During today's earnings call covering the second fiscal quarter of 2020, Apple CEO Tim Cook provided some insight on what we can expect from Apple in terms of new products during the global health crisis.
Cook said that Apple is continuing to operate, and that Apple employees are getting used to working from home. "In some areas of the company, some people may be even more productive," he said. "In some areas, not as productive. It's mixed depending on what the roles are."
Cook said that Apple employees have their heads down and are working as usual.
New products are our lifeblood. We're continuing to work. [...] As you can tell from what we did this quarter despite the environment, we have our head down and are working because we know our customers want the products that we've got. They're even more important in these times.
Cook was also asked about potential developments in health, and he said that it's an area that Apple was already working on, referencing features like ECG in the Apple Watch.
You can bet that we're looking at other areas. We were already doing this - we see it as an area of huge opportunity for the company and a way for us to help a lot of people. You will see us continue on that. I wouldn't say that the health door has opened wider, I would say that it was already opened fairly wide.
On the topic of Apple's supply chain and how well it's situated to launch traditional fall products, Cook said that people should focus on the fact that Apple's products are made everywhere rather than focusing just on the final assembly of the manufacturing process, which tends to get more attention.
We have to conclude that if you look at the shock to the supply chain that took place this quarter, for it to come back up this quickly really demonstrates that it's durable and resilient. I feel good about where we are. That said, we're always looking at tweaks, it's just not something we talk about.
Cook went on to say that Apple is going to "look to see" what can be learned from this situation and how that could be used to enact change after Apple gets "totally out of this."
Cook also commented on payment plans for iPhone on Apple Card, and said that Apple is "working on that for other products" and that we'll see something on that topic shortly.
As for current products, when asked if customers were favoring lower cost products, Cook said that he hasn't seen that. Apple has had strong customer response to the iPhone SE, its most affordable iPhone, but he said that those customers wanted a smaller form factor with the latest technology or are coming from Android as opposed to "buying down." Sales of the top-of-the-line iPad Pro have also been strong.
Rumors suggest that Apple has a number of products set to launch later in 2020, ranging from new MacBook Pro models and iMacs to four new iPhones this fall.
