Bloomberg Story Breaks Down Apple's Unrivaled Success Under Tim Cook's Leadership

Bloomberg has published an in-depth piece by journalists Austin Carr and Mark Gurman about the rise of Apple under Tim Cook's leadership, covering several attributes of the CEO that took over from Steve Jobs, including his diplomatic acumen, operational prowess, eye for detail, and manifest success in making Apple one of the biggest companies in the history of modern business.

apple park 416 security
The story touches on a number of topics in the recent history of Apple's meteoric rise under Cook's leadership, including the political sensitivities of outsourcing production to China, Cook's relationship with current and former U.S. presidents, his cost-conscious approach to new products, and the strategic difficulties of managing Apple's product diversification in a global-spanning supply chain.

Other highlights include:

  • Steve Jobs' blunt response when President Obama asked him why Apple couldn't make the iPhone in the U.S.
  • ‌Tim Cook‌'s unrelenting work ethic.
  • Cook's unlikely friendship with President Trump, and Apple's silence in the face of falsehoods propagated by the former president about Apple production coming back to the U.S.
  • Supply chain managers' alarm upon seeing the initial design of the 2013 "trashcan" Mac Pro.
  • Internal pressure at Apple to decouple from China over censorship, human-rights violations, and criticism about labor conditions at mainland factories.
  • Apple's continued success in the face of the global health crisis.

  • Apple's fightback against claims of the company's "monopoly power" and its ongoing feud with big name software developers and social media platforms like Spotify, Epic Games, and Facebook.

For all the details, be sure to check out the full long read over on Bloomberg.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 3 4ths Perspective Aluminum Camera Module 1

New iPhone 17 Pro Details: Brighter Display, Best Battery Life, and More

Wednesday September 3, 2025 5:33 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models will feature a number of significant display, thermal, and battery improvements, according to new late-stage rumors. According to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital," the iPhone 17 Pro models will feature displays with higher brightness, making it more suitable for use in direct sunlight for prolonged periods. The iPhone 16 Pro and...
iPhone 17 Pro Iridescent Feature 2

iPhone 17 Pro Clear Case Leak Reveals Three Key Changes

Sunday August 31, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series on Tuesday, September 9, and last-minute rumors about the devices continue to surface. The latest info comes from a leaker known as Majin Bu, who has shared alleged images of Apple's Clear Case for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, or at least replicas. Image Credit: @MajinBuOfficial The images show three alleged changes compared to Apple's iP...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

iPhone 17 Pro: 5 Reasons Not to Upgrade This Year

Monday September 1, 2025 4:35 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series this month, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming to...
iPhone 17 Pro Iridescent Feature 2

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Prices Estimated Ahead of Apple Event Next Week

Tuesday September 2, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Just one week before Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series, an analyst has shared new price estimates for the devices. Here are J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee's price estimates for the iPhone 17 series in the United States, according to 9to5Mac: Model Starting Price Model Starting Price Change iPhone 16 $799 iPhone 17 ...
iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

iPhone 17 Release Date, Pre-Orders, and What to Expect

Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
iOS 18 on iPhone Arrow Down

Apple Preparing iOS 18.7 for iPhones as iOS 26 Release Date Nears

Sunday August 31, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 18.7 for compatible iPhone models, according to evidence of the update in the MacRumors visitor logs. We expect iOS 18.7 to be released in September, alongside iOS 26. The update will likely include fixes for security vulnerabilities, but little else. iOS 18.7 will be one of the final updates ever released for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR,...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Centered 1

Survey: Nearly 70% of Users Plan to Upgrade to iPhone 17

Monday September 1, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
A new survey has found that nearly seven in ten iPhone owners in the United States plan to upgrade to an iPhone 17 model, signaling strong demand ahead of Apple's expected unveiling of the devices at its September 9 keynote. Smartphone price comparison platform SellCell surveyed over 2,000 U.S.-based iPhone users in August to assess upgrade interest and brand loyalty before Apple's event....

Top Rated Comments

djcerla Avatar
60 months ago
Most Apple’s “failures” according to MR dudes are the hits other companies would kill for.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dwaltwhit Avatar
60 months ago
It baffles me to watch people argue the successes of the most profitable company in the world. Apple makes a bazillion dollars a year and people are talking about butterfly keyboards and a mac pro from 8 years ago.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
svanstrom Avatar
60 months ago

Second rule: blame everything on China.
Sometimes the thing getting blamed a lot deserves it (and more).
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
threesixty360 Avatar
60 months ago

On there other hand, Apple lost the A.I. race (to Amazon and Google). The lost the cloud race (to Amazon and Microsoft). They lost music to Spotify. They lost video to streaming above all to Netflix but also to Amazon. They lost home/virtual assistant to Amazon and Google.

It's interesting that you use the word "lost". Like its a negative. I think if you look at Jobs' philosophy its always about focus. What you say "no" to is more important than what you say yes to.

The reason Apple versions of those services exist is to support the sale of Apple hardware mostly. The reason AWS/Spotify etc.. is to make money by being as globally dominant as possible. Very different things.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Abazigal Avatar
60 months ago
I have on numerous occasions in the past opined that different people are needed at different points in a company history.

It’s taken 10 long years to prove it, but it’s clear that Steve Jobs made the right move in handing the reins of Apple over to Tim Cook, who in reality was already overseeing most of a CEO’s traditional duties even when Steve Jobs was still around anyways.

Jobs was right for his era, but he would have been a disaster for the Cook era. Cook is amazing, and has been responsible for most of the achievements of Apple, though not the initial innovation and concept that Jobs provided. Cook has refined the culture and expanded it, and has done as fine a job as any CEO in American history, if not world business history.

He's Eisenhower, not Churchill.

And Apple is better off for it.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tozovac Avatar
60 months ago
Simpler answer: It’s all about the product, regardless of whoever’s in the corner (or round) office, and here the product(s) are still better than Windows & Android to enough people, despite awful decisions under his leadership: butterfly keyboard, the war on ports/thin-ness, design decisions to be different seemingly mostly just to be different, etc.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)