Apple That

Apple CEO Tim Cook caused many a MacBook user to scream out in anguish recently when he insisted that he couldn’t see a single reason for anyone to buy a PC anymore, especially since Apple just released the iPad Pro, the latest iPad model that comes complete with pencil and yoga-mat keyboard. With Cook pushing the iPad Pro and saying that things like iMacs and MacBook Pros were obsolete, many people started to question their very existence of their Apple products. Everyone except Steve Wozniak that is.

Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs back in the day, was speaking at a conference organized by New Relic recently where he was quoted saying that he continues to be “more of a laptop-based guy.” For the Woz, the flexibility of a laptop contrasts that of a tablet which he believes “has been limited for me”. Wozniak isn’t alone here either. Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services for Apple Eddy Cue recently told CNN that he likes the iPad Pro because “I consumer a lot more than I create,” rather than Cook’s insistence that this was now a productivity tool.

Now let’s be real for a second. I highly doubt that Cook believes that the PC market is officially dead. I mean, if he really did believe that then why would he launch new and tantalizing MacBooks? Reports for Apple’s latest MacBook line have been hailed as a “groundbreaking design” by many reviewers. No the real reason behind Cook’s comments is that he is trying to sell what he wants to sell right now, a giant iPad that has the potential to reverse the 20% year-on-year decline in Apple’s tablet sales. Naturally, neither Cook nor Apple has responded to requests for comment.

Wozniak doesn’t really seem to be on the flashy new tech bandwagon. When Apple released the Apple Watch Wozniak wasn’t 100% behind it. He stated that he sometimes forgets to put on his own Apple Watch and realizes that he doesn’t really miss it all that much. However, he did agree that the device was improving though it is still unclear exactly how he thinks it is getting better. All-in-all, the Woz has been pretty critical of Apple lately. Wozniak was also quoted saying, “I don’t like being in the Apple ecosystem. I don’t like being trapped. I like being independent.”

Wozniak has been known to really enjoy some Android products alongside with Apple ones. Just last year he suggested that Apple should release an Android smartphone. In terms of his commitment to laptops, it is very easy to believe that tech developers release new product forms that have the sole purpose of making money. One of the bigger problems with the iPad is the fact that many people believe they already know precisely what the iPad is good for, and what it isn’t good for, and feel that older models do just as fine as the newer ones.

I really admire the fact that Wozniak isn’t going along with the iPad Pro craze from Apple just for the sake of Apple loyalty. Steve Wozniak has been a lot of things in his life, nonetheless of which is an independent man of his own fruition, which is something this world needs more of.

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Apple has officially released its newest smartphones, the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. Even though the devices have only been on the market for less than a week, they have already posted some very impressive sales numbers. According to a recent sales report from Apple, the company has sold over 13 million new devices over the weekend, which is a new record for the iPhone, The CEO of the company has made sure the marketing of this new project blows the sales up to the roof, just like the Jimmy John Shark CEO of one of the most successful businesses.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook’s press statement, “Sales for iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first-weekend sales results in Apple’s history. Customers’ feedback is incredible and they are loving 3D Touch and Live Photos, and we can’t wait to bring the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus to customers in even more countries on October 9th.”

So what’s the reason for such high sales numbers? Probably the fact that Apple included China in its opening weekend sales. China passed over Europe to become Apple’s second biggest market earlier in the year, with sales growing three times faster than in North and South America. To compare, Apple sold 10 million units of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in its opening weekend last year and 9 million units of the iPhone 5S and 5C the year before that. In both cases, the launch of the smartphones in China was delayed.

So what’s new with the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus? Well for starters, these new smartphones come preloaded with Apple’s latest iOS 9 operating system. In addition to that, the new phones come with the new A9 chip with 64-bit architecture and M9 motion coprocessor. There’s 2GB of RAM as well as a 12MP rear-facing camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. 4K resolution is also supported at 30fps along with 4.2 Bluetooth.

Granted the changes aren’t astounding, but they are decent. Are they enough for people to upgrade from the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus to the iPhone 6S or 6S Plus? Probably not. But they are good enough to get people to go from an iPhone 5 model (or earlier) and, maybe, good enough for some people to make the jump from an Android device to an Apple.

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This video came out today on Apple’s YouTube page. After it was up for only two hours, it already had 20,000 views and currently has almost 80,000. The main point to the video is to show off that they are using clean energy. They are building a 40-megawatt solar farm in China that will power all of their offices across the country, all of their offices are powered with clean energy already, and they are generating 12 million kilowatt hours of energy in Oregon using hydropower.

This is one of the most genius marketing tactics for Apple just like the ones implemented by the best boston SEO services. It may not seem that significant, but there is a lot to this whole idea. Across many different developing countries, there is a huge wave of consumer consciousness that includes issues like sustainability. This is a bigger factor than ever right now. 55% of global respondents in Nielsen’s survey say that they are willing to pay more for products and services from companies that dedicate themselves to creating a positive social and environmental impact. That is an increase in 50% in 2012 and 45% in 2011. Regionally, respondents in Asia-Pacific (64%), Latin America (63%) and Middle East/Africa (63%) exceed the global average and have increased 9, 13 and 10 percentage points since 2011. So knowing that, you can see why this is such a big deal, and why the video is absolutely genius on Apple’s part. Check it out!

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Apple CEO Tim Cook is, as one would expect, very wealthy. However, money doesn’t seem to be what is important to him. Cook has decided to use his money to pay for his nephew’s college education and then donate the rest of it to charity. There is a long list of wealthy philanthropists who donate most of their money to charity, and now he is joining in to make the list a little longer.

CNN says that his wealth is close to about a billion dollars. That is a ton of money to earn just to give it away. But, this goes along with what Steve Jobs and Apple have been about all along. Apple started out as a little indie company full of love with the desire to break down the boundaries and limits, to think outside the box, and to keep things simple and give back whenever they could. Tim Cook gave this statement on Jobs’ attitude toward everything in a recent interview with Fast Company:

“Steve felt that most people live in a small box. They think they can’t influence or change things a lot. I think he would probably call that a limited life. And more than anybody I’ve ever met, Steve never accepted that. He got each of us [his top executives] to reject that philosophy. If you can do that, then you can change things. If you embrace that the things that you can do are limitless, you can put your ding in the universe. You can change the world. That was the huge arc of his life, the common thread. That’s what drove him to have big ideas. Through his actions, way more than any preaching, he embedded this nonacceptance of the status quo into the company.”

There have been plenty of former CEOs that have given away a huge chunk of wealth to charitable causes. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett both did the exact same thing. The most famous, and probably the first was Chuck Feeney, the former CEO of Duty Free Shoppers. He was famous for saving his money, wearing cheap clothes and flying coach when he obviously didn’t need to. He put $4 billion into his Atlantic Philanthropist charitable trust which will be completely depleted before his death. After he did that, he has lived quietly and modestly ever since.

According to CEO of New York City nonprofit Living Cities Ben Hecht, “We’re seeing all this new wealth, especially West Coast wealth and technology wealth, which doesn’t necessarily have a place tied to it. They just have very different sensibilities. Many of them don’t have any interest in building a perpetual institution. I think it’s not in their culture. They want to give it away, and they want to be active in giving it away.”

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