Tim Cook on why not “being first” works fine for Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook

If you look at Apple under Tim Cook — and perhaps even under Steve Jobs — the company hasn’t been the first to launch many a popular features you see in its products. Apple wasn’t the first to come up with FaceID but the implementation was much better than we had seen on any other product. Google, Microsoft have stolen the march when it comes to AI. Apple has been lagging behind. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook is not too worried.

In a detailed interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cook explained why not being first, but best is more important for Apple. “We’re perfectly fine with not being first,” he said in the interview. Cook said that to become great it does take a little while. “It takes a lot of iteration. It takes worrying about every detail. Sometimes, it takes a little longer to do that,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

Cook further said that Apple would rather be ‘late’ but come with a product that actually makes a difference. “If we can do both, that’s fantastic. But if we can only do one, there’s no doubt around here. If you talk to 100 people, 100 of them would tell you: It’s about being the best.”

On AI — or how Apple calls it Apple Intelligence — Cook knows that Apple hasn’t been the first. “But we’ve done it in a way that we think is the best for the customer,” he said in the interview.

Apple is expected to publicly roll out the first set of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone users next week.