Time for Tim to Go....

jexner325

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As an Apple investor, I am fairly happy. Apple stock is up over $600 and things look decent on the horizon. But let's not confuse things; people buy on the rumor and sell on the fact, and that is why I am concerned about what is to come for Apple.

Steve Jobs made two mistakes; he hired John Scully and he chose Tim Cook as his successor.

Tim seems like a nice guy, is brilliant at logistics, but make no mistake about it, he is not a product guy. He lacks the vision as well as enthusiasm of Steve or other CEO's like Zuckerberg, Page, Ellison etc. The reality is that he may be a great numbers guy, but he is making some major mistakes that will be clear in hindsight.

Mistake #1, in 2013 he said on an investor call that Apple would release products in new categories throughout 2014. Tim, it is 5/19/2014 and unless the little mini-update to the MacBook Air qualifies, this has been pretty disappointing. Honestly, he would have best been served by keeping his mouth shut as opposed to making this comment. Either Apple had no intentions on releasing anything before September and Tim mislead his investors, or they missed some critical deadlines. Neither is good.

Mistake #2, he got rid of Scott Forestall. I don't want this to be a debate about the merits of design choice, but there is no question that Scott was a talent that Apple should have retained. I personally find the new OS to be nothing short of a mess that appears to have been created by a 13 year old girl. I do believe if given the chance, Scott could have done some amazing stuff with the OS. Plus, putting so much on Ive's shoulders is a concern; he gets a lot of credit and now will get a lot of blame. As somebody who doesn't like the spotlight, I don't think this was a wise move.

Mistake #3, Apple is becoming too predictable. I am not talking about the fact that leaks make product announcements boring, but the reality is that Apple now releases everything in September/October. WWDC is strictly for software or if Intel has new processors, some Mac hardware. Competitors know this too and now release all of their products in the Spring. Gosh Tim, why not take the wind out of their sails and release the iPhone Phablet in March 2014 when people are least expecting it? Even if rumors come out about supply chain purchases, at least competitors can't plan on having "open season" on Apple for 9 months of the year.

I am not saying Apple lacks innovation, I am just saying that their release schedule is a disaster. Because the 5S, iPad Mini with Retina Display, and iPad Air were all released in less than a 3-month span, the attention or focus to any one product was completely lost. When Apple used to release the iPad's in the Spring, it allowed that time to be focused only on the iPad. It was brilliant. iPad sales were down YOY between 2013 and 2014 and I think it was largely due to the poor release schedule which falls on Tim.

Mistake #4, Beats. No Explanation needed.

The last mistake for Tim really is in regards to his acquiescence to pressure from Wall Street. As an investor, I would much rather see Apple continue to horde their cash for R&D or SMART acquisition (not Beats) and avoid Carl Icahn, not appease him. Make no mistake, the dividends, the comments about product releases in 2014, all point to a CEO trying to appease Wall Street. I would love to see Apple make some waves in M&A; buy a telecom and compete directly with other carriers, buy Nest, buy Yahoo!, heck buy Xbox or Playstation from Microsoft or Sony. Any of these would make more sense than Beats which again shows a lack of vision.

As an Apple fanatic, I want nothing more than to see Cook and company succeed. But I continue to get frustrated when I look at my phone and see a lack of vision and potential, have to try and comprehend why everything comes out in Fall when competitors counter with products in the Spring, and continually watch Samsung and Motorola have fun bashing Apple on TV. I miss the days when Apple was feisty (Mac vs. PC). I miss the days when Steve would surprise us with something we may not have been expecting (in January or February). I miss the company that was exciting and I feel that by appointing someone who isn't a product guy, Steve may have left us with a reminder of just how much we miss his leadership!
 

Jaguarr40

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I just finished reading a well thought out and well written article in the forum for a change and not by one off regular writers of the Blog who do their own good job at writing.
The main reason I enjoyed reading this was the layout and it was easy to understand your thought process. Are you right or wrong about your points. Well I would say each person would have their own thoughts and on a few points I think you have good points. Although Scott Forestall is indeed gone in my opinion Ive is really the designer as opposed to the OS guru but at the end. Y own personal opinion is going to come from the people who really matter and I don't mean Tim or such folks like you that hold shares or the Executives or even the Board of Directors and I think you know who that is.

I believe it to be the general public that sit back with Apples predictability and wait for the latest and next great device to come out so they can stand in line to buy it.
Thank you very much for the enjoyable article and opinions I sincerely got a good deal out of it.
 

Flow39

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I think Tim is doing a good job, but agree with one of your points: the fact that they need to get back into launching the iPads in the spring and the iPhones in the fall. This, like you said, allows all of the focus to be on one product.
 

DaPhoneking

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Well thought out and can agree about the product launches. iPads in early spring, iPhone in summer/fall. Sure would make saving up the money to buy a lot easier.
 

sanibel

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Nice article. Of course, admittedly, you're an investor so you're viewing Mr. Cook through such lenses. There's nothing wrong with doing that, but let's keep this thought in our heads: Steve Jobs was unique; brilliant; the heart of Apple. Any CEO would have an amazingly difficult time filling the shoes Job left. So while I agree with what you're saying, perhaps instead of looking for another Job (pun intended), Tim Cook needs to hire an exceptionally talented team. He must surround himself with the best there is.
Oh, and yes: Beats?! Really? What for, Tim?
 

HAWK

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Well written article. I agree with everything you said minus the beats acquisition. I think beats can bring a lot to the table in terms of speaker quality and technology. This is strictly as a buyers point of view


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DaPhoneking

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Well written article. I agree with everything you said minus the beats acquisition. I think beats can bring a lot to the table in terms of speaker quality and technology. This is strictly as a buyers point of view


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Beats and speaker quality shouldn't go together IMHO. If that were the case Apple should've bought/partnered with Bose, if anything.
 

HankAZ

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Beats and speaker quality shouldn't go together IMHO. If that were the case Apple should've bought/partnered with Bose, if anything.

Bose is incredibly over rated. Their speakers, headphones and audio products feature way too much base for these ears. Not that Beat is that great, but Bose is not the answer.
 

Spencerdl

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Bose is incredibly over rated. Their speakers, headphones and audio products feature way too much base for these ears. Not that Beat is that great, but Bose is not the answer.

I have to ask..."have you ever listen to BOSE?", one thing for certain, they do NOT have to MUCH bass, but their sound does offer clear crisp sound with vocals and musical instruments combined. I have been using BOSE products for years and there are only two things I would like more of and that's loudness and BASS to go along with their crisp and clear sound.
 

DaPhoneking

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I have to ask..."have you ever listen to BOSE?", one thing for certain, they do NOT have to MUCH bass, but their sound does offer clear crisp sound with vocals and musical instruments combined. I have been using BOSE products for years and there are only two things I would like more of and that's loudness and BASS to go along with their crisp and clear sound.

I couldn't agree more. I have used both Bose and Beats, and in my opinion Bose sounds MUCH better. Realistically with Beats all you're really paying for is mediocre headphones with Dr. Dre's name. Nothing more, nothing less.


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taz323

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I have to ask..."have you ever listen to BOSE?", one thing for certain, they do NOT have to MUCH bass, but their sound does offer clear crisp sound with vocals and musical instruments combined. I have been using BOSE products for years and there are only two things I would like more of and that's loudness and BASS to go along with their crisp and clear sound.

Have a Bose surround sound system. Love how clear the sound is.
 

HankAZ

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I have to ask..."have you ever listen to BOSE?", one thing for certain, they do NOT have to MUCH bass, but their sound does offer clear crisp sound with vocals and musical instruments combined. I have been using BOSE products for years and there are only two things I would like more of and that's loudness and BASS to go along with their crisp and clear sound.

As a matter of fact, I have. I also have old ears that listened to way too much rock and roll as a youth. I can't hear the highs very well, and much of it sounds muddled. I stand by my position that Bose is way overrated, and personally, I would pass. As I said above, "Beats" is not the answer to any question, either.

And get off my lawn!
 

Spencerdl

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As a matter of fact, I have. I also have old ears that listened to way too much rock and roll as a youth. I can't hear the highs very well, and much of it sounds muddled. I stand by my position that Bose is way overrated, and personally, I would pass. As I said above, "Beats" is not the answer to any question, either.

And get off my lawn!

LOL....I can agree with "OLD EARS" and "OLD EYES" for that matter. I guess we all have different opinions and ears/eyes when it come to the right sound and screen size....SMILE
 

Ledsteplin

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As a matter of fact, I have. I also have old ears that listened to way too much rock and roll as a youth. I can't hear the highs very well, and much of it sounds muddled. I stand by my position that Bose is way overrated, and personally, I would pass. As I said above, "Beats" is not the answer to any question, either.

And get off my lawn!
[Stands on Curb] What headset brand would you have Apple mix with for their ear gear?


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FalconLorenzo

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I have so, so many problems with your postulations. I am in class, so will limit it to just a few.

(1) You say that Apple should release new phones in the Spring, in order to "prevent other manufacturers from feasting on Apple for 9 months out of the year." Apple doesn't give a damn about Spring and Summer sales of phones. The phones and now iPads are released in the fall specifically to capitalize on the crazy-town-banana-pants Holiday shopping season. If Apple's phones and tablets were long in the tooth come November and December, it could completely wreck their entire year. Don't be foolish just for the sake of commenting on the internet.

(2) Beats was, resoundingly, not a mistake. Hindsight is 20/20, obviously, but even at the time I think it was relatively clear that it was a patent, design, and talent acquisition. Beats made Apple Music possible, and gave Apple the talents and networking connections of Jimmy Iovine. It opened up an entirely new, and relatively cheap-to-operate-and-maintain, revenue stream for Apple. Again, don't be foolish just for the sake of commenting on the internet.
 

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