Technologies

Tim Cook was named Apple’s CEO 10 years ago. Here are three things he changed

The company we know as Apple looks and acts a lot like the one we all remember from the Steve Jobs-era. But it’s also very different.

In 2012, less than a year after being named CEO of Apple, Tim Cook sat down for an interview with NBC News. He discussed the basics you’d expect about iPhones and Apple stores and even made a surprise announcement that the tech giant would begin assembling some Mac computers in Texas rather than China. Cook also made clear during the interview that, while he understood the responsibility he had to lead one of the world’s most closely watched companies, he wasn’t going to try to emulate its iconic co-founder, Steve Jobs.

«One of the things he did for me — that removed a gigantic burden that would have existed — is that he told me, on a couple occasions before he passed away, to never question what he would have done,» Cook said. «Never ask the question ‘what Steve would do’ — just do what’s right.»

Over the past decade, Cook has waded into culture and politics far more than Jobs ever seemed to do. He came out as gay in 2014 and started giving speeches decrying discrimination across the country. He even walked the tight rope as a social critic of Donald Trump’s policies as president between 2017 and 2021, while attempting to protect Apple’s business from harsh import tariffs.

All the while, Cook kept up Apple’s slow and steady drumbeat of incremental innovation, leading teams that introduced seemingly small improvements over iPhones year after year. Now, Apple in the Cook-era sells some of the most well-respected phone cameras in the industry. And it’s one of the few device makers that builds the computer processing brains that power its phones and computers, too. Those chips, dubbed the A14 and M1 Apple Silicon chips, are considered among the best, as well.

All this has helped to turn Apple into one of the most highly valued companies in the world. Wall Street puts the company at just under $2.5 trillion. And Apple’s $57 billion in profits from $274.5 billion in revenues last year dwarf the $26 billion in earnings the company posted a decade ago, from $108.2 billion in revenue.

Here are three ways Cook changed Apple.

More political

A decade ago, it was very unusual to see a high-profile tech industry leader exchange anything but pleasant words with a world leader. But soon after Cook came out as gay in 2014, he started speaking out on a range of human rights issues. Not a year later, he penned a nearly 600-word piece that ran in The Washington Post addressing discrimination against the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities.

«There’s something very dangerous happening in states across the country,» he wrote at the time.

Cook also joined 100 other tech executives from Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Yelp who criticized laws in Indiana and Arkansas written to support «religious freedom» but that critics fear will encourage discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

During Trump’s time in office, Cook became a regular voice speaking out against the president’s immigration moves. He criticized Trump’s statements defending white supremacists and other extremists at a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. And Cook said Trump’s plans to ban transgender people from serving in the military were wrong.

«We are indebted to all who serve,» Cook wrote at the time. «Discrimination against anyone holds everyone back.»

But Cook was also shrewd with Trump, attending summits with the president and even inviting him to the company’s Mac Pro manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.

«He’s a great executive,» Trump said once, according to a profile in the Wall Street Journal. «Others go out and hire very expensive consultants. Tim Cook calls Donald Trump directly.»

It hasn’t all gone smoothly. Most recently, Apple’s faced backlash from employees frustrated by how executives are handling return-to-work policies amid the coronavirus pandemic. Though Apple’s pushed back its target date to return to the office to January next year at the earliest, executives have pushed employees to regularly come into the office.

Some employees have also accused the company’s employee resources team of mishandling harassment, sexism, racism and other troubling issues among the company’s roughly 147,000 employees. They’ve banded together on Twitter under the hashtag #AppleToo, and created a website to draw attention to their concerns.

Other companies, including Google, Facebook and Uber, have also struggled to meaningfully respond to similar criticism.

More products

Apple’s long been known for its comparably small product lineup. Under Jobs, Apple served up consumer laptops and desktops, with its MacBooks and iMacs, and offered professional laptops and desktops, with the MacBook Pros and Mac Pros. It sold several different types of iPods as well, but only one version of the iPhone each year.

Under Cook, Apple’s expanded its product lineup to include two standard models of its iPhones, the $699 iPhone 12 Mini and $799 iPhone 12, which CNET’s Patrick Holland said was one of the best phone we’ve ever reviewed. There are also two «pro» models, the $999 iPhone 12 Pro and $1099 iPhone 12 Pro Max. And there’s the lower-cost $399 iPhone SE, which CNET called the best value for the dollar of any iPhone when it came out last year.

Apple also sells at least two different variants of its Apple Watch, not including partnerships with Nike and Hermes, three different AirPods headphones and four different iPads. And it was Cook who pushed Apple into the smartwatch market in the first place.

It’s hard to debate Apple’s success with these products, and it appears the company won’t be changing its approach much with its rumored upcoming iPhone 13 and iPads. And even though Apple’s often criticized for seemingly minimal updates each year, experts say the differences become dramatic when comparing devices further back in time.

«This is what most people don’t understand: Incremental is revolutionary for Apple,» Chris Deaver, who spent four years in human resources working with Apple research teams, told the Wall Street Journal in a story published last year. «Once they enter a category with a simply elegant solution, they can start charting the course and owning that space. No need to break speed records, just do it organically.»

More ambition

Perhaps the most dramatic changes Cook’s made are to what Apple sells us.

Jobs reveled in selling products people could touch and feel, focusing primarily on software as a means to make them work better. He even referenced the computer scientist Alan Kay when introducing the first iPhone in 2007. «‘People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware,» Jobs said, quoting Kay. «Alan said this 30 years ago, and this is how we feel about it.»

Under Cook, Apple’s approach hasn’t changed so much as it’s expanded. To help Apple’s products stand out, Cook in 2019 pushed his company to start offering monthly services ranging from a $10 per month magazine and newspaper aggregation service called Apple News Plus to a $5 monthly gaming service called Apple Arcade, and most recently, $10 per month Apple Fitness Plus workout classes.

Cook promised his company’s $5 per month Apple TV Plus video subscription service would be «unlike anything that’s been done before» when it launched in 2019.

Apple hasn’t said how many people pay for Apple TV Plus subscriptions but has increasingly drawn attention to its overall services business, which in the three months ended June 26 this year pulled in nearly $17.5 billion in revenue. That’s more than Apple’s Mac and iPad businesses combined. It’s also up nearly 33% from the same time a year earlier despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which has has upended billions of people’s lives around the world.

«We’re continuing to stay focused on supporting the global response to the pandemic and delivering the best products and services for people,» Cook said on a July conference call with analysts. «Our greatest source of inspiration, isn’t technology itself, but help people use it in their own lives in ways, great and small, to write a novel or to read one to care for an ailing patient or see a doctor virtually to track their heart rate on a jog or to train for the Olympics.»

Technologies

Circle to Search Is One of My Favorite AI Tools. Shame It’s Not on the iPhone Yet

Commentary: While a lot of mobile AI tools feel frivolous, this Google Search capability is intuitive. I just wish it weren’t restricted to Android phones.

Every time I use an iPhone, I lament that it doesn’t have one of the most practical mobile AI tools: Google’s Circle to Search. Until that feature comes to the iPhone — and I really hope it does soon — I don’t think most people will realize just how useful it can be.

Circle to Search is a way to quickly pull up information about anything on your Android phone’s screen. Just long-press the home button and then circle, scribble or tap whatever you want to look up. If you’re scrolling through Instagram and see a vacation spot you’d like to identify, a pair of shoes you want to buy or a word you want to look up, just draw around it and Google will pull up a list of relevant Search results.

You can even use your phone’s camera to point at something, then use Circle to Search to find out more. And a new capability that debuted on Thursday continuously translates text as you scroll through social media posts or switch between apps.

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Apple’s Visual Intelligence feature has some similarities to Circle to Search; it uses Apple Intelligence to identify what’s around you and whatever you snap a picture of. A new functionality arriving with iOS 26 will allow the tool to work with screenshots, so you can ask ChatGPT about what’s on your screen, add an event to your calendar or search for a product. But those capabilities are still relatively limited compared with Circle to Search. Plus, Visual Intelligence is available only on iPhone 15 Pro models or later, while Circle to Search is on a much broader range of Android phones.

I’ve used Circle to Search for a variety of tasks, from figuring out where to buy tea sets to identifying a song to looking up the breed of cute cats. (Clearly, the use cases are diverse.) It’s a seamless way of finding relevant links and information about anything that piques your curiosity, without struggling to describe it in a traditional Google search — especially when you don’t know the name of what you’re searching.

But if you do prefer to add words to your query, you can still do that with Circle to Search. Once the results pop up at the bottom of your screen, you can type in the Search bar to get more specific answers and information.

Circle to Search debuted in January 2024 on the Samsung Galaxy S24 series and the Pixel 8 lineup, and it’s now available on the latest Pixel devices as well as on Galaxy S, Z and A phones — meaning it’s not just confined to the priciest devices.

When will Circle to Search come to iPhones?

I’m glad more phones are getting Circle to Search and that it’s become somewhat standard on a handful of premium and more affordable Android phones (and I hope it lands on more). But I’m eagerly awaiting the day this feature arrives on the iPhone. I’m not holding my breath for Apple to announce the arrival of this capability at its iPhone 17 event on Tuesday, but I suppose anything’s possible.

Google hasn’t said anything about bringing Circle to Search to Apple devices, though you can carry out a similar function on iPhones using Google Lens in the Google app and on Chrome. But that’s simply not good enough for me. Circle to Search has been out for nearly two years, and it’s about time it made its iPhone debut in full force.

It’s a contentious time for tech companies like Google, Samsung and Apple, which are racing to crank out the most advanced AI-powered features. So while other Google apps and features like Lens, Drive and Calendar have made their way onto the iPhone, this is a whole different ball game.

But if reports about Apple potentially supercharging Siri with Google’s Gemini are any indication, there’s a high chance the two companies can agree that Circle to Search is a feature that also belongs on iPhones. And once it arrives, you’ll likely wonder how you ever lived without it.

Until then, I’ll just keep wishing I had an Android phone in my hand each time I scroll past a particularly tantalizing teapot on Instagram.

Technologies

Meta Reimagines Facebook’s Poke Feature to Gamify Gen Z Flirting

The early Facebook feature is still around and has now been gamified by Meta to appeal to younger people.

When was the last time you were poked on Facebook?

The feature, which has endured since the early days of the social-media platform, is still clinging to life and in fact being pushed again by Meta as a way to maintain connections with friends. Originally intended as a way to reach out to other users without actually sending a message or any meaningful content, it has been the focus of soft relaunches in 2017 and 2024.

Meta has now started promoting poking all over again, according to TechCrunch, as interest seems to be rising among younger users. Facebook now has a centralized poke page at facebook.com/pokes where you can view who has poked you, who you’ve poked and who Meta’s algorithm thinks should be the target of your next poking.

Plans for the poke include indicators for poke counts, the option to dismiss pokes and emoji badges similar to those on platforms including Snapchat and TikTok.

Technologies

This Portable Power Station Was My Lifeline During an Outage. Here’s Why I Recommend It

The Duracell M150 isn’t the biggest battery backup, but it has two killer features most power stations don’t.

I recently had Hurricane Erin blow through my area, resulting in lots of rain, some fallen trees and the seemingly inevitable power outage. It was the worst possible timing since I’m currently in the middle of moving into a new apartment, meaning my Jackery portable power station and emergency lantern are both sitting in a pile of boxes. Fortunately, I still had the Duracell M150 Power Station on my desk, and it helped save the night, allowing me to continue packing in the dark.

It looks like a giant two-tone Duracell AA battery, with a copper accent on the top. The charging hub with multiple high-output USB-C and USB-A ports has a built-in light ring and a dock that keeps it topped up all the time. It usually runs $159, but right now it’s available on Amazon with a new $149 price tag.

There’s also an adjustable MagSafe-compatible wireless charging pad up top, along with a storage compartment to stow away cables. Its larger sibling, the M250, is even featured on CNET’s list of favorite portable power stations for its unique design, though if you want something with more capacity, you should consider our best portable power stations list.

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The Duracell’s charging dock and light is the killer feature

The thing about most portable power stations is that you need to top them up periodically or leave them plugged in all the time so they’re always ready for emergencies, at the cost of battery lifespan. That’s the case with the Jackery Explorer 300 power station, which I also own and used as my mainstay power backup option. It’s a good device with pretty of runtime, but it requires me to be frequently plugging and unplugging it, which can be a hassle.

The Duracell M150 makes this process easier with the included charging dock, which keeps the M150 topped up whenever I need it. When my power went out, all I had to do was pull the dock off the charging stand and move it to where I needed it. That’s also where the built-in light came in handy. Unlike the Jackery Explorer 300, an unexpected outage didn’t leave me reaching for my phone’s flashlight. With a press of a button, I got immediate light and I was able to find my way around my dark and cluttered apartment.

The light isn’t as bright as an emergency lantern or camping light, but it’s more than enough to do in a pinch, giving me the time to check my breaker box to confirm that it wasn’t the cause of the outage and to find some back up entertainment options like my Steam Deck and Kobo Libra Color, while also serving as a tabletop light if I needed to head to the bathroom.

The Duracell also stands out for its size and weight. At just 1.8 pounds for the battery section and 0.6 pounds for the included charging dock, you can tote the whole thing around without too much trouble. However, it doesn’t have a carrying handle like the Jackery Explorer 300, which would have been a nice touch for added portability.

Does a portable power station make a good gift?

The Duracell M150 provides power whenever you need it, making it a great gift for those in areas more prone to outages. This can include places like Florida and the Gulf Coast or even people like me who live in older buildings with more decrepit infrastructure.

With its mix of USB-A and high-output USB-C ports and a wireless charging stand, it can charge devices ranging from laptops and phones to earbuds and smartwatches. There are also two additional models, the smaller and more compact M100 and the larger, more capacious M250 so you can pick whichever one suits your needs best. All three come with the charging dock and built-in light.

For other options, check out CNET’s list of the best portable power stations.

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