- Tim Cook sat down with Wired for a wide-ranging interview
- He confirmed that Apple has not yet considered charging for AI features.
- Cook shed some light on Vision Pro’s performance, albeit indirectly
I like Tim Cook. Apple’s now longtime CEO is personable, intelligent, and as close to a human sphinx as you can imagine. He rarely drops major news, whether casually or when the media puts him on the grill.
Cook did not disappoint his latest in-depth interview with Wired’s Steven Levy. One of the best in the business, Levy asked Cook questions about everything from the iPhone 16’s new camera control button to Apple Intelligence, the company and his own legacy. Cook didn’t really break the news, but there were some areas where he revealed a little more about himself and some of Apple’s strategic decisions around AI, mixed reality, and what’s to come. follow for Cook himself.
Apple Intelligence, Apple’s brand of AI that Cook says is not a play on words, has been slowly rolling out to supported iPhones, iPads, and Macs, with each iteration getting a little closer to what ‘Apple promised during its WWDC 2024 keynote in June. Cook hasn’t introduced any new features, although he has a view on the fine line between usefulness and support. Cook tends to believe that AI is an assistant (like a co-pilot, I suppose) and doesn’t directly do things for you.
However, Cook’s take on charging for additional and perhaps more powerful Apple Intelligence AI features was more interesting. This isn’t a discussion they had on the Apple campus.
“We never talked about charging for that,” Cook told Levy. Now, that’s not to say it’s irrelevant, but since Apple and Cook view Apple Intelligence as similar to multitouch on the iPhone, AI is likely a feature that adds value to all other products and services billed by Apple. Apple could simply raise their prices to cover the cost of creating and supporting Apple intelligence features.
The realities of Vision Pro
Apple has remained mum on Vision Pro sales. The powerful VR and mixed reality headset is undoubtedly the pinnacle of Apple’s consumer electronics capabilities and the company is making you pay a lot for it – $3,500 – which may explain consumer apathy.
Cook didn’t speak directly about sales performance, but he remains optimistic about the headset. I think, however, that he may have recognized that this expensive laptop isn’t for everyone. Here’s how Cook characterized it to Levy:
“This is an early adopter product for people who want to benefit from tomorrow’s technology today.”
Cook insisted that the ecosystem is thriving, which may be a sign of the health of the product category, but then he added almost encouraging news about what might come next.
Levy asked about the Meta Orion and Snap AR glasses. These lighter, more glasses-like wearables focus on AR experiences, and I wondered if the next iteration of Vision Pro might move in that direction.
“Yes,” Cook told Levy, “It’s a progression over time in terms of what’s happening with form factors.”
I think the market is eager to try these next form factors.
After cooking
Some believe that John Ternus, head of Apple hardware, is the Apple’s likely next CEObut for Ternus to intervene, Cook would have to move away. The current CEO of Apple, however, did not paint the portrait of a person out of breath or less and less committed to the brand.
The Apple-Tim Cook love story is still alive and well. Cook doesn’t plan to leave and told Levy he won’t “until the voice in my head says, ‘It’s time’.”
Cook said he loves his job and can’t imagine his life without it. In other words, Tim Cook will steer the Apple ship and build on its legacy, which Cook wants to be health. “We have research going on. We’re all invested here and we’re working on things that take years to prepare,” Cook told Levy.
I think, however, that it will probably be Apple Silicon for many years.