It’s Tim Cook’s Apple now, helped out by two standout performers

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Fast Company:

[Monday’s] WWDC presentation started with Apple CEO Tim Cook asking for a moment of silence to honor the men and women killed in Sunday’s attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The keynote ended with Cook’s presentation of Swift Playgrounds, a way for Apple to encourage children to learn how to code. In between, Cook had exactly zero moments on the stage. This was definitely a case of “less is more.” Cook ceded the stage to his team.

And:

Cook’s gravitas and flat delivery serve him well when speaking on matters of moral import. Neither the Orlando tribute nor the Swift Playgrounds presentation came off as mere PR efforts. This seems to have been the keynote where Apple finally gave up on the idea that its CEO must be the center of the presentation. This is surely a relief to Cook, who never wanted to be as much of a showman as his predecessor, Steve Jobs.

To me, there were two standout performances, two presenters who not only looked comfortable under the bright lights, but owned their respective moments.

Bozoma Saint John came from Pepsi, where she ran their music festival/award show sponsorships. Jimmy Iovine convinced her to come to Beats Music just a few months before they were acquired by Apple. And now, Bozoma is head of global consumer marketing for iTunes and Apple Music. She brought a bright, distinctive voice to the WWDC keynote, charismatic and cool, capturing the energy that lives in Beats 1 radio and bringing it to life on the WWDC stage.

The second standout performance came from Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi. Craig first hit the WWDC stage in 2009. Every year, his role became just a bit larger and his stage presence more polished. He’s now arrived, his persona both comfortable and entertaining.

This is the new Apple, Tim Cook’s Apple. The keynote was jam packed, but not overstuffed. The presenters were polished, without the unnecessary fluff and with hardly a stutter. The machine felt oiled and hummed along nicely. First time in a long time. Well done.