In the interview given today by Tim Cook, the CEO of the American company to a US publication, he offered an explanation that reveals why Apple is fundamentally different from Microsoft and has not launched products without great sales in recent years. According to Tim Cook, Apple learned over time to give up certain technologies or products that were no longer viable or were not used on a large scale, something that Microsoft refuses to do.
Tim Cook offers as an example the floppy disk that Apple removed from its Macs, changing the various technologies regarding the interconnection of its products, such as the 30-pin port or more recently replaced with USB-C, those from Microsoft refusing to give up some old and unpopular technologies. Tim Cook also stated that Apple has the courage to take unpopular measures regarding the removal of some functions or components from its products, even if users are not satisfied with the changes, and in the end they often turn out to be auspicious.
Apple has always had the discipline to make the bold decision to walk away. We walked away from the floppy disk when that was popular with many users. Instead of doing things in the more traditional way of diversifying and minimizing risk, we took out the optical drive, which some people loved. We changed our connector, even though many people loved the 30-pin connector. Some of these things were not popular for quite a while. But you have to be willing to lose sight of the shore and go. We still do that.
Based on strategies of this kind, Tim Cook refuses to accept the comparison of Apple with Microsoft, saying that they are completely different in many ways, not only those mentioned previously. Tim Cook does not go into much detail when it comes to how Apple is superior to Microsoft in terms of creating products or launching them on the market, but the last few years have shown us that Apple has always been right.
So no, I don't accept your comparison to Microsoft. I think it's totally different. Yes, things are more complex. When you're doing a Mac, that's one thing. But if you do a phone, and you want to optimize so that you have the fewest dropped calls of anyone, and you're working with 300 or 400 carriers around the world, each with slightly different things in their network—yes, that's more complex.
