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After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul
From the Wall Street Journal’s Tripp Mickle, the dramatic, untold story inside Apple after the passing of Steve Jobs by following his top lieutenants—Jony Ive, the Chief Design Officer, and Tim Cook, the COO-turned-CEO—and how the fading of the former and the rise of the latter led to Apple losing its soul.
Steve Jobs called Jony Ive his “spiritual partner at Apple.” The London-born genius was the second-most powerful person at Apple and the creative force who most embodies Jobs’s spirit, the man who designed the products adopted by hundreds of millions the world over: the iPod, iPad, MacBook Air, the iMac G3, and the iPhone. In the wake of his close collaborator’s death, the chief designer wrestled with grief and initially threw himself into his work designing the new Apple headquarters and the Watch before losing his motivation in a company increasingly devoted more to margins than to inspiration.
In many ways, Cook was Ive’s opposite. The product of a small Alabama town, he had risen through the ranks from the supply side of the company. His gift was not the creation of new products. Instead, he had invented countless ways to maximize a margin, squeezing some suppliers, persuading others to build factories the size of cities to churn out more units. He considered inventory evil. He knew how to make subordinates sweat with withering questions.
Jobs selected Cook as his successor, and Cook oversaw a period of tremendous revenue growth that has lifted Apple’s valuation to $2 trillion. He built a commanding business in China and rapidly distinguished himself as a master politician who could forge global alliances and send the world’s stock market into freefall with a single sentence.
Author Tripp Mickle spoke with more than 200 current and former Apple executives, as well as figures key to this period of Apple’s history, including Trump administration officials and fashion luminaries such as Anna Wintour while writing After Steve. His research shows the company’s success came at a cost. Apple lost its innovative spirit and has not designed a new category of device in years. Ive’s departure in 2019 marked a culmination in Apple’s shift from a company of innovation to one of operational excellence, and the price is a company that has lost its soul.
Steve Jobs called Jony Ive his “spiritual partner at Apple.” The London-born genius was the second-most powerful person at Apple and the creative force who most embodies Jobs’s spirit, the man who designed the products adopted by hundreds of millions the world over: the iPod, iPad, MacBook Air, the iMac G3, and the iPhone. In the wake of his close collaborator’s death, the chief designer wrestled with grief and initially threw himself into his work designing the new Apple headquarters and the Watch before losing his motivation in a company increasingly devoted more to margins than to inspiration.
In many ways, Cook was Ive’s opposite. The product of a small Alabama town, he had risen through the ranks from the supply side of the company. His gift was not the creation of new products. Instead, he had invented countless ways to maximize a margin, squeezing some suppliers, persuading others to build factories the size of cities to churn out more units. He considered inventory evil. He knew how to make subordinates sweat with withering questions.
Jobs selected Cook as his successor, and Cook oversaw a period of tremendous revenue growth that has lifted Apple’s valuation to $2 trillion. He built a commanding business in China and rapidly distinguished himself as a master politician who could forge global alliances and send the world’s stock market into freefall with a single sentence.
Author Tripp Mickle spoke with more than 200 current and former Apple executives, as well as figures key to this period of Apple’s history, including Trump administration officials and fashion luminaries such as Anna Wintour while writing After Steve. His research shows the company’s success came at a cost. Apple lost its innovative spirit and has not designed a new category of device in years. Ive’s departure in 2019 marked a culmination in Apple’s shift from a company of innovation to one of operational excellence, and the price is a company that has lost its soul.
511 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 3, 2022
About the author
Tripp Mickle
7 books43 followersTripp Mickle is a technology reporter for The New York Times covering Apple. He previously covered the company for the Wall Street Journal, where he also wrote about Google and other Silicon Valley giants. He has appeared on CNBC and NPR, and previously worked as a sportswriter. He lives with his wife and German shorthaired pointer in San Francisco.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
August 11, 2024
Walter Isaacson’s brilliant biography of Steve Jobs is one of the most compelling accounts of a driven man I’ve come across. At Apple, Jobs was totally focused on producing innovative products of superb quality. He wasn’t too worried about how his abrasive nature impacted those he worked with. He just wanted everything to be done ‘right’ and had zero tolerance for anything less. So what would happen to Apple once its driving force had passed? Well, this book tells the story.
The book is really the tale of two men who were to lead the company going forward. Jony Ive had been the Chief Design Officer during the period Jobs introduced the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. He and Steve had formed a close partnership, with Jobs dropping in on Ive and his team just about every day. The second figure is, of course, Tim Cook, who took over as CEO of the company following the death of Jobs. Cook had formerly been the company’s Chief Operating Officer. If Jobs was authoritarian and a galvanizing force for the company, then Cook was democratic in his approach and more focused on the numbers than the minute details of the products. They were, in fact, chalk and cheese.
This book walks us through Steve’s time at Apple (a scene setter) before focussing thereafter on Ive and Cook. We learn a good deal about what shaped these men and what drove them on or made them tick. They were very different people: Ive the aesthete and Cook the operations man, forever with his eye on the financial spreadsheet. The chemistry between the two never came close to that established between Ive and Jobs. Eventually, Jony became burnt out and, craving more autonomy, left to set up a business of his own. The book points out that despite Cook’s very different style and focus (he eventually turned more towards generating income from services more so than new products), the company's income continued to grow under his leadership.
It’s all told as a story, based on hundreds of interviews with an army of unnamed colleagues, friends, and acquaintances of key players. In fact, this is just the way I like to imbibe this sort of information, I loved it and found the whole book to be hugely informative and yet still entertaining, in equal measure. Highly recommended.
My thanks to HarperCollins UK for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book is really the tale of two men who were to lead the company going forward. Jony Ive had been the Chief Design Officer during the period Jobs introduced the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. He and Steve had formed a close partnership, with Jobs dropping in on Ive and his team just about every day. The second figure is, of course, Tim Cook, who took over as CEO of the company following the death of Jobs. Cook had formerly been the company’s Chief Operating Officer. If Jobs was authoritarian and a galvanizing force for the company, then Cook was democratic in his approach and more focused on the numbers than the minute details of the products. They were, in fact, chalk and cheese.
This book walks us through Steve’s time at Apple (a scene setter) before focussing thereafter on Ive and Cook. We learn a good deal about what shaped these men and what drove them on or made them tick. They were very different people: Ive the aesthete and Cook the operations man, forever with his eye on the financial spreadsheet. The chemistry between the two never came close to that established between Ive and Jobs. Eventually, Jony became burnt out and, craving more autonomy, left to set up a business of his own. The book points out that despite Cook’s very different style and focus (he eventually turned more towards generating income from services more so than new products), the company's income continued to grow under his leadership.
It’s all told as a story, based on hundreds of interviews with an army of unnamed colleagues, friends, and acquaintances of key players. In fact, this is just the way I like to imbibe this sort of information, I loved it and found the whole book to be hugely informative and yet still entertaining, in equal measure. Highly recommended.
My thanks to HarperCollins UK for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 15, 2022
barely 3 stars... Took forever to read, even though I was really interested in the topic. - at 512 pages, this desperately needed an editor! While all the background, research & new info is illuminating, it is very dry. Would only recommend to very serious tech & Apple users
May 14, 2022
Note: For the purpose of transparency, I only read 1/4 of the book but it was so annoying I had to put it down.
While there are interesting details and anecdotes, the book feels more like a collection of articles and books put together for cohesion, many times including unnecessary details.
Also, it might be called After Steve but it includes way too much information from During Steve. I know setting up the picture is important to make a contrast but it felt it had more than needed (after about 100 pages in it was still talking about the old days). It even dedicated a full chapter to each Jony Ive and Tim Cook, a sort of bio detailing how they grew up and what they did before joining Apple. And, again, some detail was important to understand their very different personalities but both could have been done in at least half the number of pages.
So, if you never read anything about Apple or Steve Jobs, it might be a good book for you as you will get to learn a lot. But, if you know a lot of the story or don't care for extra details, like having mini bios for a lot of the individuals at Apple, then I'd strongly recommended you search for specific articles online instead of reading this book.
While there are interesting details and anecdotes, the book feels more like a collection of articles and books put together for cohesion, many times including unnecessary details.
Also, it might be called After Steve but it includes way too much information from During Steve. I know setting up the picture is important to make a contrast but it felt it had more than needed (after about 100 pages in it was still talking about the old days). It even dedicated a full chapter to each Jony Ive and Tim Cook, a sort of bio detailing how they grew up and what they did before joining Apple. And, again, some detail was important to understand their very different personalities but both could have been done in at least half the number of pages.
So, if you never read anything about Apple or Steve Jobs, it might be a good book for you as you will get to learn a lot. But, if you know a lot of the story or don't care for extra details, like having mini bios for a lot of the individuals at Apple, then I'd strongly recommended you search for specific articles online instead of reading this book.
Read
June 1, 2022When Steve Jobs died over a decade ago, the future of Apple fell into the hands of two men: Jony Ive, the visionary tech designer, and Tim Cook, the numbers-oriented businessman. Tripp Mickle's book transforms this corporate transition into a moral drama, and although that's an inherently silly and servile thing to do, he does it with such narrative gusto that you'll be captivated right to the last page. If you own an Apple product - and let's face it, you do - you'll find this book fascinating. My review is here: https://openlettersreview.com/posts/a...
May 15, 2022
A lovely story about a gay man and bloody redcoat and how they work together to save the family apple orchard after their father tragically dies by one of his signature turtlenecks strangling him. 5/5
June 16, 2022
thanks to the publishers and netgalley for a free copy in return for an open and honest review
detailed look at Apple after the death of the founder Steve Jobs with product launches and disappointments, was interesting but won't be everyone's cup of tea though
detailed look at Apple after the death of the founder Steve Jobs with product launches and disappointments, was interesting but won't be everyone's cup of tea though
August 28, 2022
For anyone closely following Apple there is surprisingly little here that’s new. The butterfly keyboard fiasco, which punters have speculated might have contributed to internal rebellion against Ive, is never mentioned, as if it never happened. Nor is anything said about Ive’s obsession with form over function which, critics argue, has led to many user-hostile designs that Apple is now scrambling to reverse (MacBook Pro being a prime example).
In my view, there must be an agenda from the author’s side because these glaring omissions are not about minor incidents but about major PR crises, loss of customer goodwill, years-long alienation of creative pros and overall significant contributors to how “Apple lost its soul”. Discussions around whether Apple had abandoned the Mac had become commonplace and even though now Apple has course-corrected Mac hardware, they once were all too true, poignant, legitimate concerns. These weren’t only down to penny-pincher Tim. Ive had a lot to answer for, long before he grew utterly bored with it all and ran off into the sunset with Marc Newson.
Nothing is said about Ive’s software design skills either, only that he took over after Forstall was fired. But is he any good? In most critics’ views he’s terrible: his obsession with austerity and minimalism spilled over from the iPhone’s small screen to the Mac’s big, but he seems clueless as to the consequences his oversimplification of the UI has had on the Mac user. It’s like he doesn’t really understand the Mac, yet the author makes no mention of such criticisms, even though he loves bringing up critic reviews elsewhere when they fit his narrative.
Regarding Forstall, there’s nothing new about him either. We’re told his dismissal was likely down to the maps quality (which we knew already), but was Cook under pressure or maybe an ultimatum from Ive to get rid of Forstall because design could only follow a singular vision - his? Some have speculated as such but we’re still none the wiser.
A very interesting topic to shed light on would’ve been the touchbar. Jobs was famous for solving problems with clarity, and Apple positioned the touchbar in typical Jobsian way: that mysterious, obnoxious row of F-keys was about to be dropped and replaced with something that finally made sense. In theory it sounded like a perfectly Apple thing to do, yet it became another embarrassment. Did someone grow bored of the touchbar after they released it and stopped thinking about how to improve it further? Same with Siri, the laughingstock of voice assistants. The lack of progress on Siri is astonishing - who is responsible? No idea.
The above are all very real ways in which Apple may have indeed lost its soul, if one were to make that argument. And these are all partly or entirely because of Ive, considering his title, history, rockstar-like status and leverage in the company. It’s interesting to me that Mickle has taken an entirely different route in justifying his argument.
Which brings us to Cook.
The author’s criticisms of Cook are fair but, again, for anyone following Apple, there is very little new to add to what everyone knows already: that Cook has absolutely no flair for product design, that he’s quite a boring individual lacking charisma, that his ideas are never going to change the world because he has no world-changing ideas, and that he knows how to squeeze more money from each user with every iPhone iteration. Shocker.
Finally, there’s quite a bit of waffle in the book and an editor could easily shave off 50-100 pages. And considering this is a book about post-Jobs Apple, I don’t see why it needed to start with yet another brief history of Apple.
In my view, there must be an agenda from the author’s side because these glaring omissions are not about minor incidents but about major PR crises, loss of customer goodwill, years-long alienation of creative pros and overall significant contributors to how “Apple lost its soul”. Discussions around whether Apple had abandoned the Mac had become commonplace and even though now Apple has course-corrected Mac hardware, they once were all too true, poignant, legitimate concerns. These weren’t only down to penny-pincher Tim. Ive had a lot to answer for, long before he grew utterly bored with it all and ran off into the sunset with Marc Newson.
Nothing is said about Ive’s software design skills either, only that he took over after Forstall was fired. But is he any good? In most critics’ views he’s terrible: his obsession with austerity and minimalism spilled over from the iPhone’s small screen to the Mac’s big, but he seems clueless as to the consequences his oversimplification of the UI has had on the Mac user. It’s like he doesn’t really understand the Mac, yet the author makes no mention of such criticisms, even though he loves bringing up critic reviews elsewhere when they fit his narrative.
Regarding Forstall, there’s nothing new about him either. We’re told his dismissal was likely down to the maps quality (which we knew already), but was Cook under pressure or maybe an ultimatum from Ive to get rid of Forstall because design could only follow a singular vision - his? Some have speculated as such but we’re still none the wiser.
A very interesting topic to shed light on would’ve been the touchbar. Jobs was famous for solving problems with clarity, and Apple positioned the touchbar in typical Jobsian way: that mysterious, obnoxious row of F-keys was about to be dropped and replaced with something that finally made sense. In theory it sounded like a perfectly Apple thing to do, yet it became another embarrassment. Did someone grow bored of the touchbar after they released it and stopped thinking about how to improve it further? Same with Siri, the laughingstock of voice assistants. The lack of progress on Siri is astonishing - who is responsible? No idea.
The above are all very real ways in which Apple may have indeed lost its soul, if one were to make that argument. And these are all partly or entirely because of Ive, considering his title, history, rockstar-like status and leverage in the company. It’s interesting to me that Mickle has taken an entirely different route in justifying his argument.
Which brings us to Cook.
The author’s criticisms of Cook are fair but, again, for anyone following Apple, there is very little new to add to what everyone knows already: that Cook has absolutely no flair for product design, that he’s quite a boring individual lacking charisma, that his ideas are never going to change the world because he has no world-changing ideas, and that he knows how to squeeze more money from each user with every iPhone iteration. Shocker.
Finally, there’s quite a bit of waffle in the book and an editor could easily shave off 50-100 pages. And considering this is a book about post-Jobs Apple, I don’t see why it needed to start with yet another brief history of Apple.
May 3, 2022
As both an Apple user and a tech entrepreneur who is trying to build a legacy company, this book shed insights on many levels. It provides a detailed look that was not available until now through over the 200 people the writer spoke with via his exceedingly thorough research. Behemoths of industry like Apple serve as guideposts for other innovative companies who follow in their wake. We need to see all sides of the story to understand what aspects of their path to follow and what to avoid.
May 16, 2022
As an apple employee, I found it quite interesting to know about the decision making process and how the company shifted after the loss of Jobs. I did find the statistics and political aspect a little tiresome but I enjoyed learning about the research and development side of things and the focus on Ive’s creative input into the company
May 14, 2022
I am a designer. I picked up this book out of my curiosity to better understand why Jony Ive (Apple's ex-CDO) left Apple. This book has vindicated all of my guesses and speculations about what would have happened to Ive (and his relationship with Apple) after the death of his friend Steve Jobs. Peppered with interesting stories around this book's underpinning backbone (Ive's relation with Apple), the author also talks about how Apple has changed under Tim Cook. This is a great account for anyone interested in Jony Ive / Industrial Design / Tim Cook / Apple / Office politics / Corporate Geopolitics ;)
May 9, 2022
It used to be required reading for all CEO’s to read the history of organizations that build edifices to themselves. It’s a pretty consistent record of taking their eye off the ball and starting a downhill road to decline and irreverence.
Apple never got the memo, and the over the top indulgence of their new campus is almost unbelievable. The billions of dollars wasted on the self driving car will make you look at Apple in a whole new way.
I found it riveting and truly sad. It’s very much worth the read.
Apple never got the memo, and the over the top indulgence of their new campus is almost unbelievable. The billions of dollars wasted on the self driving car will make you look at Apple in a whole new way.
I found it riveting and truly sad. It’s very much worth the read.
July 11, 2022
Programmers has "bus joke" about how many programmers in your team should get under the bus so development stop. The bigger is the number, the best your team job is designed to withstand any team changes: disease, departure and other stuff that can shake it.
In case of CEO it's only one guy or gal, but it's the test of how company withstand his/her departure. I think in case of Apple they did a good job, as for lost soul it's very debatable since everyone see it from different positions.
In case of CEO it's only one guy or gal, but it's the test of how company withstand his/her departure. I think in case of Apple they did a good job, as for lost soul it's very debatable since everyone see it from different positions.
March 21, 2023
While the title of this book is very captivating, I think that its sub-title “How Apple … lost its soul” is absolutely misleading and doesn’t represent at all the detailed and well documented description of two journeys, both inheriting the legacy of Steve Jobs, even though while parting from one each other. Tim Cook and Jonathan Ive are two complementeary individuals who drove and led, each following his own personality, Apple beyond and away from Steve’s shadow. They together succeeded in realizing the founder’s wish for his creation not to follow the destiny of companies like Kodak or Polaroid, which didn’t survive their founders’ departure. I would therefore suggest this book to both operational and creative like-minded readers: I am sure you will both find great inspiration!
July 5, 2022
Very illuminating.
Would recommend reading in conjunction with Ken Kocienda’s book “Creative Selection”.
Would recommend reading in conjunction with Ken Kocienda’s book “Creative Selection”.
July 18, 2023
I see a lot of people complaining how this book provides too much detail, too much background, too much learning (🙃). I suppose if one is looking for a beach read, this is not it. But this is one of the most fantastic and informative books I’ve read in a while.
It starts, appropriately, with how Apple had the classic startup culture—innovation, design, challenging the norm, and eventually making its way into mainstream culture—all with Jobs at the helm. I suppose this got some people rolling their eyes, because obviously, the history of one of the largest companies in the world isn’t altogether simple. But yes, you need to look past the main character to fully understand the story. I like to think of this book more like a 500-page-long thesis—you need evidence, and you need it to be thorough. I mean, the subtitle is quite the statement, so it needs to be warranted.
Today, Apple does not have the same culture it had before. The author does a great job at proving his point, all while including the nuances, history, and appreciation that the company and all its leaders deserve. I found the story compelling and deeply interesting!
Would recommend to those of you interested in entrepreneurship, leadership styles, how cultures change over time, Apple fans, etc. Also would highly recommend the audiobook.
It starts, appropriately, with how Apple had the classic startup culture—innovation, design, challenging the norm, and eventually making its way into mainstream culture—all with Jobs at the helm. I suppose this got some people rolling their eyes, because obviously, the history of one of the largest companies in the world isn’t altogether simple. But yes, you need to look past the main character to fully understand the story. I like to think of this book more like a 500-page-long thesis—you need evidence, and you need it to be thorough. I mean, the subtitle is quite the statement, so it needs to be warranted.
Today, Apple does not have the same culture it had before. The author does a great job at proving his point, all while including the nuances, history, and appreciation that the company and all its leaders deserve. I found the story compelling and deeply interesting!
Would recommend to those of you interested in entrepreneurship, leadership styles, how cultures change over time, Apple fans, etc. Also would highly recommend the audiobook.
August 2, 2022
פשוט מרתק. אמנם לא הסכמתי עם כמה דעות של הסופר אבל ספר פשוט מרתק
May 26, 2022
This non-fiction book is predominantly set from the death of Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, with some reflections prior to this to give context to the people and places within the book.
I was intrigued to read this, as I will admit I wasn't sure what had been happening at Apple since Jobs death. I found the book extremely interesting - the details and the information in it is truly fascinating - and I was hooked, enjoying reading this as much as I could. There's a lot of information to take in, but that is something that I would have wanted from a book like this. The chronological order of the events are done well, and the information from insiders at Apple is fascinating.
If you enjoyed the Walter Isaacson biography on Jobs, I think this will be the book for you. As someone who had Apple products, then strayed away from the brand (and has come back to having Apple), it's interesting to hear the behind the scenes of what was happening around that time.
I was intrigued to read this, as I will admit I wasn't sure what had been happening at Apple since Jobs death. I found the book extremely interesting - the details and the information in it is truly fascinating - and I was hooked, enjoying reading this as much as I could. There's a lot of information to take in, but that is something that I would have wanted from a book like this. The chronological order of the events are done well, and the information from insiders at Apple is fascinating.
If you enjoyed the Walter Isaacson biography on Jobs, I think this will be the book for you. As someone who had Apple products, then strayed away from the brand (and has come back to having Apple), it's interesting to hear the behind the scenes of what was happening around that time.
May 10, 2022
Informative history of the post-Jobs Apple era. I've been reading Tripp's articles in the WSJ and already had a sense of the negative approach he might take with Cook's leaderhsip decisions. I was a bit surprised to see the author commonly attack ABC every time Apple was interviewed by that outlet vs. WSJ. Otherwise this is a good depcition of the seemingly impossible task of stepping into a huge leadership void with perhaps impossible expectations. While the leadership of Cook (and certainly Ive) hasn't been perfect, their accomplishment of tripling the value of the business over a 10 year period is incredible.
I really enjoyed reading this and would recommend to anyone interested in the evolution of the smartphone industry.
I really enjoyed reading this and would recommend to anyone interested in the evolution of the smartphone industry.
May 24, 2022
This is a great take on how hard transitioning a company away from a visionary founder and more toward an MBA type and how that might create an internal power shift.
May 19, 2022
Presenting Apple as the contrast between industrial design and cost control. Jonny I’ve is presented as the creative soul of Apple that Tim Cook didn’t appreciate or know how to foster.
Certainly things that have been the foundation of Apple’s success. Design sensitivity certainly helped but there devices just worked better for a long time.
The MacBook Pro redesigned keyboard is certainly an example of investing too much on thinner and lighter.
Who can guess apple’s future.
Certainly things that have been the foundation of Apple’s success. Design sensitivity certainly helped but there devices just worked better for a long time.
The MacBook Pro redesigned keyboard is certainly an example of investing too much on thinner and lighter.
Who can guess apple’s future.
May 9, 2022
If you have been following Apple for a while, this book is essentially a collection of articles, interviews videos, or product announcements you already read or watched online. Nothing new, nothing surprising, nothing interesting, and nothing inspiring.
February 1, 2023
Over the past year I have been fascinated with technology companies, particularly on how they come into existence, how culture shifts from the birth of the company to the death of the company, how they maintain market share and how they inevitably crumble. So, naturally I was drawn to this book. First I think its important to address the title. A corporation which employs slave wages and horrendous working conditions where workers choose to literally jump out of buildings rather than assembling another iphone cannot really have a "soul" to lose in the first place. However, let's just play this game and act like innovation outweighs human rights violations. If we were to indeed play this game, we would say that Apple does have a soul. In fact, Apple despite being a multi-billion dollar company in the Steve Jobs era successfully advertised itself as a counter culture sort of "rage against the machine" type of vibe. Over 13 years ago when we all used to watch tv, Apple played its mac vs pc commercials to create this aura of rebelliousness. Separating itself from the tech industry that had as much personality as a pair of Dockers khakis. One thing cannot be denied, Apple in the Jobs era not only created aesthetically beautiful products but advanced the technology industry in ways which transformed the entire globe and our lives with it. Not a lot of companies can say that, this book picks up after the Jobs era. I have spent too much time on the intro so lets dive in and see what this is all about.
It's important to note something before we begin. Steve Jobs is a unicorn in the sense of his ability to converge technology, design and creating one of the best user experiences in all of tech. His artistic sensibilities with his technological instincts till this day are un matched despite also being a prolific asshole. He was not just a numbers guy, who would cut costs if they ballooned products. Jobs was the type to spend infinitely more $$$ to change 1 centimeter of the product if he thought it looked better or gave a better user experience. These types of decisions would give an MBA, accountant or business graduate something in between a heart attack and a colonoscopy. This distinction is important to note because Tim Cook, the heir to Jobs does not share that same artistic affair with design. You have to give Tim Cook credit, no one can really replace Steve Jobs. It's an impossible task but Cook has increased share holder value (this is the type of conversation that will get MBAs aroused) by taking it from a 200 billion company to a 2 trillion dollar company. Does this mean the company has succeeded? It's hard to say, who can really argue with that ascent?
When Cook takes over Apple, he knows that he is in fact not a product guy. He does not try to dissuade or engage in debates about product design where as Jobs would be immersed in both worlds with his star designer Jonny Ive. Jobs protected Ive from corporate meetings, routinely shielded him from the dreadful under trappings of corporate America. Ive's sole purpose was to guide the design team but after Jobs passed. Ive assumed more managerial work which no doubt increased the probability of burnout. The author does not directly state that this impacted his artistic sensibilities but one has to wonder if it did. Imagine Picasso on a zoom call discussing cost for materials? Its not a stretch to compare Ive to some artistic gods. There's no doubt Apple has some of the most elegant products but for all you Picasso lovers out there I mean no disrespect.
Over time, Apple starts releasing products like its highly successful apple watch even when it did not have any real functionality. This would give Jobs a heart attack if he was alive and potentially commit a murder (jobs was very passionate about Apples image to say the least). This is important to note because it signals Apple producing a gimmicky product in order to bring in revenue and degrading its reputation. Apple in the Cook era transitions in various products (not all) from being a tech company to being a luxury company that sells status goods on par with luxury clothing and accessory type brands. It starts denying certain materials for certain products because of costs, again something Jobs would never do, it fails to innovate its hallmark product being the iphone. Where new minted iphones do not justify the cost of upgrading your current phone because well they're pretty much the same.
Perhaps the most consequential decisions Cook makes is to hire accountants, MBAs and business graduates into the executive teams. These types of hires clashed with the creative design teams for topics like cost etc. Again, the theme of this book is "Jobs would never do this". Jobs, vowed to never hire any of these types of people onto the executive team because his opinion was they subvert creativity, they're often times myopic, damaging the companies brand in the long term for short term gain and over time slowly morphing Apple into Microsoft. These types of decisions are how once fabled companies wither into nothingness. The decisions in the span of a few years may look great but over a longer period they could prove to be disastrous. Cook needs to create a culture of innovation and raise standards across the board if Apple is going to continue to be one of the most successful companies on the planet. To his credit, Apple from a laptop perspective has the best laptop on the market for virtually any category. The M1 macbook air which I believe is two years old now is still regarded as the best laptop for 99% of people. You can even get it for $799. Not to mention all of the iterations past the m1 like the m2 air or the m2 pro or max.
Overall, I would put this book at 3-4 stars. I enjoyed the storyline but again I am the authors core audience and even then I still think it ranged from okay to pretty good. If you're not interested in organizational life spans for legacy companies or tech in general, you should skip this.
4 stars.
It's important to note something before we begin. Steve Jobs is a unicorn in the sense of his ability to converge technology, design and creating one of the best user experiences in all of tech. His artistic sensibilities with his technological instincts till this day are un matched despite also being a prolific asshole. He was not just a numbers guy, who would cut costs if they ballooned products. Jobs was the type to spend infinitely more $$$ to change 1 centimeter of the product if he thought it looked better or gave a better user experience. These types of decisions would give an MBA, accountant or business graduate something in between a heart attack and a colonoscopy. This distinction is important to note because Tim Cook, the heir to Jobs does not share that same artistic affair with design. You have to give Tim Cook credit, no one can really replace Steve Jobs. It's an impossible task but Cook has increased share holder value (this is the type of conversation that will get MBAs aroused) by taking it from a 200 billion company to a 2 trillion dollar company. Does this mean the company has succeeded? It's hard to say, who can really argue with that ascent?
When Cook takes over Apple, he knows that he is in fact not a product guy. He does not try to dissuade or engage in debates about product design where as Jobs would be immersed in both worlds with his star designer Jonny Ive. Jobs protected Ive from corporate meetings, routinely shielded him from the dreadful under trappings of corporate America. Ive's sole purpose was to guide the design team but after Jobs passed. Ive assumed more managerial work which no doubt increased the probability of burnout. The author does not directly state that this impacted his artistic sensibilities but one has to wonder if it did. Imagine Picasso on a zoom call discussing cost for materials? Its not a stretch to compare Ive to some artistic gods. There's no doubt Apple has some of the most elegant products but for all you Picasso lovers out there I mean no disrespect.
Over time, Apple starts releasing products like its highly successful apple watch even when it did not have any real functionality. This would give Jobs a heart attack if he was alive and potentially commit a murder (jobs was very passionate about Apples image to say the least). This is important to note because it signals Apple producing a gimmicky product in order to bring in revenue and degrading its reputation. Apple in the Cook era transitions in various products (not all) from being a tech company to being a luxury company that sells status goods on par with luxury clothing and accessory type brands. It starts denying certain materials for certain products because of costs, again something Jobs would never do, it fails to innovate its hallmark product being the iphone. Where new minted iphones do not justify the cost of upgrading your current phone because well they're pretty much the same.
Perhaps the most consequential decisions Cook makes is to hire accountants, MBAs and business graduates into the executive teams. These types of hires clashed with the creative design teams for topics like cost etc. Again, the theme of this book is "Jobs would never do this". Jobs, vowed to never hire any of these types of people onto the executive team because his opinion was they subvert creativity, they're often times myopic, damaging the companies brand in the long term for short term gain and over time slowly morphing Apple into Microsoft. These types of decisions are how once fabled companies wither into nothingness. The decisions in the span of a few years may look great but over a longer period they could prove to be disastrous. Cook needs to create a culture of innovation and raise standards across the board if Apple is going to continue to be one of the most successful companies on the planet. To his credit, Apple from a laptop perspective has the best laptop on the market for virtually any category. The M1 macbook air which I believe is two years old now is still regarded as the best laptop for 99% of people. You can even get it for $799. Not to mention all of the iterations past the m1 like the m2 air or the m2 pro or max.
Overall, I would put this book at 3-4 stars. I enjoyed the storyline but again I am the authors core audience and even then I still think it ranged from okay to pretty good. If you're not interested in organizational life spans for legacy companies or tech in general, you should skip this.
4 stars.
June 25, 2022
The overarching theme of the book is Apple losing its innovation chops after Jobs’ death and becoming a corporate behemoth adept at squeezed every last dollar out of customers via its services business. This plays out in the company by the gradual exit of the core design team behind Apple’s greatest hits, most prominently Jony Ive and the takeover of the company is finished after operations heavy MBAs rule at the top. The author posits that Apple is no longer a product design company, its a wall street darling that is run by corporate MBAs, precisely the opposite of what it was under Jobs.
The story arc is this, Jobs dies and passes on the design mantle to Ive but its the Supply chain specialist Tim Cook who takes over the company. Ive loses his professional other-half and gradually sees the company becoming less design focused and also being taken over by Cook’s minions, who scrutinise every design decision monetarily. No longer is design left, right & centre instead accountants veto design decisions that are too costly. Something Jobs wouldn’t have done. Tim Cook also realises that the iPhone has peaked and Apple’s newer devices like Watch couldn’t eclipse what the iPhone achieved. So to show Wall Street that Apple hadn’t lost its mojo, he makes a strategic bet to expand its services playbook a la Apple App Store, iCloud, Apple TV+, Music etc. Apple’s strategy has been to squeeze every last green back from every iPhone owner. It succeeds marvellously at that and the transformation of a hardware device making company to software services selling company is full on.
Major events over the last decade such as Apple Watch’s lukewarm sales, Galaxy Note 7 disaster, Apple’s foray into China etc. All of them have been covered. Mickle does a good job of covering the internal politics at Apple too, a notoriously difficult job considering Apple’s secretive culture.
One big criticism I have is the frequent veering off into the tangent about Ive’s social life outside of Apple. I know that the basic lesson was that Apple couldn’t meld fashion and technology to create another best seller in Apple watch when it was looking to get the next blockbuster device out but the description of his parties, celebs etc subtracted from an otherwise interesting business story. Hence the three stars.
Some things I haven’t included in my review are the stories about Apple Park, Steve Jobs Theatre etc. I didn’t find them that interesting.
All that said, this is still something worth picking up. And goes a long way in explaining why Apple might just have lost its mojo.
The story arc is this, Jobs dies and passes on the design mantle to Ive but its the Supply chain specialist Tim Cook who takes over the company. Ive loses his professional other-half and gradually sees the company becoming less design focused and also being taken over by Cook’s minions, who scrutinise every design decision monetarily. No longer is design left, right & centre instead accountants veto design decisions that are too costly. Something Jobs wouldn’t have done. Tim Cook also realises that the iPhone has peaked and Apple’s newer devices like Watch couldn’t eclipse what the iPhone achieved. So to show Wall Street that Apple hadn’t lost its mojo, he makes a strategic bet to expand its services playbook a la Apple App Store, iCloud, Apple TV+, Music etc. Apple’s strategy has been to squeeze every last green back from every iPhone owner. It succeeds marvellously at that and the transformation of a hardware device making company to software services selling company is full on.
Major events over the last decade such as Apple Watch’s lukewarm sales, Galaxy Note 7 disaster, Apple’s foray into China etc. All of them have been covered. Mickle does a good job of covering the internal politics at Apple too, a notoriously difficult job considering Apple’s secretive culture.
One big criticism I have is the frequent veering off into the tangent about Ive’s social life outside of Apple. I know that the basic lesson was that Apple couldn’t meld fashion and technology to create another best seller in Apple watch when it was looking to get the next blockbuster device out but the description of his parties, celebs etc subtracted from an otherwise interesting business story. Hence the three stars.
Some things I haven’t included in my review are the stories about Apple Park, Steve Jobs Theatre etc. I didn’t find them that interesting.
All that said, this is still something worth picking up. And goes a long way in explaining why Apple might just have lost its mojo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2022
This book chooses to be bad. I think the sub title of the book came first and was then written around it. The book is written around the meme that apple doesn’t innovate anymore, which was created by tech writers and online bros almost immediately after Jobs died. In an almost self fulfilling prophecy the book is a long exploration of expectation bias. 90% of the book is filled with an interesting inside look to the actions of Apple once Steve Jobs died, but the author seems to go out of his way to make one point. Steve Jobs and Jony Ive are creative geniuses, and Tim Cook is a boring numbers
Ive’s characterization is particularly annoying because his failures are either not mentioned (butterfly keyboard, the push to remove ‘ugly’ ports from ‘pro’ level devices), or brushed aside ( marketing the Apple Watch as a fashion piece almost killed the product). The book also repeatedly mentions that apple does not ‘innovate’ anymore, and talks about the Apple Watch as apples only new device since the death of Jobs, but why do the AirPods not get the respect they deserve? Sure Bluetooth audio existed but the introduction of AirPods revolutionized that market leading to endless copy cats. The software innovation side is also ignored
This book did not have to be bad, Tripp could have written largely the same book and criticized the company for its endless pursuits of every available penny, but instead chooses a frustrating framing with weird hero worship of Ive while villainizing Tim Cook, whose primary misdeed seems to be that he respects the input of the people around him. Perhaps this book should have asked why such a visionary like Jobs choose Cook to replace him instead of Ive.
Ive’s characterization is particularly annoying because his failures are either not mentioned (butterfly keyboard, the push to remove ‘ugly’ ports from ‘pro’ level devices), or brushed aside ( marketing the Apple Watch as a fashion piece almost killed the product). The book also repeatedly mentions that apple does not ‘innovate’ anymore, and talks about the Apple Watch as apples only new device since the death of Jobs, but why do the AirPods not get the respect they deserve? Sure Bluetooth audio existed but the introduction of AirPods revolutionized that market leading to endless copy cats. The software innovation side is also ignored
This book did not have to be bad, Tripp could have written largely the same book and criticized the company for its endless pursuits of every available penny, but instead chooses a frustrating framing with weird hero worship of Ive while villainizing Tim Cook, whose primary misdeed seems to be that he respects the input of the people around him. Perhaps this book should have asked why such a visionary like Jobs choose Cook to replace him instead of Ive.
August 29, 2022
The Good: background info on the transition of power including the ups and downs of tech as an industry; carrying the storyline for Ive and Cook; a deeper look at the game of politics, product advertisement, and product design/development in one of America’s biggest companies
The Bad: editing for repetition and clarity is needed; the book reads as a reflection of sentiments from individuals who were part of the company but are safe to spill [gossip?] [secrets?] [insider accounts?], the author seems to want readers to see the source material/references/notes as an afterthought when footnotes may have added some clarification
I liked this book, but I’m also a fan of Apple which made me more engaged with the material. Funny enough, I heard about this book from Apple News.
The Bad: editing for repetition and clarity is needed; the book reads as a reflection of sentiments from individuals who were part of the company but are safe to spill [gossip?] [secrets?] [insider accounts?], the author seems to want readers to see the source material/references/notes as an afterthought when footnotes may have added some clarification
I liked this book, but I’m also a fan of Apple which made me more engaged with the material. Funny enough, I heard about this book from Apple News.
March 9, 2024
This book offers an interesting insight to Apple and how it continues on to greater business success after the death of the founder. It focuses on the key leaders and their contribution to the success and highlights the different passions, motivations and capabilities. At its simplest form it is I’ve, pushing the design to perfection and Cook driving the services, supply chain and penetration to new markets.
There are interesting tid bits of information that sometimes seem surreal and unbelievable (just read how much effort was put into a one off camera or the office buildings material or a seat in the theater). However, at some point the book has told you that Cook and Ive see the world differently and have different priorities so many times that when it is told to you again and again… it gets to be a little too much. We got the point, next. Please.
Recommended reading for those interested in how Apple ticks and who want to take a peak at what happens behind the curtains at the top of a huge successful corporation.
There are interesting tid bits of information that sometimes seem surreal and unbelievable (just read how much effort was put into a one off camera or the office buildings material or a seat in the theater). However, at some point the book has told you that Cook and Ive see the world differently and have different priorities so many times that when it is told to you again and again… it gets to be a little too much. We got the point, next. Please.
Recommended reading for those interested in how Apple ticks and who want to take a peak at what happens behind the curtains at the top of a huge successful corporation.
May 29, 2022
Excellent reporting, I have no idea how Mickle got so many to break Apple’s omertà. He does take a side (Jony Ive’s), although he spares no punches for either Ive or Cook. Aside from the reporting, I don’t think Mickle’s opinion of and perspective on Apple is as well supported, but the vast majority of the book is narrative reporting. If you’re interested in the 2011-2019 time period of Apple post-Steve Jobs, this is as good as it gets. One surprising omission, though: absolutely no discussion about the development of Apple’s custom silicon.
January 11, 2023
If you have any interest in Apple, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Jony Ive, the challenges of being a CEO, the pressures to deliver new innovative products, and all things going on in the Apple universe this book will delight. Having read Walter Isaacson's book on Steve Jobs, this one covers a lot of ground after his death. You will gain a new appreciation for the design of products, and the inner workings of Apple and how it operates. If any of the topics I mention are of interest, you will lap it all up as I did!
May 29, 2023
Based on what I'd heard before I read this, and continuing into the first third of the book, I expected this to be summarized as "Jony Ive good, Tim Cook bad". I think I could have dealt with that, but unfortunately it was so much worse than that. The book is actually about how Tim Cook is an unfeeling robot who doesn't understand the magic of Apple and Jony Ive is some kind of delicate artistic genius, who needs perfectly handled to be able to perform his works. The takeaway of this book seem to be that things were better when the company was smaller and Steve Jobs was alive. This seems like a real squandering of interesting inside stories of Apple in the late-Jobs and pos-Jobs eras.
February 22, 2024
Great insight of one of the revolutionary company which changed the face of the Telecommunications industry. This book focused on ups & downs that the company faced after the Late CEO of the Company Steve Jobs resigned and Tim Cook took the leadership baton. It also focused on the story of Chief Design Officer, Jony Ive, whose design & leadership qualities were the source of success for many Apple devices, including Apple Watch.
Very interesting read especially if you have already read Steve Jobs Biography by Walter Isaacson.
Very interesting read especially if you have already read Steve Jobs Biography by Walter Isaacson.
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