Tim Cook will step down as Apple’s chief executive on Sept. 1. He took over from Steve Jobs in 2011 and led the company for about 15 years, growing Apple’s corporate value from $350 billion to about $4 trillion. The iPhone-led business structure also expanded into wearables, payments, streaming and augmented reality (AR), evolving toward preparing for the “post-iPhone” era.

On April 23, major foreign media outlets including Business Insider and PhoneArena reviewed Apple’s 15 years under Cook and also introduced what he cited as his proudest achievements and disappointing failures.

The areas that delivered results fastest under Cook were the iPad, streaming services and wearables. Cook previously mentioned in 2009, ahead of the iPad’s launch, that Apple was preparing something very innovative. The iPad went on to surpass 500 million units in cumulative sales within 10 years of its release.

In 2010, Apple decided to focus on the Apple TV streaming device instead of manufacturing its own TV. Apple later kept the device line and launched its own streaming service in 2019. Apple Pay, its payment service, spread more slowly at first but has now established itself as one of the major digital wallets in the United States.

Wearables are cited as a signature achievement of the Cook era. Apple Watch and AirPods became mass-market products and emerged as a core growth engine for Apple. The Apple Watch, in particular, has developed around health functions and is maintaining the No. 1 spot in the global smartwatch market.

AR and healthcare are areas Cook has pushed over the long term. He has repeatedly stressed that AR will become an everyday technology, and Apple Vision Pro was released in 2024 as a result. Market reaction was mixed, but Apple is continuing to invest in related technology, and it is known to be preparing follow-up products such as smart glasses.

In healthcare, too, Apple has expanded functions centered on the Apple Watch, including heart rate, activity and cardiovascular data. It plans to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI)-based health functions in the future. Some visions remain a work in progress, much as tablets have not fully replaced PCs.

Although Cook built results through this expansion strategy, there were also trial and error. He cited the 2012 launch of Apple Maps as his biggest mistake while in office. At the time, Apple Maps sparked major controversy over issues such as incorrect directions and place-name errors, and was judged to be less complete than Google Maps.

Cook acknowledged that Apple believed internally it was ready, but problems surfaced in the actual user environment. He looked back on his response at the time — apologising to users and advising them to use rival services — as “a moment that taught humility and a user-centric decision.” Apple Maps has since been continuously improved and has now established itself as a default app.

He named the Apple Watch as his proudest achievement. Cook recalled being deeply shocked when he encountered user cases saying the Apple Watch had saved lives. Initially closer to a fashion product, the Apple Watch later shifted toward a health-focused device and is being judged as a representative case in which Apple proved social utility.

Cook’s 15-year tenure left both successes and failures, but is judged as an important turning point in that it diversified growth engines beyond the iPhone and expanded Apple into a services, wearables and platform company.

Apple’s next CEO to succeed Cook is John Ternus (존 터너스), the head of hardware engineering. He recently mentioned at an internal event that Apple has a product roadmap that will change the world again, raising expectations for its next-generation strategy.