New Apple Product Line-up for 2014: Tim Cook Promises Great Products over Financial Metrics [VIDEO]
Innovation or originality of recent product line up from Apple had been under scrutiny since the passing away of Steve Jobs. As observed, the recently introduced products from Apple were just "upgrades" of the old ones.
Take for example the case of the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c which both were the subjects of a parody posted in YouTube that acquired 5, 147,365 views to date.
(Credit: YouTube video from Matthias)
During Apple's conference call for its fiscal year 2013 fourth quarter report, analysts were given their chance to throw questions to Apple's CEO Tim Cook.
Some analysts pounded Cook for Apple's new product line up for 2014 that could augment Apple's ability to come up of innovative products.
Bill Shope from Goldman Sachs asked Cook if he thinks "there are new innovations and services in the pipeline that can reinvigorate the premium segment of the market after what's obviously been a bit tough 2013 to that segment, to the industry."
Cook was passionate with his answer.
"Well from a growth point of view for Apple our key catalysts will be, always will be new products and new services and these are above in existing categories that we're in and in new categories."
Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray asked: "Are there product categories out there that are big enough to move the needle for Apple?"
Cook remained unfazed and hinted that indeed Apple is in its way of developing products for 2014 that Apple can be proud of.
"We are working on some stuff that we are really proud of and we will see how it does, and we will announce things when we are ready."
Steve Milunovich from UBS Securities threw a more "philosophical" question on Cook, pounding on Cook's philosophy that great products are better than focusing on "financial metrics" as compared with how CEO from other companies do it.
Milunovich asked: "... if you can come up with a couple of really great products maybe they will provide enough growth, maybe they don't but you don't seem as focused on kind of financial metrics and growth projections as a lot of companies are. Maybe tie (ph) that a little bit in your functional organizations, does that limit how many products you can actually take to market overtime?"
Cook upheld what he believes in.
"Steve I think about it as differently than that, the way I think about is, we're here to make great products and we think that if we focus on that and do that really, really well that the financial metrics will also come and so we don't see those two things being mutually exclusive. We see them having great overlap and I think if you look at how the company has executed over many years you would suggest that that's possible."