To be fair, sj dropped the ball on succession planning. Tim Cook, the promoted bean counter, is perfect as a profit-extraction leader Wall St. wants but nothing like sj in terms of valuing the product experience or category-defining innovation that doesn't steer things straight towards maximizing profits. The problem is, when the largest demographic, ordinary people, grow tired of throwing huge sums at fragile, stagnant, less cool, less durable tech they eventually stop buying and start buying elsewhere. Apple needs to find a founder-like CEO who is more concerned with leading, cool, usability, durability, and category-changing vision and less Cook or Scully brand exploitation for profit maximization.

> Ctrl-F "china", "manufacturing"

> Zero results

Apple never had a "soul," it never had "values." The OP was just suckered by its marketing and the fact it was previously being sycophantic towards political groups the OP likes.

Now someone else in in power that the OP doesn't like as much. That's what changed, not Apple.

When you have an egocentric geriatric with unpredictable impulses as President, you need to "say" the right things. Doing is another matter. I pity the USA at this moment.

Monopolies are rearing their ugly heads again. It's as if we learned nothing.

They still don't unlock iPhones for the government. But please, by all means, enjoy your next U.S. ecosystem.

hello,

as always: imho (!)

we are in a capitalistic economy: companies don't have "souls", they make profit.

tim cook did what nearly every large company in the 1990ties did: move your production to china.

why? mainly 2 reasons

* cheap production

* the back than still developing large chinese market

=?> more profit.

and he got rewarded and later promoted for this ...

just my 0.02€

I am thinking the same thing as the author of the article. Long time Apple Fanboy here. I remember Steve Jobs doing things for free to improve customer loyalty. Now that Ernst Röhm, oh I mean Tim Cook is kissing up, I’m looking for an off ramp. After the dividend is paid my Apple stock is gone.