Cook: The tech industry is obsessed with success, and this is a disease

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Jobs hopes that Apple will create great products and great tools for mankind, which in itself is a meritorious deed and has become the core concept that Apple has always upheld.

On the other hand, in the technology circle, there is an almost pathological trend where people measure success solely by numbers: how many clicks you get, how many active users you have, how many product sales you have, and so on.

Everyone in the tech world seems to have an obsession with bigger and prettier numbers. That was true for Windows PCs when I joined Apple in 1998, and it is true now. Steve Jobs' obsession was to make the best products.

In an interview with Fastcompany, Tim Cook first recalled the spiritual legacy that Jobs left for Apple, and then changed the subject to talk about the strange current situation in the technology circle. Many people have noticed that before the release of Apple Watch, Apple executives including Tim Cook and Jony Ive rarely discussed the product directly with the public, and rarely accepted interviews. Apple has already changed its public relations strategy. Cook talked about Apple Watch on many occasions, and even personally introduced Apple Watch at the launch conference on March 9.

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About Apple Watch

Even so, there are still many questions surrounding the Apple Watch, such as why Apple designed a smartwatch and why it entered this new field. Because in the era when Steve Jobs was in charge of Apple, every time a new product was released, he would always talk at length about the current situation, and naturally transition to the "revolutionary" products that Apple was about to release. When it was Tim Cook's turn to open up a new field after Steve Jobs' death, he did not give us a "Why" as usual. In this interview, he explained Apple's basic principles for entering new fields:

What is the core technology in this field?

What can we bring to this field?

How much can we initially contribute to society in this area?

If we do not have sufficient capabilities and core technologies, we will never act rashly.

Cook said that this philosophy is the legacy of Jobs, and it has been consistent in Apple, and Apple Watch is no exception. A few days ago, Atomic Delights' analysis article gave us a detailed interpretation of the exquisite materials and processing technology of Apple Watch, which can be regarded as some of the core technologies mastered by Apple. But it seems that these summaries are still too abstract, and there is no reason to be convinced and excited.

However, Cook has obviously been addicted to Apple Watch and couldn't extricate himself. He talked about it nonstop during the interview, describing the uniqueness of Force Touch, a new interaction method developed by Apple for the small-screen Apple Watch (this technology is officially adopted by the trackpad of the new MacBook). At the same time, he did not forget to mock a number of competitors for still using the zooming in and out gestures developed by Apple for the iPhone on their smart watches.

Apple has always been very patient in product development, and will spend several years researching a new product. This is particularly evident in the development of the iPad, and the touch technology developed for it was even first applied to the iPhone. Jony Ive also talked about the development of Apple Watch in 2011 in an interview with ABC reporter David Muir. Cook also talked about how Apple has made countless improvements to the Apple Watch during this process, and will not announce it to the public until the product is perfect. It has also been very patient and not rushed to be the first: Apple is not the first to make an MP3 music player, nor the first company to produce tablets, nor the first to launch a smartphone, but it has launched the first modern smartphone, which will also be the first modern smart watch - a truly smart watch.

Cook responded to the claim that smart watches are useless by using Jobs' classic point that "users don't know what they want": before, people didn't know they needed an iPod, they didn't know they needed an iPhone, and they didn't know they needed an iPad. The outside world has never anticipated the value of what Apple has done, and only in retrospect will they discover their significance. Apple Watch may also go through the cycle from controversy to recognition again.

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About Continuity

There is a half-true, half-false joke circulating in the industry: when a call comes in, the iPhone rings, the iPad rings, the Apple Watch rings, and the Mac also rings... The object of the joke is Apple's next big move - Continuity, which is the collaboration between mobile and desktop systems. Apple calls it continuous interoperability.

Apple during the Jobs era emphasized closed systems that integrated hardware and software, such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac, etc. This is what makes Apple different from other OEM computer manufacturers, and it is also the reason why many people resist it. The advantage of doing this is that it can ensure a high degree of coordination between hardware, software, and service departments, providing users with the best experience. If this is not done, "the result will be the same as Windows and Android":

Now, the scope of the "Whole Widget" concept advocated by Jobs has been further expanded to become the "Apple Experience", which involves the interoperability of all Apple devices and services, including hardware devices such as iPhone and Mac, as well as software services such as music and video, to provide a seamless and smooth experience, which requires the coordination of various departments. Microsoft is also moving in this direction, providing software and hardware products (Surface Pro) for all users, but its problem is that it has not been able to completely get rid of its past business model.

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About Steve Jobs

We have heard a lot about how Jobs monopolized power, took care of everything, and was extremely picky about details. To this day, many people are not optimistic about Apple without Jobs, and believe that it was Jobs who made Apple successful. Cook responded that this was a prejudice from the outside world, and what really drove Apple forward was the team that Jobs selected and formed, as well as the unique corporate culture that he created. At the same time, Cook believed that Jobs was the best mentor he had ever seen:

Jobs' greatest contribution was to build a unique corporate culture and select a great team, which would then go on to form another great team, and so on.

He also put a lot of effort into the design of Apple's new campus (which will open in 2016), and the value of Apple University, which he cares about, is to cultivate more talents as Apple continues to grow.

When asked whether he would keep an office with Jobs' nameplate in the new campus, Cook said he had not yet decided. In the current Apple headquarters, Jobs' office still maintains its original appearance:

At first (when Jobs just passed away), I was very reluctant to go into that office. It was too much and too heavy. Now I am more grateful and enjoy it, but I still don't go there often.

I didn't want to move into that office. Jobs was irreplaceable, and the mood would change there... In short, any changes would be inappropriate. So, his computer, desk, and books were still in the same place, without any change.

I don't know exactly, but I think his name should be on the door, just like it always is. That would make me feel better.