Apple CEO Tim Cook at D10: The Recap

Apple CEO Tim Cook at D10: The Recap

The tenth annual D: All Things Digital conference kicked off in California on Tuesday night with a rousing Tim Cook interview. While the Apple CEO didn’t divulge any corporate secrets on the company’s HDTV plans, there was plenty of discussion about the future.

The Wall Street Journal tech reporters Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher kicked off their annual D: All Things Digital conference on Tuesday night, and the first speaker in the hot seat was none other than Apple CEO Tim Cook, making his first appearance at the event in his new role.

Macworld’s Jason Snell was in attendance with a liveblog of the event and followed it up with an exhaustive transcription of the event in Tim Cook’s own words, which we’ve distilled into highlights here.

There was plenty of discussion about Steve Jobs, not surprising considering the late Apple co-founder spent his fair share of time in the All Things D hot seat over the years. Cook revealed “it was absolutely the saddest day of my life when he passed away,” before addressing a few key things he learned from his former boss.

“He taught all of us that life is fragile, and that we’re not guaranteed tomorrow, so give it everything you’ve got,” Cook said.

On Being Hired

Cook also recalled his first meeting with Jobs, where he claims to have been convinced to join Apple in 1998 “five minutes into the conversation” -- despite initially turning down several meetings.

“He painted a story, a strategy, that he was taking Apple deep into consumer at a time when I knew that other people were doing the exact opposite,” Cook recalls. “And I never thought following the herd was a good strategy. You’re destined to be average at best. So I saw brilliance in that. And he told me about what would later be the iMac, and I saw brilliance in that. And I saw someone who was unaffected by money. That’s always impressed me. So those three things, I thought, I’m going to throw caution to the wind and do this. I went back and resigned immediately.

“What I saw was, Apple was the only technology company I knew of where if a customer got angry with the company, they would yell and yell loudly but they would continue to buy,” Cook continues. “And Compaq, if people got angry at Compaq, they would just buy from Dell. And Dell, if they got angry at Dell, they would just buy from IBM. But an Apple customer was a unique breed. And there was this emotion that you just don’t see in technology in general.”

On the iPad vs. PC

Speaking of the traditional PC, Cook feels the iPad is a different animal altogether, rather than seeing a future where the iPad replaces the computer.

“In my view, the tablet and the PC are different,” Cook explains. “And you can do things with the tablet, if you’re not encumbered by the legacy of the PC, if you view it as different. If you take the view that says this is another PC, all of a sudden you’re pulling along all of the baggage of the PC market.

“I don’t see the tablet replacing the need to replace all PCs or Macs,” Cook elaborates. “I don’t mean to imply that at all. What I see is that the tablet for some people takes over what their PC was for them. And it will extend the purchasing cycle for others.”

Apple: Made in the USA

Mossberg, Swisher and Cook spoke at length about Apple’s manufacturing and the possibility that some of it may one day return to the United States from China.

“I want there to be,” Cook replied when asked if there will ever be an Apple product made entirely in the U.S. “This isn’t well known, but the engine for the iPhone and the iPad are built in the U.S., not just for the U.S. but the world. The glass for your iPhone is made in a plant in Kentucky, not just for the U.S. but other markets outside the U.S. so I think there are things that can be done in the U.S., not just for the U.S., but exported for the world.”

On the Apple TV and Social

Cook also revealed that the third-generation Apple TV has already sold 2.7 million units thus far this year, a notable increase from the 2.8 million sold in the entire 2011. While the project remains a hobby for Apple, Cook promises the company will continue to “pull the string to see where it goes” -- while dancing around any confirmation that an Apple-branded HDTV might actually exist, of course.

Apple’s social efforts were also discussed at length, including its often fractured relationship with Facebook, which Cook referred to as “very solid,” while promising there will be more to come from the two companies.

The future may be less bright for Ping, Apple’s music-centric social network launched with iTunes 10. “We tried Ping and the customer voted and said, this isn’t something I want to put a lot of energy into,” Cook laments.” Some customers love it, but there’s not a huge number that do, so will we kill it? I don’t know. I’ll look at it.”

On Siri and Secrecy

Mossberg and Swisher also pressed Cook for his thoughts on Siri, which has taken heat since its introduction with the iPhone 4S over claims that it doesn’t quite work as expected.

“Customers love it,” Cook replied a bit defensively. “It’s one of the most popular features of our most popular phone. But there’s more that it can do. And we have a lot of people working on this. And I think you’ll be really pleased with some of the things that you’ll see in the coming months, where the breadth that you’re talking about… we’ve got some cool ideas about what Siri can do.

“I think you’ll be pleased where we’re taking Siri,” Cook added, noting that the company was “doubling down” on the virtual assistant.

Another area Cook plans to “double down” on is the secrecy surrounding Apple’s products prior to being announced, which could certainly make it harder for rumor websites to acquire fodder for their reports.

“We’re going to double down on secrecy on products,” Cook said. “I’m serious. However, there’s going to be other things where we’re going to be the most transparent company on the world. Like social change. Supplier responsibility. What we’re doing for the environment. We think that transparency is important in these areas, and if we are, other people will copy us.”

On Working at Apple

Finally, on the subject of working at Apple, Cook sounds quite happy to be leading the company and where its future is going.

“It’s an absolute, incredible time to be with Apple. I’m loving every minute of it,” Cook gushes. “For years, Apple’s been focused on innovation. Never have I seen the things I can’t talk about today…the juices are flowing. And we have some incredible things coming out. And of course the company, what we’re doing today, the company’s very healthy.

“It’s incredible every day to work with what I consider to be the smartest, most innovative people on earth,” Cook concludes. “So I spend my day working with those people on many different things. Some things you wanted to talk about that we didn’t talk about, maybe. And many things that go with running a company of Apple’s size in all the geographies we’re in. And I love every minute of it. It’s an incredible place to be. It’s my oxygen.”

The entire transcription is well worth a read on the Macworld website, and All Things D has started posting highlight video from last night’s interview with Tim Cook as well.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

(Image courtesy of Asa Mathat, All Things D)

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