CEO Tim Cook says Apple only invests in those components which allows it “to do something better”

At the earnings call of Q3 2021, discussing the company’s focus behind components procurement and development, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said they go for components with which Apple can deliver something better than the competition. The company saw record-breaking Q3 2021, with 36% Y-o-Y growth, it hit $81.4 billion in revenue across products and services.

Tim Cook
Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., arrives for the morning session of the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., on Wednesday, July 10, 2019. The 36th annual event gathers many of America’s wealthiest and most powerful people in media, technology, and sports. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

After a slow start in Q1 2020, Apple’s growth has accelerated in products and service in every quarter since then. In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the Cupertino tech giant performed better than expectations. And CEO Tim Cook accredits the success to great innovation and technology at a time when it was needed the most (shift to virtual communication and remote work lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic). At fiscal 2020 fourth quarter remarkable earnings report’s conference, Mr. Cook said:

“Apple capped off a fiscal year defined by innovation in the face of adversity with a September quarter record, led by all-time records for Mac and Services. Despite the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, Apple is in the midst of our most prolific product introduction period ever, and the early response to all our new products, led by our first 5G-enabled iPhone lineup, has been tremendously positive.

From remote learning to the home office, Apple products have been a window to the world for users as the pandemic continues, and our teams have met the needs of this moment with creativity, passion, and the kinds of big ideas that only Apple can deliver.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook says investment in components is driven by striving to lead the industry with the best, not the first like the M1 chip

When Harsh Kumar from Piper Sandler asked how does Apple, one of world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, determine the value of components it wants to acquire and develop, Tim Cook answered that the decision is based on what the company can deliver with the technology.

And in terms of us and how we decide to make silicon, we ask ourselves if we can do something better if we can deliver a better product if we can buy something in the market. And it’s great. And it’s as good as what we could do. We’re going to buy it. We’ll only enter where we believe we have the ability to do something better and therefore make a better product for the user.

And so the M1 is a great example of that. We have the ability within our silicon team to deliver a product that we feel is appreciably better than we could buy. And so we’ve taken our great hardware and software expertise and combined those and have brought the M1 out. And the response to the M1 has been unbelievable. You know, it’s powering Mac sales that are constrained. It’s powering now iPad, which also has constraints on it. And so that’s how we look at whether we should enter into a market or not.

M1 chip

Mr. Cook refrained from giving an opinion on the ARM acquisition by Nividia, Apple’s semiconductor competitors. Read the complete Q3 2021 report here.

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Addicted to social media and in love with iPhone, started blogging as a hobby. And now it's my passion for every day is a new learning experience. Hopefully, manufacturers will continue to use innovative solutions and we will keep on letting you know about them.