There are a lot of Apple skeptics out there. CNBC thinks the new iPhone 6 models are nothing special, and dis the Apple Watch because it doesn’t work with Android. Watch Cult of Mac editor and publisher Leander Kahney set them straight in the video above. See also our report card for Tim Cook’s first three years as CEO.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander is an expert on:
Apple and Apple history
Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Tim Cook and Apple leadership
Apple community
iPhone and iOS
iPad and iPadOS
Mac and macOS
Apple Watch and watchOS
Apple TV and tvOS
AirPods
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
18 responses to “Did Tim Cook deliver? CoM says ‘Heck yeah’ on CNBC”
Good job, Leander. It is good to see and hear someone, like you, respond to questions with feature-filled answers and confidence.
Leander, I have and use Apple products and definitely appreciate what comes to us yearly. However, let’s be clear Apple’s yearly announcements are overly dramatic. I’ll buy the new iPhone but dang, Cook always says that the new iPhone is the best EVER made. Yesterday he said the Apple Watch is revolutionary yet it does not work if you don’t have an iPhone. That’s not very revolutionary. You see the crowd aw and cheer every video, picture or mention of the products. Funny that when he says to stand if you had anything to do with product almost everyone stood. Let’s be clear, we love Apple products but please stop holding this company as though they so much better. The iPhone seems to be a step-up not much different though and the Apple Watch is just another expensive product.
That’s because they ARE better than the previous years iPhone. They add features, change or rather push design elements, build materials, etc. And where is everyone crying fowl on the Android watch platform? You can’t use a Samsung wrist Galaxy 7 3.5 with an IPhone. You have to use a Samsung, moto … Have to use an Android. Why do people expect Apple to miraculously make a product that has all the features and functions that iOS builds in appear in a sub par (IMO) OS. It can’t happen AND shouldn’t. Apple has always been a hardware company and this release is no different.
So, wait…
You actually expect Apple not to claim their “latest and greatest” is their latest and greatest? :)
By no means do I mean to sound snarky when I say this, but that’s just foolish. They are going to tout their newest devices as if it’s the best thing since sliced bread, and they are no different than any other Tech company in that regard, to the exception of Johnny Ive’s superlative-riddled video spots. Those really are getting kind of old, but then again – it wouldn’t be an Apple product intro video without him.
I know you’ll delete this as soon as you read it, but it has to be said…
Because the Cult of Mac editor and publisher is going to make any negative criticism of an apple product. At least try and find someone who’s not such an apple fan.
Why? They had detractors on the show to that were questioning Apple’s tactics. So you just want those that don’t like Apple? eh.. durr… Would you like a white hood and a mob with pitch forks ? LOL
Use what you like and get over it.. bashing people for a technological preference is stupid. Technology Bigotry and Hypocrisy .. Terms should be in the dictionary. It’s becoming more and more prevalent.
So I read these comments with the following logic:
Apple sells a ton of products (which makes a ton of money, enables those with disabilities, and influences the design of cometitors giving customers options) and the people that buy them are delusional isheeps. Which there are A LOT of apparently world wise. Oh and Tim Cook should be fired doom and gloom.
Or…
If they were to make a product that flopped Apple is a failure, people that bought it are just iSheeps, Apples lost its touch, fire Tim Cook and doom and gloom.
So exactly how is Apple supposed to win? That’s why these comments come off as fanboy/Apple haters in which there is no pleasing.
If you actually bothered to read my comment, I was implying that the Cult of Mac editor and publisher is not going to give an unbiased review on the main headline question ”
Did Tim Cook deliver? ”
(Sorry if I wasn’t clear enough, will try and make my posts very simple (like all of you are) the next time). LOL
Simple. Says the guy that typed “LOL” to his own comment? Good one.
Again with your “bias” claim. He gets paid for his opinion, just because you don’t agree with it does not make his comments biased, just his journalistic opinion. He was at the Flint centre by the way and I’ll back his words over yours any day, so enough with your crap, go back to whatever universe you came from and understand how journalism works. If you don’t like his opinion, go somewhere else, and stop bitching. Do you go around telling everyone how they should vote too? Just move on.
Yeah, as they comment about Apple Watch not working with Android, look at Samsung’s watches.. they work with.. yup, samsung only .. lol
Moto and a few others work with multiple phones, but they have to compromise to do so..It’s a trade off.. Apple has never been shy about wanting to control the experience .. I’m OK with that.. In fact, thats why I stick with Apple.. It’s fairly predictable.
Okay, in two articles in CoM now I’ve seen it so I just have to scratch that itch and point it out. It’s ‘dis’ from disrespect not ‘diss’ which is not a word, not even in slang.
The Chambers Dictionary: “diss or dis (slang). To treat with disrespect or contempt.”
Unbiased here….
I owned an iPhone 4S for 40 months, and enjoyed it a lot. I grew tired of the small screen, and having to dig my way through sub menu after sub menu in IOS 7 to change anything. Often, then sub menu searching was part guess work.
About 2 months ago I purchased a Samsung Galaxy S5. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy, and adjustable, Android OS on the Samsung phone is. The nonsense about fragmented OS… is an issue only for developers.
I need not run through the specs, other than appreciating a remarkable camera, and the ability to buy memory if I want to.
I have a substantial itunes catalog, and had thrown all my very old cd’s onto itunes format… so, I went with the 160 gig ipod classic, and don’t mind two devices now… one just for music, and a low storage phone. So I still have a foot in the apple door, through itunes. My 2012 Toyota Rav4 4, V6, with what is now ancient display technology, supported itunes, but only Android text messaging…. and that, honestly, was the final selling point. I run my Galaxy phone bluetooth for phone only, and plug in my ipod for music.
I’m content with my phone for what will be at least another 40 months…. Right now, Samsung phone display is a couple of years ahead of Apple, with the new Note quad screen and camera something amazing to want to have. Apple only yesterday caught up on screen size, and in future years will likely produce a comparable screen for their phone. Unbiased, what is clear is that Apple is not leading, but following, and when it comes to the number one factor, the display, it lags behind significantly.
Digital watches by any manufacturer are gimicks…. pleasant technology to behold, but absolutely unnecessary. People upgrade phones due to carrier incentives in north america, and the same can not be said for the watches. To the younger crowd, nobody wears watches. Personally, for work, I need a tough, reliable watch. My Casio G Shock, which is solar powered, receives atomic time updates, and withstands a construction environment with the most extreme hot and cold temperatures anywhere (Northern Alberta Oilsands) is absolutely perfect for me. Often, people will comment about my watch. ie. Nobody wears a watch. Well, cell phones are not safe, nor permitted, in gas plants, & my watch gets me to my breaks, and back to work, on time.
I am not a hater… I wish success for Apple. What is essentially a Samsung / Apple battle is healthy for innovation. Right here, right now…. Apple IOS and the required digging down through menu’s is awful, and their latest mobile offerings are significantly inferior to Samsung product.
Now… My final comment for both Samsung and Apple. I could care less how bloody thin your phones get. Battery strength is horrible, so add another 3mm or whatever, and make a phone that doesn’t need to find a wall daily. The engineers MUST understand your mobile product is useless, if it is out of power. The practical need, not a want, a need, is for your phone to have power.
Besides, everyone is insecure about their expensive and frail phones, and keep them inside hefty protective cases. Pretty much everyone has their smartphone in a case, making then battle for a then phone the most complete waste of time ever…. not to mention if it is made of plastic or metal…. the phones outer shells never see the light of day.
Wait you were there at Flint center? You got to see Apples new screen? If not then how can anyone take your essay seriously. You have no idea what the screen looks like or how it compares.
I think the first interviewer had video of himself interviewing someone else playing behind him. Awesome.
GREAT JOB LEANDER!
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