“Yesterday’s Apple results were fairly unsurprising, as the company beat Wall Street’s Q4 estimates with a $7.5B profit on strong iPhones sales, flat iPad performance, and a steadily declining number of Macs. But on the call with analysts afterwards, Tim Cook continued what has become his most surprising new tradition as Apple’s CEO: he explicitly discussed Apple’s interest in new product categories,” Nilay Patel reports for The Verge. “‘We see significant opportunities,’ he said, ‘in both current product categories and new ones.'”
“That’s the second time Cook has mentioned new product categories on an earnings call — in April, he teased a ‘lot more surprises in the works,’ including ‘the potential of exciting new product categories,'” Patel reports. “And looking back over Cook’s two years leading Apple, there have been very specific discussion of new products the entire time, although Cook has yet to deliver any.”
“It’s been over two years of Tim Cook and Apple discussing or leaking new product categories, with nothing to show for it thus far. But Cook is one of the most polished and rehearsed executives in the entire world — he says things for a reason. Why all this talk of new products?” Patel reports. “In a word: growth.”
Read more in the full article here.
Perfection take time, not like the junk others put out.
Tim Cook should be FIRED!
Really? Really? That’s your contribution to the discussion?
It’s his only contribution
Well, he even calls himself TJ, so take it for what it is worth.
I stand completely behind what I say.
You got nothing to say, then, Joker.
Even if someone were holding a gun to your head and demanding you retract your conviction?
Sarcasm has it’s limits.
Again with the boring comments. Yawn.
the Joker Should be FIRED!
Bezos never stops, why should Tim?
Vapor-ware works perfectly and has no bugs – unlike recent Apple releases.
Because he is weak! All liberals are! They do what caters to their base rather than what’s smart. The mystery behind apple is a last vestige of Steve Jobs! Like all liberals, Cook will tear down the empire before admitting he’s wrong!
You do realize that Steve Jobs was one of the biggest liberals on the planet?
Yes, but he was the Candy Man.
Last I knew, Jobs was a liberal.
I can’t determine if the drugs you’re on are too strong, or not strong enough.
Performance art, or trolling?
hey man you have better weed than i do, lets trade
You are blinded by your own prejudice. Strength comes in many forms- physical, mental, regardless of politics or sexual orientation. In fact, those who take on the world are stronger than those who fear it. I’m a liberal and nothing will ever make me into something or someone else. My wife is equally strong- another compassionate and passionate liberal. I took heat for years from idiots and some co-workers because I was a Mac User. Look into Tim Cook’s eyes next time you wee him being interviewed: Steel.
Maps??
If the US Government would be run like Apple was under Jobs, I would instantly plant my political flag anywhere along the spectrum that Jobs claimed to be.
Has anybody ever mentioned to you are stinking wrong – get over your lack of understanding Apple and educate yourself some – but you probably don’t realize the that need anyways
It s been over 2 years that Cook talked of new product categories? Really? The first time I remember him doing it is last year. And why is he doing it? Because Wall Street asks.
He hardly mentions new categories. This is a fabrication. The media and analysts consistantly speculate on “new” products. Another ignorant misleading article.
At least one of the insanely great new products will be a converged iPad and Macbook Air. Take off the screen and its an iPad running iOS. Put it back on and its a Macbook Air running OSX. All signs point that way: renaming iPad to iPad Air, 64bit chip, rumors of a 12 or 13″ iPad, battery savings the focus of Mavericks, etc, etc. Apple will converge the iPad and Macbook Air and I will be standing in line on launch day.
I don’t know. If a product like this works for you then great, but to me it sounds like Microsoft’s strategy with the Surface. It tries to be everything to everyone, while not excelling at either. ( ie., heavy tablet, underpowered laptop )
But …. what if … you could have the converged MacBook and iPad Air and independently they ran exactly as they currently do? i.e. light tablet running iOS7, fully powered laptop. I realize the laptop would not have a screen w/o the iPad Air but you get my point. If I could buy a MacBook Air with a great iPad Air built in – I might buy one.
I’ve never even owned a laptop as I need all the muscle that Apple can create but it’s intriguing idea. On a side note: The Surface does suck so it’d have to be way different than that.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. Your proposed setup is waaaaay too overly complicated. And completely unnecessary when Apple finally creates an iWork suite that has the same features on iOS and OS X and the same file format . . . oh, wait, like what just happened.
– cook said, apple doesnt like convergent products
– the direction of Macbook air is very much the high level technology towards creating iPad pro ie solid state flash drives, reduction in battery consumption, miniturization and slimming
– what apple has exposed to the consumers is confusion by naming iPad air. One can not assume 64bit chip defines the category for AIR, as air should refer to lightness, wireless, freedom, thinness, yet not lacking in power and strength in computing
– apple stated long ago, that iOS would have influences to OSX, snow leapord launch pad was very iOS like, removing save as is a simplification to be more
Yep, just like they didn’t like iPods that play video, Intel Chips in Macs, smaller iPads, etc, etc, etc… Their trashing of the idea of convergence is the single strongest indicator that they will produce a converged product. They won’t converge the OSs to avoid the Windoze 8 mess, but hardware? We’ll see.
Before introducing a new product category, Apple thinks-out the interconnexion of those products and makes sure they integrate into the existing family of products. Thas takes time, sometimes a lot of time. That’s why Apple has a pipeline of new products in the making and there is nothing wrong in talking about it.
Because the present products are crippled by a crappy iOS 7 so to distract the masses he keeps talking about the future. But it’s no use, the future doesn’t look bright, not with the iOS 7 albatross around his shoulders.
Cook likes the taste of turd, even if it’s from the future.
You’re right- nothing to offer. Though I’m sure Mommy thinks you’re great.
Now You sound so credible and unbiased!
iOS 7 works fine for me, seems the only thing crippled around here is your intellect.
iOS 7 isn’t perfect but paving a great new path. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I think you know where the door is..
You have a very appropriate avatar. You really do have nothing to offer, do you.
Get over it.
23 idiots who have no clue what Apple is all about. Microsoft/android trolls!
i apologise. 1 idiot and 22 guys who understand what apple is all about. i am sorry if i offended anyone.
Apple will be taking over car radios. I wouldn’t be surprised if they start manufacturing them and installing them in cars( beyond just software)
What car company would turn them down?
You wouldn’t want your car to be controlled by the ugly as sin iOS 7 yellow text on a white background. You’ll be crashing it into a tree the moment you drive it off your driveway.
How many screen names to you have, moron. “Here comes a new jerk- same as the old jerk.”
Oh good, it’s you…
Quite apart from the fact that a good driver would be watching the road ahead through the windscreen, and not peering at some screen on the dashboard.
And I would suggest you get your eyes tested; my iOS 7 screens have white text on dark backgrounds, and dark grey and black on light backgrounds, so it appears it’s you with a problem, son.
Check some of the apple apps, yellow-orange on white. White is horrible regardless of the font color. Fonts are terrible and icons were changed for the sake of changing them – terrible decision!
I plan on buying an Air this week but I am not looking forward to having iOS7. I tried it on my dmamaged iPhone 4 and think it looks horrible and full of poor UI design. I kept my iPhone 5 on iOS 6 in the hopes 7.1 offers skins or some way out of the gross UI.
Apple’s not going for simply car radios. Apple is going for the entire car computer system, controlling all information, entertainment, vehicle settings, etc. It will entrench iOS in vehicles and guarantee Apple millions of sales every year.
“But Tim’s not a product person, per se.” – Steve Jobs
Excerpt From: Isaacson, Walter. “Steve Jobs.”
Apple may well have the TV interface figures out, and the iWatch, iSwim, or any number of other cool iOS accessory devices.
But Apple won’t release a product until it can produce the quality of product it wants at the price point it wants and retaining its profit margins. Right now Apple may be able to release a 4K TV, but it may cost $15,000, so Apple wants to get the price down before anything is released. The iWatch may not have sufficient battery life yet, so it’s not out yet.
I think he does it so Google and Samsung will rush their crap to market.
To calm the jitterey stock market.
As far as I know, Apple owns the word innovation. It is clear to me that Apple is paving the way where all their products can be synced, synced with cars, be part of an educational and corporate mainstream, be synced with ever more sophisticated software (that takes advantage of 64bit processing) and perhaps have more variety in mobile or even wearable applications but unlike the copiers in the industry, Apple needs to carefully lay the ecosystem foundation for their future new products to be built on.
Apple is certainly bigger than most analysts can comprehend and their feeble little minds can only dumb things down for them to understand.
I’m sure Apple is working on some incredible new products. Let’s just look at the rumor mill: 4K TV, iWatch, Hybrid iPad/MacBook, just to name a few. Now imagine what they’re working on that isn’t in the rumor pipeline?
It’s surprising Cook hinted about anything at all. New technology, new categories, and new products take time. Apple has never been in the habit to rush things out the door. Apple is not a me too company either.
I’m sure we can all look forward to seeing something innovative and cool coming out of Cupertino. But we won’t see it until it’s as near perfect as possible. 2014 seems like the year Apple is going to break out with some new things. The new iPhones, iPads, and Mac Pro are pretty good starters. But those are built on existing product. 2014 will be the year of something new. Only Cook and a select few at Apple know what that is. I can’t wait.
One of Cook’s main functions as a CEO is pitch man. He has to convince investors to hold and purchase more AAPL. So, using the time honored tradition of repeating something ad nauseum until people believe it is true — whether or not there is any timely truth to it at all — Cook continues to claim Apple is pushing out new products and will do so in the future.
… and even the most critical observer will admit that, yes, compared to the dry well that was 2012, Cook and Co have actually delivered a lot of new hardware for 2013. The PROBLEM that Cook still hasn’t overcome is the spotty value proposed by Apple’s new products. Think about it:
– A7 and M7 chipsets in portables are phenomenal … but iOS7 is received by many, if not most, as way too much needless fashion changes that downgrade the user experience.
– the promised Mac Pro will be a strong performer … but the buyer who replaces his existing Mac Pro is now forced to shop elsewhere for a 4k monitor and Thunderbolt accessories because Apple no longer offers those features.
– the iWork suite, 5 years overdue for an update, is offered for free — and turns out to be dumbed down from the iWork ’09 apps
– the newest iMacs and MacBooks are all improved on weight or battery life or such specs, but at the cost of user serviceability, customizability, and so forth.
– iCloud is and iAds are pushed incessantly on the consumer, but iCloud doesn’t offer the performance guarantee nor the features that the user really needs to trust the Big Brother system.
… and so forth. Cook has to talk up all his achievements as if every one will be better than the last, but the reality is that for every hit, Cook has also struck out on two or three other “exciting new products in the pipeline”.
… and no, i understand that not everything Apple does needs to be a runaway success. Still, it’s sad that user experience is NOT being dramatically improved on all fronts, because the risks Cook seems most interested in taking are superficial and predictable incremental updates, with some notable exceptions. He continues to treat Mac users as second-class, reserving the bulk of Apple product development resources for consumer-grade dumbed-down, and/or subscription-based computing products. That’s not the “user experience first” treatment that longtime Mac users had come to enjoy.
This is actually classic Apple. Talk about one thing to distract you while they work on another. Steve was a master of this and it appears Tim is pretty good at it as well.
We have all been focusing on Apple’s next big product while Tim Cook & Co have been working hard at bringing software and, more importantly, services to the market. It’s a classic magicians trick, look at my left hand while my right hand is doing the work.
Steve Jobs also said the same things, always said “new products in the pipeline”
Maybe because they have new products? I know that seems radical to suggest.
Jobs instilled in Apple the concept that if you make great products, the profits and stock price will take care of themselves. So I do not think Cook is just saying things to make Wall Street happy. I believe they do have products in new categories under development and will release them when they are ready to represent the Apple ideal of a quality product.
An empty windbag, Tim Cook is.
Google up $21, Netflix up $13, Priceline up $9, Amazon up $5, etc., etc. Apple down $13. Money talks and BS walks and Apple is walking in the opposite direction of the stock market in general.
Speaking from a shareholder’s viewpoint it’s downright disgusting that Tim Cook is inefficient as a CEO of company sitting on $146 billion in cash. Apple doesn’t need a magic wand. It needs to take some of the cash and expand the company so it’s not so dependent on how many iPhones and iPads are sold. I don’t need to listen to Tim Cook talk about future products. He just needs to sell what Apple already has. Nobody believes what Tim Cook has to say.
All the things the bears are saying about Apple has come true. Apple’s revenue has hit a growth wall because of the Android hardware wall. Of all the profitable tech stocks, Apple is still sucking the most. Apple can’t even get into the green for all of YTD 2013. C’mon, be reasonable, it’s only Apple that’s losing revenue YOY and there’s absolutely no need for that with $146 billion in the bank. Apple has plenty of options to exercise to get more revenue if it wanted to. More hardware isn’t the only answer. Apple doesn’t need to be in a hardware rut.
Go say I’m trolling on Apple but as a shareholder I should have my say. And I’m saying that Apple is not properly using as much of its cash resources as it could. Unfortunately I can’t see Apple’s future, so I may be way off base. I can only see what’s currently happening and it’s ugly.
And you have to ad nauseum. Sell your stock in apple and buy netflix, google, amazon and priceline and then be happy.
Jony Ives has also teased interviewers with “amazing stuff” he can’t show in the labs, in development. All part of the Apple magic; art, theatre, science, and execution.
The 64-bit ARM chip is Tim’s biggest ‘reveal’. He “doubled down in security” and caught everyone by surprise, not with a new device/toy but with something far more disruptive: the obsoleting of every other mobile chip on the market.
Tim’s very good as what the does. These clowns in the tech media haven’t got a clue.