Nikkei Asian Review:
Cook, who was visiting Japan for the first time as CEO, said Apple will open a research and development base in Yokohama, near Tokyo, later this year. The facility — the first of its kind outside the U.S. — will develop AI and other technologies. Cook described it as a center for “deep engineering” and said it will be “very different” from the R&D base Apple plans to build in China.
And:
Some analysts say a sales slowdown in China has prompted Apple to shift back toward Japan, where the iPhone commands a large market share. Cook said Apple sees “kindred spirits” in Japan, since it has “a lot of partners, supplier partners, and the developer community here is so vibrant.”
Not particularly revealing, but interesting. One quote towards the end struck me:
On filling Jobs’ role, Cook said, “I never tried to replace him. I’ve just tried to be myself and do the best thing that I can do. … I think if he were here, I would have loved it, because I would have loved going through many of these things with him. But it unfortunately wasn’t to be.”
Imagine if Steve was still around, with Tim Cook running the company and Steve visioning new products to life. What kind of partnership would they have? What kind of person would Steve have become? Just a thought.
Well if AI is Siri, then Apple has a really long way to go.
Lots of people talk Siri down, but there is a lot more to it and Apple’s AI work than what we see on the surface. This article gives a pretty deep insight into their ideas and plans. If it all works out, and I don’t see that it won’t even if it is not as fast as a place like Google or Facebook that wants to share our data willy-nilly all over the place, then I’m all for its patient approach.
https://backchannel.com/an-exclusive-look-at-how-ai-and-machine-learning-work-at-apple-8dbfb131932b?gi=9b8e2c8cb24c
Rather than Cook trying to be Steve, I think the issue is nobody has filled Steve’s role. That doesn’t mean someone trying to fill Steve’s shoes. It means, who is that person directing it all together and providing that vision for computing?
When Cook moved up to the CEO role, he filled the COO role with Jeff Williams. If Cook is not trying to fill Steve’s shoes, then he has left Steve’s job unfilled.
Siri’s taken baby steps for long enough that I believe that Apple’s taking their big steps with something internal.
If AI/Cloud is so important to them, why isn’t it an executive Senior VP seat with direct access to other leadership at Apple?
The company has grown so much in the last 10 years, and Cook has done nearly a perfect job managing that growth, but the senior leadership is basically unchanged over that time. Maybe one VP seat has been added for chip design.
This area that’s so important according to Cook is being managed by Cue, who’s CS background comes from maybe the late 80s/early 90s. What other tech company has their head of Internet Software and Services also managing their Media and Entertainment teams (among other things)?
There is more than a bit of truth to this thought. A number of people mistook Ive’s design role as good enough to make up the deficit. It isn’t. Apple will be around long enough for a renaissance of sorts. But the glory that was Apple under Steve Jobs 2 will never be repeated. But there will be something else.
The key will be deciding what “tools” Apple can improve on and make available. Worth going back and reading this http://www.inc.com/magazine/19890401/5602.html to see how Jobs saw the purpose of Apple. Recognize the problem, find the technology to make a better tool, while also making it beautiful. AI or AR needs the right tool. If nobody gets the car completely right, Apple may yet go there as well.
Very true. But you’re also saying that the “Steve Jobs role” can be filled by someone else. I don’t really think it can. Steve Jobs was just too unique as a person for someone to fully fill the void he has left. The best they can do is fill in the pieces that they can, which is exactly what I think they’re doing right now.
Great article. Thanks for sharing.