It's not about coming out: Several changes at Apple in the Tim Cook era

Last night, before the news that Lenovo had completed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility really spread, the shocking news about Apple CEO Tim Cook's cheating announcement was all over the news clients. In this era, it is really easy to grab the headlines, but it is difficult to grab them. Even if Lenovo will beat Xiaomi to become the world's third largest smartphone manufacturer with this news, it still cannot compete with any news about Apple, the largest smartphone manufacturer.

Cook, who has always been low-key, wrote an article in Business Week himself, announcing his identity as a homosexual. He quoted Martin Luther King's famous saying: "The most enduring and pressing question in life is: What are you doing for others?" and expressed his pride that "being a homosexual is the greatest gift God has given me."

In fact, Cook's sexual orientation is no longer news or secret. Although Cook has always remained silent on this issue, based on his repeated public expressions of support for the gay rights movement and the fact that he is still unmarried, most people in the know have already accepted his identity.

But what has Cook, CEO of a Fortune 500 company, done for Apple after Steve Jobs passed away and took over as the leader of the Apple empire?

1. iPad mini: Small size, big market

When Jobs was in charge of Apple, he had publicly expressed his pessimism about small-sized tablets more than once. Jobs believed that tablets with this screen size could not provide users with a good application experience and there was no market hope for them at all.

However, in the post-Jobs era led by Cook, he still made this small-sized iPad into a real product and put it on the market. It turns out that the iPad mini is not only a good product, but also has the tendency to replace the large-screen iPad.

According to sources, after the iPad mini was launched, Apple sold a total of 19.5 million iPad tablets during its second fiscal quarter (January to March 2013), of which 12.5 million were iPad minis and traditional iPad sales accounted for only 7 million.

After Apple launched the 7.9-inch iPad mini, the entire tablet market began to develop in this direction. Amazon launched the 7-inch Kindle Fire , Google launched the 7-inch Nexus 7 , and Samsung launched the 7-inch Galaxy Tab. It can be said that smaller and cheaper tablets are the mainstream of the future market, and it was Cook who tapped into this huge market.

2. iPhone 5C: It was a mistake

Although Apple has been making every effort to promote the iPhone 5C, it has to be admitted that the high price and the existence of the iPhone 5s make it difficult for it to achieve a breakthrough in sales. Recently, Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of product marketing, has publicly stated that Apple's launch of the iPhone 5c was a wrong decision.

Before the iPhone 5C was officially released, rumors had been rife that Apple was about to create a "cheap phone," and everyone misunderstood the true meaning of "C." Of course, just by looking at the colorful plastic exterior, one would think it stood for "cheap." But after Cook clearly emphasized, "We will not produce particularly cheap products. The 5C is much cheaper than the 5S, and the former is more about fashion," we finally understood that "C" simply meant "color."

Many people said that if Jobs were still alive, he would definitely not agree to the birth of iPhone 5C. Only Cook could make a mobile phone that does not conform to Apple's innovation.

In fact, Cook, who has a gentle personality, just wants to create a fashionable Apple phone that can be distinguished from the iPhone 5s and is truly suitable for the young market. If we must find out the reason, we can assume that the high price is its real failure.

3. iPhone 6 Plus: Apple’s changing values

When the latest information about iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was leaked, the outside world was not very optimistic about the new product of the Tim Cook era, and some even said it was bad. Indeed, the sleek appearance and oversized size do not seem to be Apple's usual style, and the configuration updates do not reflect Apple's innovation at all.

Questions about Cook's ability to lead Apple were raised again. Apple under Cook's leadership no longer has the "obsessive-compulsive disorder" of the Jobs era. The iPhone 6 series seems to have given up the comfort that Apple phones should have, and instead caters more to user needs and creates more profitable products.

In fact, with the hot pre-order situation where the phone is hard to come by, we have to admit that after users have adapted to Apple's glory, Apple should also try to cater to users. After all, in the Asian market, large-screen mobile phones have become the mainstream trend.

While the iPhone 6 series has been out of stock, Cook recently completed his fifth visit to China since taking office as Apple CEO. Whether it is the product itself or the market positioning, it can be seen that Cook attaches great importance to the huge Asian market, which is something that was never reflected in the Jobs era.

Since the release of iPhone 6/Plus, there have been many negative news about its ultra-thin body and easy bending. In fact, whether it is the 6.8mm iPhone 6, the 7.1mm iPhone 6 Plus, the 7.6mm iPhone 5s, or the 9.3mm iPhone 4s, they will bend under enough gravity. This has nothing to do with Cook's coming out (it was just a joke).

There is an old Chinese saying that goes, "It is easy to conquer a kingdom, but difficult to keep it." Overall, Cook, who has taken over Apple for three years, has done a pretty good job. Just as Jobs chose him, Cook is the key leader to keep Apple's kingdom at this stage.

And all of this has nothing to do with sexual orientation.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.