Apple CEO Tim Cook was in Beijing today, meeting Chinese officials as the Cupertino company eyes up further growth in China. It’s his first trip to the country since he took over from Steve Jobs as CEO, and he got himself noticed with a visit Apple’s Beijing store where he stopped to pose for photographs with fans.
Dealing with customer service representatives can be one of the world’s most torturous experiences. Apple isn’t perfect, but they usually give customers the best experience possible, no matter. Proving that point, earlier today a story surfaced of Tim Cook stepping in and forcing AT&T to make a special exception to a request the deny to most customers.
Apple wasn’t willing to go on record with the new iPad’s initial launch figures just yet, but when quizzed about it during the Q&A session of today’s announcement of an official dividend and stock repurchase plan, Tim Cook did let slip a bit about how well the new iPad had done.
Confirming a press release from just ten minutes earlier, Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that Cupertino will use its vast hoard of cash to initiate a quarterly dividend payment to current shareholders, as well as buy back almost $10 billion in stock to help avoid dilution of employee equity.
Apple has always taken privacy very seriously. When it was discovered that popular app Path secretly uploaded an iPhone user’s entire address book to its servers, the media reacted very strongly and Apple was forced to get involved. Path was violating Apple’s terms of agreement, and it was discovered that many other apps in the App Store had been doing the same thing for quite some time. Apple said that it would clarify the privacy issue for end users with a future iOS update.
High-profile meetings take place at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California all the time, but the public rarely gets to hear about what is said behind closed doors. As it turns out, Path CEO Dave Morin was summoned to Cupertino by Apple CEO Tim Cook to talk about the recent privacy scandal his app caused.
Apple CEO Tim Cook cashed in on $11.1 million worth of Apple stock today, according to a filing with The Securities and Exchange Commission. 20,178 of Cook’s shares were sold off through a series of 5 transactions at various individual stock prices ranging from $547-$551.
Not a bad pay day.
Episode 3 of The CultCast just landed in iTunes friends, and there’s no doubt it is entertainment of the highest caliber!
In this episode, we talk all things “new” iPad. Find out which new features are our favorites, which ones surprised and delighted us, and which we are baffled are not included. Plus, should you upgrade from the iPad 2? All that and more if you can believe it. More!
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It’s all about software.
Watch the video of this morning’s iPad event, and note how Apple’s execs spend more time talking about the apps that the new iPad can run than the new iPad itself.
Apple will no longer diffeentiate between the various iPad models, not by name at least. Starting today and going forward, iPads will be plain iPads, with no “1”, or “2”, or even “HD” suffix. When Tim Cook introduced the new iPad at today’s press event, he just called it “The new iPad.”
Stock of the Apple TV has been quickly dwindling across Apple retail stores in the U.S. in recent months, fueling speculation that the device will soon be replaced by a new model with the “J33” codename that recently popped up in the company’s iOS 5.1 beta software.
One report claims that 98% of Apple retail stores in the U.S. now have no Apple TV stock at all.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has been invited to participate in a roundtable discussion at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s (NCCN) annual conference on clinical practice guidelines and quality cancer care. The topic of the discussion is Cancer and Corporate America: Business As Usual. At the moment it isn’t clear if Cook will attend (NCCN lists both speakers that have confirmed their attendance as well as those that have not).
The invitation raises some questions about why the organization chose to invite Cook. One obvious answer centers around the role that Cook played in managing Apple while Steve Jobs was fighting the pancreatic cancer that eventually led to his death last year. While that is certainly plausible, there could be other reasons behind NCCN’s invitation.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Tim Cook has shared his thoughts on what Mountain Lion means for the future of the Mac, and has hinted Apple may be considering a grand unification of iOS and OS X somewhere down the line.
Apple has always been notoriously tight-fisted when it comes to spending. As the world’s most valuable technology company by a long shot, there’s a ton of pressure on Apple to acquire competition and flaunt its $100 billion cash reserve.
At the Goldman Sachs Conference today, Cook noted that Apple has spent billions on acquisitions, in the supply chain, retail, and company infrastructure. “But yes, we still have a lot,” he said.
Cook sarcastically called Apple’s 37 million iPhone sales last quarter a “decent” number to a room full of laughs at the Goldman Sachs Conference this afternoon. In Cook’s eyes, that number represented only 9% of the handset market, and Apple sees incredible opportunity to take the entire global handset market by storm. Cook said that Apple’s mission is to “make the world’s best product.”
Speaking at today’s Goldman Sachs keynote, Apple CEO Tim Cook began by bluntly addressing charges of worker abuse in Apple’s supply chain: Apple will not rest until every worker is guaranteed a fair, safe working environment without discrimination and at a competitive salary. Any suppliers who don’t take care of their workers will be fired.
Apple has announced that it will broadcast Tim Cook’s talk at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference tomorrow. The live stream will begin tomorrow, February 14th, at 12:30 PM PST/ 3:30 PM EST.
Cook has presented at the conference several times in past years. This will be his first presentation as the CEO of Apple, and he is expected to give “forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties” regarding Apple’s business.
There are sure to be some interesting statements given by Cook tomorrow, so be sure to tune into the audio stream at Apple’s Investor Relations page.
Following claims that it isn’t doing enough to end worker mistreatment in Chinese factories, Apple has publicly asked the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to “conduct special voluntary audits of Apple’s final assembly suppliers, including Foxconn factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu, China.”
The FLA acknowledged Apple’s request almost immediately and began its first inspections at a Foxconn factory in Shenzhen this morning. Apple will be hoping that the FLA’s report puts the allegations that it is not doing all it can to bed and proves that working conditions are improving thanks to the company’s work.
After having its tablet banned in one Chinese city today for using the iPad name without permission, Apple could be about to enter into another dispute if it names its television set the “iTV.” Britain’s biggest commercial broadcaster ITV has warned Apple not to use its name for the second time.
Retailers in Shijiazhuang, China, have halted sales of Apple’s iPad after it was claimed that the Cupertino company does not have the rights to the iPad trademark in the country. Proview Technology, which believed it still owns the iPad name, is seeking $38 million in compensation from Apple and seems to have secured a ban in at least one city as Chinese authorities begin confiscating the device.
Adam Lashinsky is a veteran Silicon Valley journalist and Senior Editor at Large for Fortune. Lashinsky wrote a riveting feature last year on the inner workings of Apple’s secretive culture that prompted him to publish Inside Apple: How America’s Most Admired–and Secretive–Company Really Works in January of 2012.
Inside Apple is a short read (about 180 pages) that provides several peeks behind the thick veil of secrecy Apple keeps between itself and the outside world. After reading Lashinsky’s portrayal of the company, you should have a better understanding of how Apple works and what makes it tick. Your perception of the world’s most valuable technology company should be challenged with fascinating stories from inside the walls of Cupertino.
Apple’s decision to hire John Browett as its Senior Vice President of Retail has come under fire from a small but vocal minority of Apple fans who believe he may not be the right man for the job. Brits in particular, who are familiar with the Dixons stores in the U.K. that Browett used to control, are concerned he is not a suitable replacement for Ron Johnson.
But Apple CEO Tim Cook has no doubts about the company’s decision, and has labeled Browett the best man for the role “by far.”
It seems that lengthy report looking into the poor working conditions in Chinese factories assembling Apple products is going to haunt the Cupertino company for some time yet. The latest backlash comes from consumer group SumOfUs, which has launched a petition calling for Apple to “stop worker abuse,” with over 35,000 signatures collected in just 24 hours.
Tim Cook was outraged by a recent report from The New York Times that provided a detailed look at the poor working conditions for Chinese factory workers assembling our Apple gadgets. It seems he’s not the only one. The BSR, a leader in corporate responsibility which works with Apple to develop sustainable business strategies, has labeled the report “inaccurate” and “misleading,” and has requested that it is corrected by the NYT.
Following a lengthy New York Times report published earlier this week, detailing the harsh reality behind the mistreatment of Chinese factory workers, Apple CEO Tim Cook has responded to his staff with an email that brands the report “patently false and offensive.”
Cook revealed he is “outraged” by the report, and reassured his team that “we’ve made a great deal of progress and improved conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers.”
It’s a great time to be an Apple employee. Not only is it the most successful company on the planet right now, but it’s also slashing the price of some of its most popular products as a thank you to its employees. According to one report, the Cupertino company’s CEO, Tim Cook, announced at an internal Town Hall meeting that staff could enjoy $500 off a new Mac, and $250 off a new iPad.