Skip to content

Apple execs talk about the future on ’60 Minutes’ special

A 60 Minutes TV special titled “Inside Apple” aired this weekend, delving into the future of the Cupertino company. CEO Tim Cook and other notable executives covered a number of topics in a series of interviews with host Charlie Rose. We’ve rounded up some of the key takeaways from the show below.

The iPhone camera is amazing

Camera specialist Graham Townsend explains the incredible technological feats behind the iPhone camera. A team of 800 specialist engineers work on the camera, which does a ridiculous amount of unseen work at the micro level – Townsend says that “to capture one image, 24 billion operations go on.” And the wires that hold the autofocus motor are “less than half a human hair’s width.”

Apple is happy to fight itself

People have often suggested that Apple cannibalizes its own sales when it blurs the line between product categories. Owners of the new iPad Pro may not bother with a new Macbook. But Phil Schiller explains that they like it that way: “the iPhone has to become so great that you don’t know why you want an iPad.” He explains that each product’s job “is to compete with the other ones.” Better to lose sales to yourself than to the competition, right?

Apple’s Spaceship Campus is coming together

Design Chief Jony Ive talks about the design of the new Apple Campus 2, which will house 13,000 employees when it’s finished. Ive played a “key role” in designing the building– with his trademark attention to detail, no part of the campus is too small to be neglected. From the furniture and the doorknobs right the way up to the world-record-breaking piece of curved glass that will wrap around the building, everything has been given the utmost care and attention.

Tim Cook won’t back down on privacy

Recently we wrote about Apple’s dedication to customer privacy and its commitment to encryption. Cook has reiterated the company’s steadfast views that it will never build a “back door” into its devices for easy government access. “If there’s a way to get in, then somebody will find the way in. Good guys and bad guys.”

For more, the special is well worth a watch – Apple’s execs cover a range of other topics, from Steve Jobs’ enduring influence on the company, to Apple’s secretive design studios and workflow, to Tim Cook’s decision to publicly come out as gay last year.

Read more: Jony Ive talks design in rare interview