Interview with Tim Cook by Brut. : what to remember?

Yesterday, as part of the showViva Technology, Guillaume Lacroix, founder and director of the mediaBrut., was able to question the CEO. from Apple. Tim Cook doesn't do many interviews with French media, so the event was a big one, especially since the exchange lasted nearly thirty minutes. Different topics were discussed in this context, let's see the important points together.

The video of the interview dubbed in French can be seen below. If the dubbing bothers you, because it is too inaudible and covers the discussion in English, the original version of the interview, therefore not dubbed, isto see here.

Regulation, competition and confidentiality

Tim Cook believes that very good regulatory measures have come from Europe, in particular the GDPR, a European regulation on the protection of user data. The CEO confirms that Apple has always supported the GDPR and would even aim to go even further in the direction of confidentiality.

But on the other hand, he thinks that regulatory bodies do not take enough account of the interest for the user when questioning the functioning of certain Apple products. For example, Apple is regularly accused ofanti-competitive practice with the forced use of its App Store on iOS in particular.

Tim Cook explains that this operation with passage via the app store to install applications is asine qua non conditionto guarantee thesecurityof the iPhone and acertain degree of confidentialityfor the user (in particular via the new systemApp Tracking Transparencyand privacy stickers on App Store app listings). He adds that being able to load apps other than through the App Store could greatly achieve these two principles which are the strength of the iPhone and iOS. As an example, he cites a striking statistic: there are 47 times more malware on Android than on iOS.

He concludes this important point of user privacy by adding that Apple will always be ready to discuss the subject, but thatthe user's interest will always be firmly defended by the Californian firm.

Respect for private data is in fact one of the key points for the design of products marked with the apple, as Tim Cook regularly reminded us during the interview. The man says he is relying on a desire that Steve Jobs already expressed at the time, underlying the idea that being able to have one's private data as one wishes is a fundamental human right.

Environment: 2030 objective

The environment is the American giant's other major hobby horse. As the boss recalled, the goal is to achieve operational functioning in 2030carbon neutral for the entire Apple product chain, from engineering to manufacturing, to the finished product. Apple aims for the closed circle: manufacturing, use, recycling, remanufacturing, etc., without having to take any additional resources from the planet.

He already says he is proud of the progress made: Apple (excluding suppliers, therefore) already operates 100% on renewable energy, 98% of the rare earths used on the iPhone 12 are recycled and 40% of the latest MacBooks are made of Recyclable aluminum. But he obviously wants to go much further. According to him, Apple will succeed in producing an iPhone that is as good for the user as it is good for the planet.

Taxes

Tim Cook was asked about handling taxes for Apple andtax optimization. The CEO does quite well by saying that overall, taking into account taxation at the global level, Apple pays 23% in taxes, as much, according to him, as what European companies pay, for example. He believes that what creates the controversy is the way in which these 23% are distributed between the different areas of the globe. For example, in the USA, Apple pays more taxes than in Europe, because the entire R&D part of the firm is based across the Atlantic. We must therefore not forget to consider Apple as a multinational when the question of taxes is raised.

The boss adds that Apple has never sought to avoid taxation and that any OECD decision will be respected.“Appe wants to pay his share”, as he says so well.

The future of Apple

Tim Cook strongly believes in two major areas of tech:healthand theaugmented reality. For health, he thinks that more and more people will want to use technology to track their bodies in the future. He has been convinced of this since the first very positive feedback on the heart sensor of the Apple Watch, initially thought of as a luxury product, then reoriented as a connected health product.

Regarding augmented reality, this is another very important area for Apple. According to Tim Cook, AR is a technology of the future that has the potential to solve many user problems.

Finally, he does not forget to mentionartificial intelligenceas a major development in the world of tech today and tomorrow.

Other topics were discussed more succinctly, such as the pandemic and Apple's efforts to help combat the coronavirus, including having helped supply vaccines to Africa. The Apple Car project was also heavily discussed. But then Tim Cook was forced tokick into touch. Finally, the CEO assured that he had planned his next visit to France, for the end of this year.

Do not hesitate togive us your feedbackon the interview in the comments, we are curious to know what you thought of the exchange! The video is available at the beginning of the article.

Editor-in-chief for iPhon.fr. Pierre is like Indiana Jones, looking for the lost iOS trick. Also a long-time Mac user, Apple devices hold no secrets for him. Contact: pierre[a]iphon.fr.