Tim Cook: Hi.
Hi, how are you?
He Shijie: I'm fine.
I'm meeting Tim cook today.
I'm definitely really, really good today.
Tim Cook: I'm meeting you today.
So this is a, this is my privilege.
He Shijie: Oh, thank you.
Really.
I'm just a 22 year old Chinese university student.
And you are the CEO of Apple and that's so cool.
I mean, I just heard that you woke up by 4:00 AM every day and go to go to the gym.
Is that true?
Tim Cook: It's pretty true, man.
You know, all of us have things that we do to stay energetic, and to sorta
cook clean our minds out and mine is to get up early and go to the gym.
It's the debt part of the day I control.
And so I love to work out and then, and then to start the day.
He Shijie: Yeah.
But I always wanted to do the same thing, but I'm just too
lazy, you know, I'm just too lazy.
Like I don't get to go to the gym.
I think I should work harder.
I should work harder and I should get myself a.
Better Apple watch to support that.
I don't know.
Tim Cook: You know, I didn't, uh, get up at 4:00 AM when I
was a student either though.
So don't worry about that.
He Shijie: Thank you.
Okay, let's get started.
Tim.
It's such a privilege to talk to you today.
I've been a fan of Apple product for a very long time, and you know, about Apple
product more than anyone in the world.
Congratulations on the iPhone 12 lineup.
It has so many new features, but you know, creating new things every year must be
a very stressful process for you guys.
I mean, how do you guys do what Paul Apple prepare for all
those new things every year?
Tim Cook: You know, there's no one formula for innovation.
Uh, but what, what we do is we have a culture of creativity and a
culture of collaboration, and these, these two things together, when they
intersect create enormous innovation, you know, you, you put people
together that have different skills.
That look at the world differently.
Maybe they're from different places.
They have different backgrounds.
Some are software experts, some are hardware.
Uh, some are services, some may be musicians and artists, but you put
them all together on a common purpose to, to design an incredible product.
And it is amazing what can come out of it.
So innovation is about putting people together, putting creative
and different people together.
Putting people together that a diverse and an inclusive kind of environment
where people can feed off of one another feed off the energy and.
You know, it's you pick people that care enough that really want to, to
develop the best products in the world.
And they, they care enough to call somebody up at midnight, uh, when
they've just had a great idea and to, to try to take, because they
know that if they share the idea that they can make that idea go further.
That one plus one has always been more than two.
At at, at Apple.
And so that's, that's how we do it.
And by the way, I appreciate your comment about iPhone 12.
Oh, we're having an incredible time with it.
Uh, I really believe that 2020 was our top year of innovation ever between the phones
and the, and the watch and the iPads.
yeah, I love . I have a M1.
Air and that thing just have long lasting battery life.
You know, I never killed a battery on that machine.
It's just like last forever.
That's really cool.
Cool.
It's kind of jaw dropping.
Isn't it?
It's unexpected.
Yes.
It's just like Ellen, nowhere and Apple used some black magic to
make the computer lasts all day.
Yeah, that's really cool.
And it screams.
It's so fast.
We're getting such great comments on it.
I encourage everyone to try.
Yeah, I'm a final cut editor and I just loved that machine, which performs much
better than my 16 inch MacBook pro.
But is there any.
Features that are developed based on Chinese consumers feedback.
There's a ton of features there that, that are, you know, whether it's, uh, specific,
uh, keyboards, whether it's the QR code mode, 5g, and a lot of ways, uh, got, was
energized in China because China is so far ahead in th in the coverage model for 5g.
Yes.
Uh, yes.
Junction view in, in maps because of the complex intersections and
so forth, uh, night mode, uh, was another one where the inspiration
for night mode, uh, came from China.
And so we, we listened very carefully to our customers there and, and,
and wind up creating things based on that, that is then given to the world.
So yeah, we get, we get a lot of feedback from China.
Talking about customers' feedback.
My grandma always wanted to learn how to use an iPhone so she can watch
my videos and make FaceTime calls.
But at the meantime, she found it really hard to learn, to use an iPhone.
What can Apple do to give wings to the elderly, into the digital world?
Well, we try really hard to design our products for everyone.
And we try, try very hard to design the product like the mind works.
So you don't have to have an instruction manual, you can pick it up and it works
as though you thought it th the way that you would think it would work.
Uh, but we do do things like we have classes in Apple retail.
Where we'd love to, to, uh, to, uh, train your grandmother, uh, on using
iPhone right there in the class.
Uh, we have, uh, telephone support and so forth for people that need that.
But, but our, our hope is, and our desire is always to design
the product in such a way.
That it works as you would expect it to do so that no instruction is needed.
Yeah.
That's the best way to use a product.
You don't have to actually learn it.
You just grab it and you naturally know how to use it.
Exactly that is our objective.
And sometimes, you know, whether, if you're using final cut, you
may need a little more help there.
Uh, and so we have classes in our retail stores to, to help customers.
And I've said in, on a number of those classes and it's, it's
amazing how fast people can learn.
Yes.
And I do hope that everybody can learn all these technologies
because it's such an important way to communicate with other people.
Just like if you don't know how to use the smartphone just been,
you know, laughed out for it.
I totally agree.
Because so much of our lives are on the smartphone and there's nowhere that
that's more true than in China from, uh, eating to delivery, to banking,
to paying to your health record.
Everything is on the phone.
Yeah.
And we use QR code for everything all the time.
That's pretty cool.
And you haven't been to China for like many times during the past few years.
I mean, what's your most memorable part of your visit in China?
Well, I always love interfacing with the people.
And so I'd love to go to our stores, to talk to customers,
to see what's on their minds.
Uh, I love the history in China and the arts.
Uh, last year went to the palace museum in Beijing.
There were celebrating their 600th anniversary.
This for, for me is.
This is unbelievable because there's nothing in the U S that's
obviously 600 years old and it was, it was so fantastic being there.
Uh, the modern art museum in Shanghai is another place that was
incorporating augmented reality.
Into their exhibits.
Fantastic.
But if I, if I say one thing, it's about people, you know, it's meeting
people, it's meeting developers to see what develops are working on.
There's some incredible entrepreneurs in China that are pushing the envelope
and, uh, really doing incredible work it's customers and seeing what
customers do with our products, the largest reward we get for our work.
Is seeing what other people do with it, you know, like, like yourself, you
use our products in, in, in your work.
And so I'm so excited to understand sort of how you, what your process is.
Yeah, my process.
And that was actually quite an interesting, the most useful, ever product
that I use is not something really big.
It's actually the default notes app on my iPhone.
I use that too.
Right.
Every script on my video.
It's not because it got some advanced Fisher.
It's just simply because, you know, I write the script on my Mac book and
it just automatically appears on my iPad and my iPhone with the iCloud.
I can edit wherever I want.
It's so convenient.
I really love that feature.
And I just sat, I added all my videos on a 16 inch MacBook pro with the final control
tent and, uh, No student around my age.
One thing that I found is that we used Apple pencil and iPad a lot.
Like you walk into a classroom for taking notes.
Yeah.
File and scent are taking those directly with their Apple pencil on their iPad
because it's just really convenient.
So I do think that like better right.
Writing experience.
On tablet is really important, even though we are not all drawing.
And we just like writing the waters is still very useful for students like us.
I agree.
Yeah.
I use the pencil significantly as well.
And I use the notes app.
I use the notes app for ideas to record ideas so that I won't forget about them.
And, uh, I it's probably my most used app as well, or the other than maybe email.
Yeah.
I mean, you read a lot of emails every day, right?
Lots of email from customers and so forth.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
It's just, people always tell me that Tim cook, I actually reads
those emails from customers.
That's quite amazing.
You're like the busy busiest person on this planet and you still
read every single wall of them, but do you remember any specific
email like sent you by customer?
Oh, I remember one, uh, that came in, uh, about a seven year old boy in Shanghai.
That is already teaching people how to code it's.
It's unbelievable.
Uh, the youngest age that I know of in the world, not using
Swift and ASCO and all that.
That's right.
Absolutely amazing.
I don't think I have the coding ability to teach other people how to call it.
You know, I actually majoring engineering and I just, I'm not really good at
coding, so I really respect that.
Yeah.
It's amazing what people can do.
And, uh, and there are still other question, like many rural children in
China, they don't have access to all those advanced technologies to help them learn.
But you are the CFO STM board chair.
What's your advice of making sure that education is accessible to everyone?
Well, it's an honor and a privilege to be the, uh, SCM board chair.
I'm having a great time doing that and meeting many of
the students they're there.
The the talent, uh, in the student bodies.
Unbelievable.
And, uh, so it's a real privilege.
We've always viewed at Apple.
That education is the great equalizer of people.
And so in China, we're helping with, uh, the CDRF.
Uh, and they're, they're focused on raising children out of poverty
and, uh, that, that means for us, uh, providing our technology out in
schools, uh, and we've, we've been really impressed there with what we've
seen, where we've designed curriculum.
Like everyone can create and everyone can code and we've just given it away.
For everyone, because we believe that coding and creativity are two of
the important skills of the future.
Yes.
I always wanted to learn how to cold and I do think the app playground helps a lot.
I love that Swift playground.
That's really helpful.
We've tried to make it very simple.
We've tried to make it as simple to learn as our products are to use.
And actually I learned all of my, you know, video skills on the internet.
So I do think that those tutorials really helps.
It's really helpful.
I agree.
It's amazing what you can learn there.
Yeah.
And, uh, you know, I miss Mr.
Cook from an observation, you are like really passionate about your work.
Now you don't like many other people, like they are tired and,
or they don't want to go to work.
You're like, you are really passionate about it.
Is that, uh, innate passion now you're just born with are, is something that you
slowly developed during your work process.
Well, I think you have to feed it like you have to feed yourself and, and
so far you have to, to, uh, Ensure that you're constantly working on it.
And the way that I do that is I surround myself with people I love to work with.
And if you surround yourself with people that you love to work with,
then you feed off their energy.
If you talk to young people a lot, The younger generation is
idealistic and believe they can change the world, which they can.
And we believe we, we believe we can change the world for the better.
And, and so it's, it's that belief that gets me up every morning and to, to charge
again, I sort of asked the question of what am I doing for other people and.
And if you keep asking yourself that over and over, it will drive, you
it'll provide the magnetic field that it takes to keep moving forward.
Yeah, because at the end of the day just realized that money doesn't
matter what wealth, it doesn't matter.
The most important thing is the happiness from helping them other people.
That's right.
Thank you, Mr.
Cook.
Thank you.
So what's it like being a senior?
I dunno.
I feel pretty energetic every day.
I pretty much just jumped to work, jumped to my classroom every day.
I was just like jumping, jumping, jumping.
I just feel really happy.
I guess I feel really energetic and I feel like you can do a lot of things,
but at the meantime, I know nothing.
I can't do nothing.
No.
When you want to do good in an area, you got to spend all
that time and energy into it.
But at the meantime, you were too young to actually be good at anything.
You know, like shouldn't videos, but you know, there are so many cool
video directors in the world and I'm just, you know, shooting videos
in my living room, in my bedroom.
This is actually my bedroom.
I grow up in this place.
Really.
It's quite the studio now.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Yeah, we have some really cool lights in here and uh, yes.
Yeah, a lot of cinema camera and.
Yeah, that's a good start.
I hope this gets better in the future.
It's incredible how popular you've become.
Thank you, Ms.
Mr.
Cook, is there any advice that you want to give to like graduates like us, how
to find a job that we actually like.
Well, you know, my, my old boss, Steve said something, he
said something very profound.
He said, uh, you sort of you'll know it when you find it.
And if you haven't found it yet, you should keep looking.
Uh, because you, you want the passion.
You want to feel this passion that you're working for for a good reason
that what you're doing matters and in the world that is, you're
making a difference in the world.
And if you find that, uh, it makes all the difference in the world
and you, you will know it when you find it because you will feel it.
Uh, you'll, you'll be able to get up every morning and feel, feel refreshed
and, and charged up, ready to go again.
And if you don't, you want, and, and so I would, I would say to
everyone out there too, if they haven't found it yet to keep looking.
They will find it.
Yeah.
So I just keep looking and when I found it, I just know it.
I don't have to, to other people to tell me what's the best job for me.
I just know what's the best for myself.
Yeah.
Stay cool.
Stay very curious, steak, stay curious enough to keep pulling the string,
to find out where it takes you next.
You'll find all sorts of things.
That's, that's really important.
And Tim, one thing I really respect you is that.
You know, avoid talking about Steve jobs.
You know, if I were you, I don't want to talk about my legendary ex boss all
the time, but it's just like, you just you're really comfortable with it.
I really respect that.
Yeah.
Well, thank you.
I, I, I love Steve and he still, his DNA is still the foundation of the company
and always will be, uh, w I Revere him and, uh, and wish that he were still here.
Yeah, we always start, you know, I came from not, not a really big city in China.
And I'm talking to Tim cook right now.
So I do have to think in an after that it has been wonderful talking with you.
Uh, this has been a year that we've needed resilience, uh, like no other.
And, uh, I can't wish, uh, enough happiness and health and all of those
things that sometimes we take for granted, but we've, we've been reminded of the
last year of how important they are.
There's an old, uh, English and Chinese.
Saying about we're all in the same boat.
And, uh, I, I do believe that I believe we're all in the same boat
and we can do amazing things together.
We can get out of this pandemic together.
Uh, there are so many things that we can do together and,
uh, that's all my questions.
And I just hope that you have a great day happy new year, happy new year.