Tim Cook: We Love to Work on Products Where Hardware, Software, and Services Intersect

During today's earnings call covering the first fiscal quarter of 2021 (fourth calendar quarter of 2020), Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked to provide a framework for how Apple evaluates product opportunities in new markets.

Cook of course declined to give specific information, but he did provide some insight into what Apple considers when making a decision on whether to develop a product.
Apple car wheel icon feature teal

The framework that we use is around 'Is this a product that we would want to use?' That's a pretty high bar. Is it a big enough market to be in? Unless it's an adjacency product, then it's about customer experience.

There's no set way that we're looking at it. No formula. But we take into account all of those things.

Cook said that Apple "loves to work on" products where there's a requirement that hardware, software, and services come together. "We believe that the magic really occurs at that intersection."

He also went to explain that Apple still has growth opportunities for its current portfolio of products.

I think that we have some really good opportunities out there, and if you look at our current portfolio of products, we still have relatively low share in a number of cases in very big markets. We feel that we have really good upside there and good upside in the services area too, which we've been working on for some time with coming online in the last year to year plus.

Though Cook gave no specifics, there are established rumors that indicate Apple is working on an electric self-driving vehicle and some kind of AR/VR headset, both of which are future products that will mark Apple breaking into new markets.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature Purple

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Mechanical Aperture

Tuesday July 23, 2024 9:32 am PDT by
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...

Top Rated Comments

ouimetnick Avatar
46 months ago
I love how the bra case works, how integrated the charging of Magic Mouse is and the nifty handle to hold the iPad as a sign. Also works as a pencil.

Attachment Image
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobbie424242 Avatar
46 months ago
Let me fix the title: "Tim Cook: We love to work on products where Money, Money, and Money intersect. And we don't like leaving Money on the table. And I'm excited about AR, but that's off-topic"
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dumoore Avatar
46 months ago
Apple will find a way to charge me a monthly payment to start my car. Apple CarStarter+
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jmgregory1 Avatar
46 months ago
If this is how Apple decides what products to go forward with, I wonder why they haven’t launched an Apple branded television set? I can’t imagine that product developers there wouldn’t want to use an Apple branded television set. And it’s clearly a convergence point for hardware, software and services. It’s also such a natural next step from small screened iPhones, iPads, MacBooks.

Perhaps their investments in mini and micro-LED will at some point translate into television screens.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
46 months ago
Article: Cook said that Apple "loves to work on" products where there's a requirement that hardware, software, and services come together. "We believe that the magic really occurs at that intersection."

I agree with Tim. Apple does a good job with integrating features across its products in my opinion. It is one of the reasons I stay with Apple. That doesn't mean that the integration has been seamless or bug free so, don't misinterpret my appreciation as blind praise.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
46 months ago
Realistically, Apple’s products sell themselves, when consumers generally know what they want for the most part. It’s the services that I think long-term hold customers together when you experience iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and how everything just integrates together in terms of communication and tethering, and of course security is just crucially as important anything tech related.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)