Hey guys, it’s Greg with Apple Explained.
And in this video we’re going to cover how Apple has changed without its legendary cofounder
Steve Jobs, as you may already know Tim Cook was appointed CEO by Jobs himself before he
resigned and passed away.
And with Cook at the helm, Apple has changed in some aspects, while staying pretty consistent
in others.
So let’s go over what Apple looked like under Jobs and how it has looked under Cook
since 2011.
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So I’m sure many of you know that Apple was cofounded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak
and Ronald Wayne.
But it was Jobs who eventually served as the company’s CEO and led the creation of Apple’s
biggest hit products.
Including the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.
And if you know a little bit of Apple history, you’ll remember Jobs was actually forced
out of Apple back in 1985 when the board of directors deemed him unfit to occupy any major
role at the company.
And it was at that point when things started to take a turn for the worst.
In the following twelve years, Apple would burn through three different CEOs, none of
which had the leadership required to restore profitability to Apple.
That is, until Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1997.
At which point he refocused Apple’s efforts into making a few great products, rather than
dozens of mediocre products, one of which was the infamous iMac in 1998 which single
handedly brought Apple back from the brink of bankruptcy, and returned the company to
profitability.
Now I tell that story because it helps people understand why many Apple fans believe the
company is doomed without Jobs.
They believe Steve Jobs vision and leadership was the lifeblood of Apple, and it’s easy
to understand where they’re coming from.
Because looking back at Apple’s history, there does appear to be a correlation between
Jobs presence at Apple and the company’s level of success.
And if you believe that to be true, Jobs departure in 2011 should’ve been accompanied by the
company’s decline shortly after.
Similar to what happened when he was forced out back in 1985.
But that hasn’t been the case.
And that’s because Apple’s success wasn’t due to Jobs himself, but rather the philosophy
Jobs ingrained into the company.
When Jobs was forced out in 1985, then CEO John Scully and Apple’s board of directors
had a completely different approach to managing the company than Jobs.
They wanted Apple to expand its product line by introducing new models, but this only fragmented
their computer lineup and confused customers.
Also, Scully was no tech visionary.
He essentially bet a portion of the company on the Newton PDA, a piece of technology that
was rushed to market and suffered from disappointing sales.
And these mistakes weren’t made because Jobs was absent, but because Apple’s leadership
didn’t understand the philosophy that made the company successful in the first place.
And this actually makes sense when you consider Jobs had no choice in who ran Apple when he
left in 1985, but he did have that choice in 2011.
And he chose a replacement who had joined Apple during their rebuilding period and understood
what kind of leadership it took to return the company to profitability.
And that person, of course, was Tim Cook.
He served as Apple’s chief operating officer and was appointed CEO in 2011.
So let’s explore the ways Apple has changed since Jobs left.
One area where Apple has changed their tone dramatically is when it comes to charity.
Under Tim Cook, Apple began an employee match program.
Where the company would match donations made to any 501c3 organization up to $10,000 per
person.
And this applied to part-time workers in addition to full time.
The program had positive effects on not only how much Apple donated, but it motivated employees
to begin giving if they never had before, or to give more since Apple made their donations
twice as valuable.
And within the first year of the program, Apple had given over $1.3 million in matches
alone.
Now this may not seem like much when the company makes billions in revenue each quarter, but
it is a huge improvement over the lack of any charitable initiatives under Jobs.
And I should also mention that Cook personally has already donated millions of dollars to
charity, but he took things a step further in 2015 when, in an interview, he said he
planned on donating his entire $800 million fortune to charitable causes before his death.
So it’s clear Apple has become a much more generous company, but it goes further than
donating to charity.
Because after Jobs left the company, Apple began offering more generous employee discounts
and hourly wages.
With workers given an additional $500 discount on Macs and $250 discount on iPads, which
was on top of the standard 25% discount already in place under Jobs.
And these benefits may be part of the reason why the turnover rate at Apple retail stores
is one of the lowest in the industry.
With employees staying on for an average of two years.
The next area of change since Jobs departure has to do with the environment.
Now Apple was already a very environmentally friendly company near the end of Jobs tenure,
with almost every Apple product receiving an EPEAT Gold rating for being highly recyclable.
But Cook took an even more aggressive approach.
Setting environmental goals for Apple that very few thought they could achieve.
And this included the company being powered by 100 percent renewable energy.
Which they officially achieved globally in 2018.
And Apple even helped nine of their suppliers operate on 100 percent renewable energy as
well, something that’s completely unprecedented in the tech industry.
But Apple’s environmental efforts don’t end here, they’ve also introduced two robots
called Liam and Daisy that can disassemble iPhones to recover valuable materials inside
and recycle the device more efficiently.
And when it comes to the 2018 MacBook Air and Mac Mini, Apple announced they would be
made from 100% recycled aluminum.
A first for any Apple product.
Also, keep in mind all of this has been achieved since 2011, which just goes to show how aggressive
Apple has become in pushing the boundaries of environmental responsibility.
So we can all agree that being more environmentally friendly is a positive move for Apple, but
the next thing we discuss may not be so well received.
Because one of the most noticeable changes Apple has made to their products is their
prices.
Which have been ever increasing since about 2015.
Now I made a video covering this topic in more detail and I’ll leave a link to that
in the description, but this trend of price hikes for virtually every single Apple product
and even Apple accessories is worrying.
I remember when Steve Jobs would introduced new models of iPhone and its price would never
increase.
In fact, Jobs did everything he could to price Apple products as low as possible.
And there’s evidence to support this going as far back as the original Macintosh in 1984
which he said it needed to be priced at $1,500 or $2,000 at most.
But Sculley ended up pricing it at $2,500 which put it out of reach of everyday consumers.
And we may be seeing that type of approach creeping back into Apple today.
Because when the iPad was first introduced, it was $500.
But today the most affordable flagship iPad starts at $800.
And this is the case for the majority of Apple’s product lines.
Including the iPhone, MacBook, Mac Mini, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.
And these rising prices have meant record profits for Apple.
Who today has about $237 billion in cash on hand.
Compared to $76 billion when Jobs left in 2011.
Now this technically is a good thing for Apple, but customers can only handle so much sticker
shock before they’re driven away from the brand.
Now the last difference in Apple I want to point out is how often they engage with the
media.
Jobs was known for being a very private person who rarely gave interviews, and other Apple
executives followed suit.
But Cook has taken a different approach.
He’s sat down for dozens of interviews since he was appointed CEO in 2011 and other prominent
figures within the company has done the same.
Including Jonathan Ive, Eddy Cue, and Craig Federighi.
Cook even made appearances to capitalize on the bad press surrounding the way Facebook
handles and sells user data.
Now whether this is a positive or negative thing for Apple remains to be seen.
But I think if Cook continues to lead Apple in a moral and transparent way, they can use
the media to communicate the advantages of being an Apple user, including not having
your personal data stored and sold without your knowledge.
So it’s clear that Cook has been successful in maintaining effective leadership at Apple
by ensuring the companies products remained seamless, easy to use, well-designed, and
also profitable.
Which is important in sustaining a company’s existence.
Because even Jobs himself said money is important to keep the ship afloat.
Now I’ve discussed different ways Apple has changed without Steve Jobs, but I want
to point out that many things have remained the same.
Apple still makes easy-to-use products with great designs, they continue to build the
best retail stores in the industry, they continue to take user privacy seriously, and they still
put the customer experience front and center of everything they do.
And those are the qualities of Apple that Steve Jobs helped build and nurture throughout
his life.
So the question is not whether Tim Cook is a better or worse CEO than Steve Jobs, but
rather is Apple still creating valuable products that make all of our lives easier?
If so, Apple will continue to enjoy success in the tech industry and grow as a company.
So that’s how Apple has changed since Steve Jobs left, and if you want to vote for the
next video topic, don’t forget to subscribe.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time.