managing the entire company, which he did on and off while Jobs was ill in 2010.
High executives were interviewed alongside various Apple employees, who asked to remain anonymous. Some of those employees claimed Apple was working on the iWatch and Tim Cook had a more relaxed, hands-off approach to product design than his predecessor Steve Jobs.
This does not just go for the iWatch, Cook has been delegating tasks to executives ever since he took over and has not had a hands-on approach to any product shipped, dedicating most of his time to logistics, stocks and managing the company, a familiar role to when he was COO of Apple.
The move away from a hands-on executive is not necessarily a bad thing, although many of the moves Apple made they did because Jobs had a passion for the project. It allows engineers and designers more freedom to work on projects without getting shut down, but they may lack the enthusiasm to take the product to the next-level.
Apple’s iWatch will be the first new brand under Tim Cook and it needs to work out for the company, to keep their stock growing and keep the money flowing. Apple still has $150 billion saved up and a market cap second only to Google, but if they cannot show innovation they might start slipping.
The iWatch will most likely be the last item launched this year, the iPhone 6 and iPads will both be launched at earlier events sometime between August and September, but the iWatch will reportedly come two months later in November, giving Apple some breathing room to sell the iPhone 6 first.
Source: NYT
