The lawsuit accuses Apple CEO Tim Cook of deceiving shareholders by concealing declining demand for iPhones in China.

Apple submitted a preliminary settlement agreement to the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, on Friday and is awaiting approval from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

The class-action lawsuit dates back to December 2019. The plaintiffs are Apple investors who believe that Tim Cook’s comments during an earnings call in November 2018 were overly optimistic about the company’s sales expectations, leading them to base their decisions on these Statement that a poor investment decision was made.

The company cut its revenue forecast for the January 2019 quarter by $9 billion, and days later Apple notified suppliers to limit production.

This is the first time Apple has lowered its revenue forecast since launching the iPhone in 2007. The next day, Apple shares fell 10%, wiping $74 billion off its market value.

Apple said the settlement agreement was for the benefit of both parties and did not represent an admission of any wrongdoing by the company or Tim Cook. The $490 million settlement will be paid by Apple to resolve all related charges.

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Being a good successor to Steve Jobs is not easy. But current Apple CEO Cook said he did not view Jobs as a competitor.

Tim Cook recently appeared on a BBC podcast. Host Dua Lipa asked Tim Cook about his experience at Apple.

Lipa said Apple’s market value has soared since Tim Cook succeeded Jobs. She asked if Tim Cook felt he got enough credit for the work he did.

“I don’t think so at all,” Tim Cook said. “Steve was an original and I think only Steve could have created Apple. We owe him a debt of gratitude and there is no doubt that if he were alive today the company would be doing a great job and he would continue Serve as CEO.”

Tim Cook started working at Apple in 1998. At the time, Apple was in poor financial condition and on the verge of bankruptcy. As a supply chain expert, Tim Cook helps Apple achieve ultra-high profit margins. Tim Cook rose to the top ranks of Apple in 2011 and took over as CEO just months before Jobs’ death. But Tim Cook was more than happy to share the achievements of his tenure with Steve Jobs.

“I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault. Plus, I get to work with a group of people that I love who are very capable. So the credit goes to everyone.”

Under Tim Cook’s leadership, Apple’s market capitalization reached $1 trillion in 2018, making it the first U.S. company to enter the trillion-dollar club. Apple’s market value reached US$2 trillion in 2020, and by September 2023, Apple’s market value soared to US$3 trillion.

Although Tim Cook was hand-picked by Steve Jobs, there were different voices during his tenure. One of the main criticisms of Tim Cook is that he comes from the company’s finance department rather than Apple’s design team. Even Jobs himself said that Tim Cook “is not a product person.” It is well known that Steve Jobs had a close relationship with Apple’s design team and former design director Jony Ive.

Tim Cook and Ive reportedly clashed from time to time. But Tim Cook later refuted this statement, saying that the report was “inconsistent with reality” and had a “lack of understanding” of the way Apple and its product design teams work. Ive left Apple in 2019 but has continued to provide consulting services to the company.

Although Apple’s current market capitalization is more than three times what it was under Steve Jobs, Tim Cook released fewer new independent products during Apple’s tenure than under Steve Jobs. Fortunately, this is changing.

Apple is about to launch its first major new product since the Apple Watch, the Vision Pro headset. The device was developed entirely without Jobs’ supervision.

Tim Cook has been the driving force behind Apple’s services business. Amid intensifying competition in the smartphone business, Apple’s services business has been a bright spot. Tim Cook himself has been praised for his ability to try new things and take on responsibility.

The rumored Apple car is still in the works. The successful Apple Watch business, the soon-to-be-released Vision Pro, and the massive growth of Apple’s services business show that Tim Cook is also creating results that are entirely his own.

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Note: Zhejiang Jiashan Lixun Precision Factory mainly produces and assembles the new Apple Watch.

According to the report, up to now, more than 95% of Apple’s products are still manufactured and assembled in China, which has driven the booming development of China’s supply chain over the past 30 years. Tim Cook said in the interview that Apple hopes to achieve “win-win” cooperation with supply chain companies: not limited to cooperation in product manufacturing and business-related receivables, but also including environmental protection, corporate social responsibility and education.

On September 21, Wang Laichun, chairman of Lexun Precision, revealed in an interview with a surging news reporter that Lexun Precision produced three iPhone 15s for Apple this year, and the business doubled in the past year. She also revealed an important piece of information, the company is making production preparations for Apple’s headset, the Apple Vision Pro, which will hit the market early next year.

Recently, Tim Cook opened the second round of this year’s China tour. Overall, the theme of Tim Cook’s China tour is to support the development of China’s rural communities.

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Tim Cook has always previously avoided talking about generative AI technology, and previous comments have always zoomed in on larger AI and machine learning technologies.

Tim Cook said in today’s interview that it is looking for various entry points to integrate various AI technologies, including generative AI, into its products to further enrich users’ lives and work.

Tim Cook commented, “We’ve been working on various AI technologies, including generative AI, for the past few years. We will continue to invest and innovate and use these technologies to advance our products in a responsible way to help enrich people’s lives. We have a huge investment in this area, which can be seen in our R&D spending.”

Reuters also noted that Apple’s R&D spending grew to $22.61 billion in the third quarter of 2023 (currently about RMB 162.566 billion), an increase of $3.12 billion compared to the same period last year.

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▲ Image source: Apple official website

Bloomberg quoted multiple people familiar with the matter as revealing that Tim Cook’s initial vision was a lightweight wearable device with a built-in battery similar to ordinary glasses, rather than a head-mounted device that looks like ski goggles and is connected to an external battery by cables. Tim Cook hopes that it can replace some of the functions of the iPhone, and can perform light tasks such as browsing the web, replying to messages, and playing games.

▲ Glasses-style AR equipment, image source: Xiaomi’s official website

Apple’s engineering department failed to achieve this goal, and the final product became a headset. In order to reduce the pressure on the head caused by the weight and avoid high-temperature problems, Apple had to adopt an external method to connect a battery pack equivalent to the size of an iPhone through a power cord, and the user can put it in a pocket or handbag for outdoor use.

Bloomberg pointed out that Tim Cook did not get too involved in product development, but he attached great importance to it. Because this product may be the last new product line launched during Tim Cook’s tenure. Analysts don’t think it will take until at least 2027 for Tim Cook’s glasses to come to fruition. According to Mark Gurman, Tim Cook’s term will end in 2025.

Bloomberg said that because Apple executives are not satisfied with this MR device, sales expectations are also quite conservative. Estimated sales fell to 900,000 units a year from the original plan of 3 million units per year. In addition, the cost is another major pain point. It is reported earlier today that analysts estimated that the cost of Apple’s MR equipment will be as high as $1,600, and Sony’s exclusive supply of Micro OLED screens and 14 CMOS image sensors accounted for nearly one-third of the total cost. one. This also makes the marginal profit of the device much smaller than most of Apple’s products. Apple’s marketing team has to work hard to balance the relationship between pricing and cost, so as to avoid scaring away consumers with too high prices.

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In the second fiscal quarter, Apple’s service business revenue reached a record US$20.91 billion, thanks to the creation of various services such as the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, advertising, and AppleCare. record growth.

Apple’s services business now has more than 975 million active subscriptions, up more than 40 million in just three months and more than 150 million last year, Tim Cook said. Apple had said in February that its services business had more than 935 million paid active subscriptions.

Apple CFO Luca Maestri said that just three years ago, the company’s services business had fewer than 500 million subscriptions. He highlighted a strong active device base, high customer satisfaction and loyalty, and higher-than-ever engagement rates as factors driving growth in the services business.

In addition, Tim Cook also reiterated that layoffs are a “last resort”, but large-scale layoffs are not in Apple’s current plan.

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Tim Cook acknowledged the potential of artificial intelligence, but how to use the technology will require “deliberate thought”. Tim Cook said that Apple has integrated artificial intelligence and machine learning in several of its products and services, including features such as fall detection, collision detection and the ECG app on the Apple Watch.

Tim Cook said that he would continue to integrate artificial intelligence into its products from the perspective of users.

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Tim Cook revealed that three-quarters of Apple Watches sold in China are first-time buyers; six out of 10 customers who buy Macs or iPads in China are first-time buyers.

“China has a lot of very good indicators in terms of new buyers. If you look at the best-selling smartphones in China, four out of the top five are probably iPhones,” Tim Cook said.

Apple’s total revenue for the second fiscal quarter announced was US$94.8 billion, quarterly net profit was US$24.1 billion, and diluted earnings per share were 152 million yuan. Dollar.

Among them, Apple’s service business revenue reached 20.9 billion US dollars, a new high; iPhone business revenue was 51.3 billion US dollars, which also refreshed the sales record for this quarter over the years; However, Mac business revenue was $7.2 billion, a significant decline compared to US$10.4 billion in the same period last year.

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According to a report by foreign technology media The Apple Post, accounts that have purchased the Twitter Blue service, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, have enabled the new verification.

The verification information as follows:

Verified accounts

The account has been verified by subscribing to the Twitter Blue service and verifying the phone number.

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“The energy, creativity and enthusiasm in Mumbai is unbelievable! We are excited to open Apple BKC – our first store in India,” Tim Cook said on Twitter.

The next Chinese market

For Apple, India could play a similar role to China’s in Apple’s business over the past 15 years: a huge market, a growing middle class fueling sales growth, and the potential for millions of Apple devices production base.

Analysts point to India’s large population and maturing economy as ideal conditions for Apple to enter the market by stepping up its marketing efforts and offering a retail presence in the country. Meanwhile, the Indian government is eager to work closely with Apple to make its production in India possible.

Angelo Zino, senior analyst at investment research firm CFRA Research, believes Apple has room to grow in the Indian subcontinent. Apple’s share of the smartphone market in India is less than 5%, compared with about 18% in China. Most of the mobile phones sold in China and India use the Google Android system.

“If you look at India today, it’s a lot like China was 15 or 20 years ago,” Zino said. “Over time, this natural wealth effect will help Apple really break into the Indian market and see revenue growth.” Significant growth potential.”

The opportunity could be huge: Apple’s sales in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan will reach $74 billion in fiscal 2022, accounting for about 18% of Apple’s total revenue for the same period. India isn’t there yet, and it’s merged with the rest of the market into Apple’s “Rest of Asia-Pacific,” with sales of just $29 billion over the same period.

Indian company documents reported by local media show that Apple’s sales in India in the 2022 fiscal year are about US$4 billion, and this week it was reported that Apple achieved sales of nearly US$6 billion in the fiscal year ended in March this year. .

TimCook also compared India and China for investors. “Essentially, we’re taking what we learned years ago in China and how we scaled up in China and putting it into practice,” Tim Cook said on an earnings call earlier this year.

huge growth potential

India is by far the largest market the iPhone has yet to fully conquer. That means it’s critical to Apple’s sales growth.

In February, Tim Cook boasted that Apple had successfully attracted “converters” in India. Converters are Apple’s term for Android phone users who decide to buy their first iPhone. Tim Cook said that month that Apple’s iPhone sales in India hit an all-time high in the quarter that ended in December.

Indians who buy iPhones are more likely to be “switchers” than consumers elsewhere because Android dominates the Indian market, led by Samsung and several Chinese brands. Android has a market share of more than 95 percent in the country, according to market research firm Statcounter.

The main reason for the popularity of Android phones is the price. Most phones sold in India cost less than even the cheapest new Apple iPhones. Well-known market research firm IDC estimated in February this year that the average selling price of smartphones in India will be $224, an increase of 18% from 2022. By comparison, Apple’s entry-level phone, the iPhone SE, retails for $429 in the United States.

One way Apple is addressing this price gap is by allowing customers to pay in instalments, or by giving them a discount when they trade in an old device for a new one. When Tim Cook was asked about the Indian market in February, he mentioned these strategies. “We’ve done a lot of work on financing options and trade-ins to make products more affordable and give people more options to buy,” Tim Cook said.

Apple has launched an online store in India in 2020, and together with the opening of two brick-and-mortar stores this week, the moves are expected to boost Apple’s Indian sales.

Deep cultivation for 1000 years

TimCook will travel to New Delhi on Wednesday to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the people said. Modi was eager to discuss Apple’s plans for continued expansion in India and the number of new jobs the company would create. He also wants to hear from Tim Cook about the challenges he faced trying to expand the company’s products in different states.

Apple has had its eye on expanding in India since at least 2016, when Tim Cook held a meeting with Modi. At that meeting, Tim Cook briefed Modi on the potential of manufacturing and retailing Apple products in India. Now, six years later, Tim Cook has returned to India and opened Apple’s first two self-operated retail stores in India.

Apple was very optimistic about India at the time. “By 2022, India will be the most populous country in the world,” Tim Cook said at the time. “India has huge market potential.”

Apple’s long-term strategy in India can be summed up in a sentence Tim Cook told the local media during his visit in 2016.

“We’ve put a lot of effort into it here, we’re not going to be here for a quarter, or two quarters, or next quarter, or next year, we’re going to be here for a thousand years,” Tim Cook said at the time.

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