By Rhiannon Williams | Daily Mirror
Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook has claimed he has the "best job in the world", ahead of next month’s expected iPhone 7 release.
In an interview with the Washington Post , Mr Cook spoke candidly about his love for his role and his predictions for Apple’s future.
While he admitted that being Apple's top dog can be a "lonely job", Mr Cook said that he's not looking for any sympathy.
"You have to recognize that you have blind spots. We all do," he said.
"Blind spots move, and you want to not just have really bright people around you, but people who will push on you and people to bring out the best in you. People that amplify whatever you’re good at. And then also the people who plug the parts that you’re not and may never be."
This month marks Mr Cook’s fifth year in charge of the tech giant, taking over from Steve Jobs shortly before the founder died in October 2011 from complications related to pancreatic cancer, aged 56.
“To me, Steve’s not replaceable. By anyone” he said. “He was an original of a species. I never viewed that was my role. I think it would have been a treacherous thing if I would have tried to do it.
“When I first took the job as CEO, I actually thought that Steve would be here for a long time,” he added. [The day he died] was sort of the worst day ever.”
In the years since Mr Jobs’ death, Apple has become the world’s most valuable company, reporting quarterly revenue of $42.4 billion last month.
However, iPhone sales fell 15% year-on-year to 40.4 million, causing some analysts to forecast the end of Apple’s extraordinary success as we reach ‘peak iPhone’.
Mr Cook shrugged off predictions for a rocky next few years, saying: “I’ve heard all of it before”.
“We got to $60 billion [in revenue], and they said you can't grow any more from this. Well, last year we were $230 billion. And, yes, we’re coming down some this year. Every year isn't an up, you know,” he added.
The company is expected to reveal the much-anticipated iPhone 7 next month. Rumours flying around the web include the removal of the headphone jack and home button , and getting rid of the 16GB entry-level model .
The notoriously secretive Apple has shelved at least two new products or projects in the past few years due to the company’s focus on doing “a few things deep and well”, he admitted, calling Apple Maps “a mistake”.
The mapping service was plagued with issues from its release in 2012, but Mr Cook now claims it has become a product the company is proud of.
Hiring John Browett, the British former Dixons chief executive, to head up Apple’s retail division in April 2012 was also a wrong move, Cook admitted.
Mr Browett left the company after just six months, and was eventually replaced by former Burberry head Angela Ahrendts.
“That was clearly a screw-up. I’m not saying anything bad about him. He didn’t fit here culturally is a good way to describe it,” Mr Cook added.
Augmented reality - the technology behind the wildly popular Pokemon Go mobile game - could play a key role in future iPhone releases, after the chief executive conceded AR was “extremely interesting”.
He batted away references to the widespread rumours Apple is working on a car , saying he couldn’t answer questions about something that hadn’t yet been announced.
The interview also touched on the 55-year old’s private life, which he rarely discusses.
Mr Cook felt motivated to publicly come out as gay after receiving messages from distraught young people who had been rejected by their families, or felt they couldn’t achieve anything.
He thought for around a year before making the announcement in October 2014.
“I thought it would minimally say you can do pretty good in this world and be gay. That it’s not a limiter. It’s okay to be. That it’s okay to be honest about it,” he said.
I figured if I could help one person, it would be worth it.”
