CES 2012: Apple's Greg Joswiak 'Scouting the Competition'

While Apple doesn't participate at CES and has ended its involvement in trade shows in general, the company naturally continues to keep tabs on what its competition is up to and CES is a prime event for new product introductions. paidContent has in fact proven Apple's interest in CES by chance, running into iOS device marketing chief Greg Joswiak on the floor at the expo.

While wandering around the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center Tuesday, I bumped into Greg Joswiak, head of iOS product marketing for Apple, just outside of Sony’s booth. Joz, as he’s known within the Apple community, grinned sheepishly upon being recognized by a reporter and stopped to chat for a few minutes.

Joswiak said he was interested in how other companies present their products at events such as CES, from things like booth layout and aesthetics to which products are highlighted within a company’s booth.

Joswiak declined to enter a more in-depth discussion of his interests at the show, with paidContent noting only that he "seemed less than impressed" with Sony's booth on the expo floor.

greg joswiak iphone 4s video
Apple is of course interested in what its competitors are doing, but is likely also interested in following what companies are coming up with in terms of accessories for Apple's own products. Despite Apple's lack of official presence at the show, it remains a popular venue for announcements for products of all types, including those within the Mac- and iOS-related markets.

Joswiak has appeared at several Apple keynote and media events, and has frequently played featured roles in Apple's promotional videos for the company's various iOS devices.

Update: A source has informed Reuters that Apple has over 250 employees registered for CES.

Apple Inc, famous for giving CES the cold shoulder year after year, will field a larger presence at the world's largest trade show than many observers imagine.

More than 250 employees are registered to attend the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, according to a person familiar with Apple's plans.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
Photos App Icon Liquid Glass

John Gruber Shares Scathing Commentary About Apple's Departing Software Design Chief

Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs. On his blog Daring Fireball,...
ive and altman

Jony Ive's OpenAI Device Barred From Using 'io' Name

Friday December 5, 2025 6:22 am PST by
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports. iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 Release Candidates to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....
iphone air camera

iPhone Air's Resale Value Has Dropped Dramatically, Data Shows

Thursday December 4, 2025 5:27 am PST by
The iPhone Air has recorded the steepest early resale value drop of any iPhone model in years, with new data showing that several configurations have lost almost 50% of their value within ten weeks of launch. According to a ten-week analysis published by SellCell, Apple's latest lineup is showing a pronounced split in resale performance between the iPhone 17 models and the iPhone Air....
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

iPhone 17 Pro Lost a Camera Feature Pro Models Have Had Since 2020

Thursday December 4, 2025 5:18 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro models, it turns out, can't take photos in Night mode when Portrait mode is selected in the Camera app – a capability that's been available on Apple's Pro devices since the iPhone 12 Pro in 2020. If you're an iPhone 17 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro Max owner, try it for yourself: Open the Camera app with Photo selected in the carousel, then cover the rear lenses with your hand to...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...

Top Rated Comments

C00rDiNaT0r Avatar
182 months ago
Apple out to steal the competition's ideas again I see. Oh Apple. Give up.

Then they must not have been very good at copying.. Their phones are still stuck with small, non-HD screens! And the naming conventions too! Instead of dull and boring name like iPhone, they need something like iPhone LTE HD Extreme Ultimate Edition! :eek:
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
badtzwang Avatar
182 months ago
Then they must not have been very good at copying.. Their phones are still stuck with small, non-HD screens! And the naming conventions too! Instead of dull and boring name like iPhone, they need something like iPhone LTE HD Extreme Ultimate Edition! :eek:
Sad thing is that the fictitious name you came up for the iPhone is not nearly as egregious as the very real Sprint Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shrink Avatar
182 months ago
It would be amazing if Apple didn't have a whole bunch of people at CES (and other similar expos.) Apple may be a very closed world - but they don't live in a vacuum. I guess what makes this newsworthy is the fact that he is such a high level exec.

Of course Apple is keeping up with what other producers are doing.:D
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
natd1993 Avatar
182 months ago
Josiak, the perfect mix of Steve and Woz
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
John Frum Avatar
182 months ago
Apple: Often first at being successful

To expand on what you were saying ... ultra-thin / thin-and-light laptops with CULV processors already existed before the Macbook Air's (see Asus). All Apple should really get credit for is making SSD's standard for these kinds of laptops.

Oh, miniaturization was "a thing," all right. It just wasn't these things.

No mp3 player changed the game and made the devices ubiquitous as did the iPod; no large screen format smartphone started a stampede and killed off the existing dominant genre as did the iPhone; no tablet computer got the market moving, despite multiple determined efforts over many years, as did the iPad; and no ultralight and thin notebook started the genre, in the process killing off netbooks (and to some degree even other notebooks), as did the Air.

Of course, that's not enough for anti-Apple zealots. Nothing could ever be enough for the anti-Apple fan club.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vrDrew Avatar
182 months ago
I'm going to point out that the guy's title is head of iOS Device Marketing.

That would suggest that, rather than being at CES to figure out which gizmo from Sony or Samsung Apple was planning on copying next, that he instead was more interested in how these companies were presenting their products: Things like booth layouts, and which products they were promoting.

As someone noted earlier, Apple doesn't exist in a vacuum. And it would be foolish, in the extreme, for Apple to totally ignore what other companies are doing. If companies A; B; and C are pushing a certain feature, or using a certain type of event to promote their product to the tech press - then Apple ought to at least be aware of it.

Great writers read books written by other people. Great movie directors see other people's films. Great chefs eat other people's food. And great marketing executives go to trade shows where their employer doesn't have a booth. Its called staying in touch with reality.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)