Apple Could Have Been a $10 Trillion Company Today, but Then There’s Tim Cook

Apple isn’t just another tech company—it’s the bedrock of modern civilization. Under Steve Jobs, Apple didn't merely create products; it laid the foundation for a world where everyone carries a personal computer in their pocket. The iPhone, for instance, wasn’t just a gadget—it was a portal to a new way of living, working, and thinking.

But that potential—Apple's promise to push human civilization forward—has been squandered. Tim Cook’s tenure as CEO has turned a company that once embodied boundless innovation into a machine of soulless profit and incremental mediocrity. Let’s talk about how humanity could have soared but instead settled for less, and why this matters more than just stock prices.

Steve Jobs: Building the New Civilization

Steve Jobs wasn’t a CEO—he was a cultural architect. His vision for Apple extended beyond products. He saw technology as a force to redefine humanity’s relationship with knowledge, creativity, and communication. Jobs’ Apple didn’t just meet needs; it anticipated them. The iPhone wasn’t just a phone—it was a way to democratize information, enabling a connected and empowered global society.

Under Jobs, Apple was about pushing the boundaries of what technology could do for people. He believed in crafting entire ecosystems to enhance the human experience, from the seamless integration of hardware and software to creating intuitive user interfaces that even the least tech-savvy could embrace. Apple wasn’t just a company—it was a movement.

Tim Cook: The Executor of Mediocrity

And then came Tim Cook. For all his skill as a logistics wizard, Cook lacks what Jobs had in abundance: vision. Apple under Cook has devolved from a force of societal transformation into a company obsessed with squeezing every last dollar out of its existing product lines.

Cook took Jobs’ revolutionary creations and turned them into vehicles of shareholder appeasement. Incremental upgrades to the iPhone? Check. Rebranded Macs with slightly better chips? Check. The Vision Pro, a massively overhyped and overpriced toy? Check. Cook's Apple doesn’t dream—it optimizes.

Yes, the company is wealthier than ever. Yes, Apple dominates markets. But the cost? A complete abandonment of the ambition to redefine human potential.

What Apple Could Have Been

Had Steve Jobs lived—or someone with even a fraction of his daring replaced him—Apple could have been the centerpiece of a technological renaissance. Here’s how:

A Global Knowledge Platform
Jobs’ dream was to give everyone access to knowledge, seamlessly and effortlessly. Under Cook, Apple’s ecosystem has become fragmented and more about locking users into subscriptions than empowering them. Imagine if Apple had fully integrated AI, AR, and cloud services to create a world where everyone, regardless of geography, could access high-quality education, collaboration tools, and research.
Revolutionizing Healthcare
Apple Watch is a start, but it’s a half-measure. With its resources, Apple could have fundamentally transformed global healthcare—creating devices that don’t just track health but actively prevent disease, provide early diagnostics, and make personalized medicine available to all. Cook turned the Apple Watch into a fitness accessory. Jobs would have made it a life-saver.
Transportation and Energy
Steve Jobs wouldn’t have hesitated to disrupt industries ripe for transformation, like transportation or energy. An Apple Car designed under Jobs would have been as revolutionary as the iPhone—an entirely new way to think about mobility. Instead, Apple’s rumored car project under Cook has been an endless loop of rumors and failures.
Advancing Human Creativity
The iPhone turned us into photographers, filmmakers, and creators. But Apple hasn’t built on that foundation. Cook’s Apple is content to sell us ProRAW cameras and call it a day. Jobs would have created tools that pushed the boundaries of what humans could make, think, and achieve.

The Real Tragedy: The Lost Momentum of Civilization

The heart of the issue is this: Apple under Steve Jobs was pushing humanity forward. Cook’s Apple, by contrast, is holding us back. Incremental upgrades and relentless focus on profitability have turned the company into a symbol of what happens when vision is traded for margins.

Think about what the iPhone represented: the power of a supercomputer in your pocket. It wasn’t just a device; it was the beginning of a new civilization where knowledge, creativity, and opportunity were democratized. Under Jobs, the trajectory was clear—Apple was leading us into a brighter, more connected future.

Tim Cook took that momentum and squandered it. He turned Apple from a company that dared to dream into one that only dares to tweak. In doing so, he didn’t just fail Apple—he failed humanity.

Why You Should Be Angry

This isn’t just about Apple missing a financial opportunity or failing to release exciting products. It’s about the betrayal of a promise. Steve Jobs built Apple to challenge the status quo, to ask, “What’s next for humanity?” Tim Cook’s Apple has stopped asking that question.

The billions Apple spends on R&D now result in features that are marginal improvements on last year’s models. We should be angry not because Apple isn’t innovative anymore, but because it’s no longer pushing us forward. Jobs gave us tools to change the world. Cook gives us accessories.

Conclusion: A Call for Vision

It’s not too late for Apple to reclaim its soul. But it needs leadership that understands Apple’s purpose isn’t just to sell products—it’s to lead civilization into the future. Incrementalism is the enemy of progress.

At Tannhauser Capital, we believe in investing in companies that dare to think bigger. Apple could have been the torchbearer for humanity’s next great leap. Instead, it became a monument to wasted potential.

What could be more tragic than that?