Tim Cook stepped into one of the toughest jobs in tech when he took over Apple from Steve Jobs about 15 years ago.
Back then, Apple was worth around $350 billion. Today, it’s grown into a company valued near $4 trillion. Cook didn’t try to copy Jobs’ style. Instead of big dramatic product reveals, he focused on execution, scale, and steady growth.
One of his biggest strengths has always been operations.
Before becoming CEO, Cook was known for running Apple’s supply chain. He made sure products like the iPhone could be produced in huge numbers while keeping costs under control. That system is still the backbone of Apple’s business today, since most of its revenue still comes from iPhone sales.
But Cook didn’t just rely on hardware.
He pushed Apple deeper into services — things like music streaming, cloud storage, and apps. By 2024, this part of the business was bringing in nearly a quarter of the company’s revenue. The App Store became central to that strategy, although it also brought legal challenges and accusations of monopoly behavior.
On the product side, Cook delivered some major hits.
The Apple Watch became the world’s top-selling smartwatch, and AirPods turned into a global trend. He also made a big shift by moving Apple to its own custom chips, giving the company more control over performance and design.
China has also played a huge role in his strategy.
It became both a key manufacturing base and a major market. But that reliance turned into a challenge during trade tensions with the US. Since then, Apple has been slowly shifting production to countries like India and Vietnam.
Still, Cook’s time hasn’t been perfect.
Apple spent years and billions on a self-driving car project that was eventually canceled. Early versions of Apple Maps had major issues, and the high-priced Apple Vision Pro hasn’t seen strong demand so far. Even Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, has struggled, with delays and increasing reliance on outside AI technology.
In simple terms, Cook’s legacy is different from Jobs’.
Jobs changed the world with breakthrough products. Cook turned Apple into a massive, highly efficient business machine — expanding its reach, stabilizing its growth, and building one of the most valuable companies ever.
