Apple CEO Tim Cook at D11: 10 Facts You Need To Know

Tim Cook was the keynote speaker for AllThingsD D11 conference. Here are 10 facts you need to know.

1.Cook Returned For A Second Year

The new CEO of the world’s most innovative company appeared at AllThingsD annual All Things Digital conference last year to introduce himself to the tech community. Since Cook has the rough task of living up to Steve Jobs, his appearance for the D10 conference was meant to show the world Apple is in good hands. The conference was a platform for the CEO to talk about his vision for the company and how he would continue Jobs vision. Now, Cook had a slew of other questions to answer to during his keynote for this year’s conference.

2.Apple Has Been In The News A lot

For the past year, Apple has been caught up in two big controversies. From the Chinese labor issues to the company dodging paying billions of taxes, Tim Cook’s been under some pressure. The CEO also has had to deal with a declining stock price as well as criticism on how he is handling these problems. The D11 conference was the perfect chance for Cook to show every tech fan and journalist watching how the company has moved past these problems and show he has been a great leader like Jobs was.

3.Cook Claims The Company is Doing Fine

As soon as the interview began, AllThingsD founders Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg immediately asked Cook if the company was in trouble. Cook considered Apple to be performing well. According to him, the customer satisfaction numbers have been off the charts. In addition, 85 million iPhones and 42 million iPads were sold in the first business quarter of 2013. Cook continued by justifying these numbers indicating that customers still love these products. However, he was frustrated by the stock price but feels the company will survive.

4.Apple Is A Fighter

The AllThingsD founders also asked the CEO his views on Samsung selling units as well as the products competitors like Microsoft are making. Cook explained that he felt the company has faced rough competition in the PC realm but still succeeds on the tablet side. While Cook has had to deal with how the android phone being open to the public has helped the rival firm sell more, the critics feel apple should open up and extend their offerings in order to remain strong. Cook disagrees and feels Apple products can open up in the future for developers.

5.Apple Has Acquired Nine New Companies

While Yahoo has recently bought Tumblr, Cook told the D11 conference Apple has been on a buying spree too. According to his interview, the tech giant bought a company every two to three months during the first quarter of 2013 and plans on picking up the pace. The names of these particular firms havent been disclosed but clearly Apple now has many resources to help refine its services. Apple finished the first quarter on a high note high note with a total of $54.5 billion in revenue. The CEO wants to avoid huge acquisitions but would consider it as long as it made sense but the tremendous amount of cash reserves the company has means they have the ability to do it.

6.Cook Cares About The Environment

Apple’s leader revealed he had hired former EPA chief Lisa Jackson to help the computer company in its environmental efforts. Ms. Jackson will report directly to the CEO and will focus on data centers running off clean power and lowering the carbon footprint. The North Carolina data center runs off solar power and Cook’s intention is to install more of these facilities across the nation.

7.Apple TV May or May Not Be Overhauled

Ms. Swisher and Mr. Mossberg continue to launch questions at the CEO about any upcoming products most notably an Apple TV. Cook revealed that 13 million Apple TV’s and that half of those were sold the previews year. The CEO pleaded the fifth when the hosts pressed for more information on the TV’s and refused to provide any more details but assured the audience Apple had a “grand vision” for a TV overhaul.

8.iWatch May or May Not Happen

Google Glass has been one of the most talked about pieces of technology in the past year, so obviously Swisher and Mossberg tried to pry some information from Cook about any wearable technology that Apple may be developing. The head of the company considers the new google product profoundly difficult to use but hinted that Apple may enter into the wearable computer market in the future. CNN reported that he feels that the market is worth exploring but continued to stay silent on specifics for any efforts it may make.

9.Jony Ive Has Helped With Apple Designs

Probably one of the more surprising but expected news Tim Cook delivered at the conference was that Jony Ive has been instrumental in designing the new iOS. According to The Verge, the developer has been the creative force behind the most memorable designs but the head of apple remained silent on any specifics Ive is working on. Rumors have been circulating that the user interface will have have a flat design removing most of the realistic sheen.

10.Pay Attention to Apple’s Developer Conference

Tim Cook’s speech was enlightening and gave plenty of information about the closely scrutinized tech company. Despite refusing to go more in-depth about what else the company will offer, Apple’s WorldWide Developer conference was hinted at as the key to unlocking Cook’s riddles. From June 10th through June 14th, we should see what else the leader in innovation has to offer for the upcoming year. Although Tim Cook is only in his second year, its still too early to judge if he will live up to Steve Jobs. Check out the CEO’s full speech below.

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