Here’s a thought to make you feel old: With the launch of the iPhone 6s, Tim Cook will have officially overseen the launch of more new iPhone generations as CEO than Steve Jobs.
While Jobs was running the show at Apple during the original iPhone, 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4 era, Cook has been in charge during the 4s, 5, 5s, 6 and 6s timeframe.
Of course, if you count the iPhone 5c and iPhone 6 Plus as separate iPhone generations, this benchmark was passed a couple of years back, but I’m referring to subsequent generations of iPhone instead of handset models.
The last iPhone Jobs played an active role in was 2011’s iPhone 4s, although he scaled back his work on the project over time, and stepped down as CEO before it was launched.
In terms of sales, there’s no comparison. Jobs took the iPhone from 1.39 million units in 2007 to 39.99 million units in 2010. Tim Cook has taken it from 72.29 million units in 2011 to 169.22 million in 2014: around 4x what Jobs managed, although with less year-on-year growth as a percentage increase.
In terms of technology, it’s fair to say that both have overseen key developments. Jobs was in charge of Apple when it created the revolutionary first iPhone, then added the App Store (with the 3G), video recording (3GS), and Retina display and HD recording (iPhone 4). Cook’s tenure has introduced Siri (iPhone 4s), larger displays (iPhone 5 and 6), Touch ID (iPhone 5s), Apple Pay (iPhone 6), and radical overhaul of iOS.
Still, with Tim Cook’s soon-to-be-unpalleled run as CEO releasing new iPhone models, that’s one more reason to think of the iPhone 6s as historic. If 3D Touch wasn’t already enough.
Do you have a favorite iPhone model? Let us know in the comments below.
