Charlie Rose got to sit in with Apple's executives after their weekly meeting. Interesting to see the products each of them uses on a day-to-day basis.By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
Veteran TV correspondent Charlie Rose got a golden ticket opportunity to go "Inside Apple" for an entire episode of 60 minutes. Given carte blanche by Tim Cook, Rose got to meet with the executive staff, have various one-on-one interviews with Cook, Jony Ive, Phil Schiller, Angela Ahrendts and even visits the new 'Spaceship' headquarters, a prototype Apple Retail Store and even the inner sanctum of Apple's design laboratories where next generation products are being created.
This episode is worth watching for anyone interested in Apple, technology and business in general. It shows what drives the world's wealthiest, most successful and valuable company as well as the type of culture that enables this attention to detail and the quest for perfection. Truly a rare event, given Apple's notoriously guarded and secretive nature, Rose and 60 Minutes got unprecedented access to Cupertino and Apple's brain trust on various levels.
Charlie Rose got to see the genesis of Apple Watch from concept sketch to prototype and to final productExtremly selective of the media they engage with, and wanting to always stay on message, this look into Apple as well as no holds barred discussion of all the large topics facing the company right now (i.e. growing success in China, the next big thing, taxes, Steve Jobs' legacy) were all covered by Rose who seems to have built a personal relationship with many of Apple's executives. Rose is also one of the few people granted an interview by Steve Jobs before the founder returned to Apple from NeXT Computers.
Jony Ive walks Charlie Rose through Apple's new campus which was estimated to cost around US $5 billion to buildAs someone who covers the company, its products and services as well as the management figures, the report was an eye opener and very informative. The segment with Jony Ive was particularly interesting since it showed glimpses of how he and his small, tightly knit team of crack designers work and also revealed that they are often working on one or two generations of products ahead of the curve.
Tim Cook's smiled as a response to the question on whether Apple was working on a car, which could be seen as a confirmation that the company is doing something in this space. With self-driving autonomous vehicles and EV (electric vehicles) disrupting the status quo and becoming the new frontier for both technology companies (Tesla) and automotive giants (Chevy, Nissan), Apple could very well set the tone. Maybe not for an entire smart car but various systems and innovations in the space.
What was most remarkable about the 60 Minutes episode was that Apple entrusted Rose and his crew with various glimpses into the company's future. They took him to the building site of the Norman Foster designed "Spaceship Campus" with no less than Jony Ive himself explaining how special curved glass (and special tools to install it) had been created for the four story building expected to serve as HQ and offices for 13,000 Apple employees.
Rose even got to check out a prototype store which was hidden somewhere off campus. Much like any Apple Product, the Retail Stores receive regular refreshes and updgrades to more effectively sell products but also keep customers loyal and engaged.
One particular exchange, between Rose and SVP Marketing Phil Schiller stood out for me.
Charlie Rose: Is there danger of one product cannibalizing the other product?
Phil Schiller: It's not a danger, it's almost by design. You need each of these products to try to fight for their space, their time with you. The iPhone has to become so great that you don't know why you want an iPad. The iPad has to be so great that you don't know why you why you want a notebook. The notebook has to be so great, you don't know why you want a desktop. Each one's job is to compete with the other ones.
It's interesting to see a principle like 'survival of the fittest' applied to products, but it makes sense for evolution. Aside from the iPhone, Apple doesn't really know to what extent each product will be successful so it puts various different options out there that might cross over into each other and let the users decide which one is more important to them.
To check out the whole story as well as a transcript of the episode go to CBS for a worthwhile look at what makes Apple tick.