Tim Cook talks Trump and climate change in post-WWDC interview

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Tim WWDC
Apple CEO Tim Cook at WWDC 2017.
Photo: Apple

After helping unveil Apple’s huge software updates and new hardware lineup, Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down for a post-keynote interview where he discussed topics like the new HomePod and President Donald Trump.

In the Bloomberg interview, Cook shares why customers should buy the new HomePod instead of rival options from Google. Plus he talks about Donald Trump and why political action committees are kind of useless.

HomePod vs the competition

“I think when people listen to it they’re going to be shocked by the sound,” said Cook. The CEO explained that Apple is seeking to reinvent home audio in a similar fashion to how the iPod reinvented mobile music.

The underlying technology has been in the works for years. Apple wanted to create a high-quality music experience, but the speaker does a number of smart things too thanks to its Siri connection.

What took HomePod so long?

A Siri-powered speaker has seemed like an obvious product for Apple to try for years. Amazon and Google have gotten a head start with their offerings, but Cook says Apple wasn’t worried about being first to the market.

“It’s not about being first, it’s about being the best. And giving the user and experience that delights them everytime,” explained Cook. “We don’t let that impatience result in shipping something that’s just not great.”

iOS as an AR platform

Cook wouldn’t say what new features are coming to the iPhone later this year. Instead he hyped up iOS 11 as the biggest iPad release ever along with the new AR features for iPhone.

“I think we’ll have the largest augmented reality platform in the world. I’m incredibly excited to see what developers come up with with ARKit.” Cook wouldn’t comment on when a consumer AR product will be available. First Apple needs to build the foundation, according to Cook.

On Donald Trump

Tim Cook confirmed that he never joined a White House advisory committee for President Donald Trump, unlike SpaceX CEO Elon Musk who resigned from the council after the administration pulled out of the Paris climate agreement.

“I don’t find councils and committees to be terribly productive. It wasn’t about not wanting to advise on something that we thought should be heard,” Tim Cook explained. “He didn’t decide what I wanted him to decide,” Cook said of the president. “He decided wrong. It’s not in the best interest of the United States what he decided.”

The Apple CEO says he will still offer advice to Trump on matters that are important to him and the U.S.

Climate change fight continues

Once Trump announced his plan to pull out of the Paris accord, Tim Cook sent Apple employees an email saying the company would continue to fight climate change and pursue renewable energy.

“If you can help your country and you do that by interacting, then you do it. Country eclipses politics.” said Cook. “If I get the chance to go pitch the Paris agreement again, I’m going to do it again, because I think it’s very important that we fight climate change on a global basis.”

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