Apple CEO Tim Cook is in Europe this week, visiting local Apple employees and App Store developers and even attending an Oktoberfest celebration.
Cook was in Munich on Sunday before traveling to Berlin, where he visited the offices of Blinkist, an app that distills non-fiction books into bitesize text and audio snippets, similar to CliffsNotes.
Cook also sat down for an interview with German news site Stern, and his comments were published today in German.
On the topic of the App Store and an anticompetitive lawsuit the U.S. Supreme Court allowed to move forward, Cook said (based on Google translation from German) that "no reasonable person would ever call Apple a monopolist." He said that offering apps through the App Store isn't a limitation, but at an advantage because of Apple's rigorous App Store policies that keep customers safe from malicious apps and illicit content.
[Translated From German] "Customers buy an experience from us, and this experience includes a trustworthy place to buy apps in which we curate and check all applications. " As a result, many apps would not come to the iPhone, such as pornographic offers, explains Cook. "But anyone can take their iPhone and access that content in the browser, but we do not offer it ourselves."
Cook went on to address complaints about Apple offering its own App Store apps and competing with developers.
We have 30 to 40 apps - versus more than two million others." Cook compares the App Store to a supermarket: "The likelihood that it has its own brand is very high, and who benefits from having another product on the shelf? The customer, and that's a good thing."
On the topic of Apple pricing, Cook said that Apple always tries to keep prices "as low as possible." "Fortunately, we were able to lower the price of the iPhone this year," he said, referencing the $699 price point of the iPhone 11.
Cook also answered questions about Apple TV+. When asked about whether Netflix sees the Apple TV+ pricing ($4.99 per month in the U.S.) as a challenge, Cook said that he doesn't think competitors are afraid of Apple. "It's not whether Netflix wins and we lose, or we win and they win. Many people use multiple service and we're trying to become one of them."
Following his meeting with Blinkest, Cook moved on to France and met with Ubisoft and Pastagames and then visited students and professors at Polytech Montpellier. Cook also visited several Apple Stores, including Apple Kurfürstendamm, Apple Odysseum, and Apple Champs-Élysées.
It’s been a busy and exciting few weeks for our retail team around the world! Wonderful to meet our customers and teams at Apple Kurfürstendamm 🇩🇪 and Apple Odysseum 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/dt284UDfnD — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 1, 2019
What a visit to Apple Champs-Élysées — such a magnificent store! Loved getting to join in on a #TodayAtApple photography session. pic.twitter.com/PnSm7EQDCo — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 1, 2019
Cook's full interview with German site Stern can be read in its original German (or through a translation) on the Stern website.
Top Rated Comments
Name 10 Apps loaded with trackers.
There are plenty of phones you can buy that don’t use the App Store.
You want to go to Disney World and ride Harry Potter too? It’s called vertical integration. Don’t want to use the App Store? Buy a Samsung, Pixel, LG, or Sony.
Now buy that cheap(er) silicone band from some no name, off shore “brand” from Amazon, eBay, kiosk, guy down the street and what do you get? A cheap band that may or may not fit or hold well, probably cheaper materials, thinner, and what if it breaks? Any returns, warranty, physical store, etc.? Oh, it’s so cheap, it’s disposable, oh well, I’ll just get another...and another. So if it was half price, you get two in one year and it’s the same as one Apple band that lasts more than a year.
Sometimes you do get what you (don’t) pay for.
Ah, Samsung can probably make the same phone (or even cheaper) and they sell a ton of those $150-300 phones, about 85-90% of their total shipments - guess what, there’s very little margin in those phones despite the potential low costs, and they don’t even pay for the Android OS development while Apple does with iOS.
Just ask Sony, Motorola, Lenovo, Nokia, LG, HTC, even Essential how much profit they make on all their lines of Android phones. Oh yeah, NONE of them make any profits, they all lose money!
Apple works on a profitable and sustainable business model. They offer a high quality product, goods and services, software, hardware, user experience, and gee, they charge for that. People seem to like it, value it, and are willing to pay for it, and in return, they get it for the most part.
It is not Apple’s responsibility to make a “cheap” phone to match your needs, it’s to run a good business that endures and creates and sells products and services that people want AND will pay for. They are successful at that. If you want a cheap phone, you can get it anywhere through a cheap Android maker and model with free Android OS. Lots and lots to choose from too so no excuse on your part. Oh, but you want iOS? You want iMessage or FaceTime? You want a local company store for help? You want the longevity, superior used demand and resale value, and 4-5+ years of actual OS updates that are timely (within 2 days of release)?
Gee, you can’t get all of that with that cheap Android. Say you wouldn’t need it? Heh, just google all the different problems people run into with their Android phones and lame support. Sure, doesn’t mean Apple doesn’t drop the ball too, but at least in many areas of the world, you have a solid chance with Apple.
Sorry, you used the wrong analogy. Try buying a Porsche. If you want Porsche performance, you buy Porsche parts and Porsche specified suppliers. Sure, you CAN put other makers parts on it, but you may not get the same performance, and if it breaks, Porsche isn’t going to back you up.
Just because you own it (your iPhone) doesn’t mean you aren’t going to screw it up with generic cheaper parts/software, etc. Your jailbreak, off site apps, generic off brand battery (from who knows where), your DIY repairs, etc. may, may, lead to damage, bricking, etc. and you’ve voided your warranty but you want Apple to somehow back you up and fix it. And if they don’t, you badmouth Apple to everyone even though they don’t sanction or support anything you did or want to do.
Do what you want, it’s a free country. But take responsibility for what you do and if you do brick your $700-1000 iPhone, man up, admit it and don’t cry to Apple. Or us. Can’t accept Apple’s corporate desire to avoid those situations by heavily regulating its products and trying to protect its reputation, however carefully cultivated? Then go elsewhere, plenty of “superior” hardware and open source software to play with to your heart’s content.