9 Ways Tim Cook Has Transformed Apple

"This wouldn't have happened if Steve Jobs were around" is one of the most overused insults that even fans will hurl at Apple CEO Tim Cook when he does something they don't like. Fact is, you can apply the line to many of the things that Cook has done to make Apple as powerful, profitable, and vibrant as it is.

1. APPLE CONTROLS ITS TECHNOLOGY DESTINY

Apple increasingly relies on its own prowess at designing many of the chips and sensors that power its devices. That gives the company even tighter control over designing a harmonious, symbiotic hardware and software experience, which matters not only for the future of the iPhone but for whatever comes next.

2. APPLE IS A SERVICES COMPANY AS WELL AS A DEVICE COMPANY

Apple generates 12% of its revenue from digital services such as iCloud, Apple Pay, AppleCare, and the App Store, and that part of the business is growing faster than hardware sales. "I expect it to be huge," Cook says. "It’s already large. If you look at it on a stand-alone basis, and we’ve started disclosing this now, it’s tough to find many companies that are as big."

3. APPLE MEANS BUSINESS

Beyond corporate graphics departments, Apple never focused much on enterprise sales. Now it has a big deal with IBM to sell its devices to the corporate world. The iPad Pro is increasingly targeted at business users, reframing the iPad from a consumer device—in which interest is declining—to a next-generation business laptop.