Apple CEO Tim Cook granted an exclusive interview in Esquire Europe. Very few times the executive speaks with a Spanish medium, so it is worth revisiting the statements they have made. The media took the opportunity to ask questions about Cook’s youth, for the defense of privacy and for all that has been experienced and learned during the pandemic.
“I make mistakes every day. The list of mistakes would be endless.”
Asked by Esquire Cook, he recalls his early days in the state of Alabama, where he lived a rural life and was pushed into technology after discovering the first Pong games or Commodore consoles. He also realized that I loved math since I was young, which led him to pursue studies in industrial engineering.
The CEO also reiterates what he has said in other interviews: A huge weight was taken off his shoulders when Steve Jobs told him not to consider running Apple by figuring out how its founder would do it. And the advice was good: Apple has multiplied its market value by several orders since Tim took over as CEO.
It highlights two of all the achievements the company has made over the past ten years: Face ID (calls it “miraculous“and the Apple Watch. He also admits that he is wrong and has to correct the course several times”,everyday“, although he did not mention any of these errors since”the list would be endless“.
“There is a lot to learn from Europe”
On the pandemic, Cook is keen to acknowledge that a lot has been learned from what technology allowed us to do when we were all confined a year ago. Even like that, defends that face to face contact with people should never be lost And remember that we have to respect much more the work of people such as couriers or health workers through whom it would not have been possible to keep us in business over the past year.
Esquire opposed this to the idea that devices like the Apple Watch could get patient data from a distance, but Cook argues that features like the Apple Watch’s EKGs can allow patients to view. the doctor when they want, but without having to. it may be necessary for some surveys. “I can’t tell you anything, but I assure you we have some amazing health apps going on.“, promises.
About privacy, Cook is frank. In addition to praising the European GDPR law, it makes it clear that the company’s intention is for users to own their own data and for them to decide what to do next. The focus is mine:
“Privacy must be one of the basic human rights. In a world where you feel like you are constantly being watched, where you feel that someone is looking over your shoulder to see what you are looking for on the internet, if you move from one site to another, which traces your browsing history, records what you buy, what you like and what you don’t like … In such a world, people start to do less, to think less, to express themselves less.
. And it’s not a world I like to live in. At Apple, we believe that your data is yours alone. You and you alone have to decide what to do with them “
Cook thinks the United States has much to learn from the European Union, for having succeeded in bringing together several countries of different cultures and languages; and for the unique apps that mainland developers are launching through the App Store.
The interview ends with Cook commenting on certain aspects of his daily life: his favorite physical exercise is strength training which he does four times a week, the app you use the most is Mail, you really want to be able to hug your nephew again once it is safe to do so and would like to escape to Europe for a vacation.