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Apple CEO Tim Cook D10 Interview: 'I Am Not Steve Jobs'

'I Am Not Steve Jobs'
Michael Rundle

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said his goal is not to replace founder Steve Jobs.

Speaking at the All Things Digital D10 conference in his first live media interview, Cook said: "Steve was a visionary. My role was never to replace him."

Cook gave a wide ranging interview, although as is traditional for Apple he gave few hints about its future products.

Apple's CEO, who took over after the death of founder Jobs last year from cancer, said that it was an exciting time to be the head of the company, joking he wished he could describe the things he'd seen but was not allowed to talk about.

But when pressed about his style of leadership by interviewers Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, Cook said he did not want to emulate the company's co-founder.

"I've never felt the weight of trying to be Steve. It's not who I am and it's not my goal in life," he said.

"I am who I am, and I'm focused on that, and being a great CEO of Apple."

Cook said it took him a few months to refocus after Jobs' death.

"I think he taught all of us that life is fragile," he said.

Among his more interesting comments, Cook said that Apple was not interested in being in the "console business" but that gaming was increasingly important to its bottom line.

Cook said:

Gaming has kind of evolved a bit. More people play on portable devices. Where we might go in the future, we'll see. Customers love games. I'm not interested in being in the console business in what is thought of as traditional gaming. But Apple is a big player today and things in the future will only make that bigger.

He added that Apple was "doubling down" on its voice assistant feature Siri, first seen in the iPhone 4S released last October.

"I think you'll be really pleased with some of the things coming over the coming months," he said.

Cook added that Apple TV remained "an area of intense interest" for the company:

I think most people, maybe not all, but many people would say this is an area in their life they’re not really pleased with. You know, they might not be pleased with many things about it. The whole TV experience. So, it’s an interesting area, so we’ll have to see what we do.

He also hinted at a closer collaboration with Facebook, which is so far not as integrated into its mobile operating system iOS as Twitter or email.

"Stay tuned," he said.

This Week In Apple Rumors: ANOTHER iPhone 5 Mockup
The New iPhone Will Have A 3.999-Inch Screen: 9to5Mac(01 of04)
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Stop us if you've heard this one before, but a recent rumor claims that the next iPhone is going to have a larger display than the last one.

What's that? You've been hearing that every day since February 2011? Doesn't matter, because here it comes again:

A week after Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters all independently reported that the screen on the "iPhone 5" will be larger than the 3.5-inch iPhone 4S display, 9to5Mac reports that Apple is currently testing several devices, one of which has a 3.999-inch Retina display. Rumor has it that the actual phone will stay the same size, but that the screen will stretch upwards. ("3.999-inch display" refers to the length of the diagonal of the screen).

That pretty well aligns with what those three old media outlets reported last week: that a 4-inch display is in testing, if not inevitable. Though we're still probably about five months out from the release (best guess for that is October), it's sure looking like Apple will up the display size on its next iPhone.

So, what comes next in the Apple rumor cycle? Well, this being the Internet, how about a mockup? Read on for more.

(Mockup here via overdrivedesign.com). (credit:overdrivedesign.com)
Is This The Front-Panel Of The Next iPhone?(02 of04)
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This one comes via MacRumors, following 9to5Mac's report on the 3.999-inch iPhone 5. It is supposedly the front panel of the next-generation iPod Touch. Presumably, that means it could double as the front panel of the iPhone 5 in a pinch; if it's real, then (a big if), it means that the next iPhone will indeed have a taller display.

Then again, this could be faker than Natalie Portman's English accent in V for Vendetta. Who knows.

(By the way, MacRumors also has photos of what it claims are the "home button flex cable," front camera, and rear camera, if you're into that kind of gadget porn.)

Before we get classified as an X-rated site, let's turn away from gadget porn and turn to another unlikely combination: A television made by Apple. It's coming, so the smart men and women say, and one analyst thinks he knows the killer feature that's gonna make you want to shell out the big bucks... (credit:MacRumors.com)
Will The Apple Television Be Totally Portable?(03 of04)
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I think we can all agree that the worst part about most TVs is that you can't take them into the bathroom with you when you defecate. Forrester Analyst James McQuivey agrees with me (in theory), calling for the so-called "iTV" to be little more than a large, movable touchscreen:
Here's me putting on the record what I've been telling clients behind closed doors for more than a year: Apple should sell the world's first non-TV TV. Instead of selling a replacement for the TV you just bought, Apple should convince millions of Apple fans that they need a new screen in their lives. Call it the iHub, a 32-inch screen with touch, gesture, voice, and iPad control that can be hung on the wall wherever the family congregates for planning, talking, or eating -- in more and more US homes, that room is the dining room or eat-in kitchen. By pushing developers to create apps that serve as the hub of family life -- complete with shared calendars, photo and video viewers, and FaceTime for chatting with grandma -- this non-TV TV could take off, ultimately positioning Apple to replace your 60-inch set once it's ready to retire.

This sounds incredible -- not because it's a cool idea, but because: Can you imagine the fights there would be if you could just tear the television straight off the wall? Disgusted spouses just marching into the room during the big game, ripping the TV off its stand, and then bringing it into the kitchen? "Hey, where are you going with the television? I was watching that!"

"Stealing the entire television" could be the new "stealing the remote." IN THE FUTURE! The Brave, New, Portable Future! (credit:Getty Images)
Everyone Still Thinks New MacBook Pros Are Coming In June(04 of04)
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If you're thinking about buying a new MacBook Pro between now and Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference (June 11-15) -- well, maybe don't do that. Everyone -- EVERYONE -- thinks that Apple is about to refresh its MacBook Pro models, as further evidenced by an article in the Wall Street Journal. That report quotes Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes as predicting that new MacBook Pros with Retina displays will be among the fun new stuff Apple unveils at WWDC in June.

So, if you were trying to decide between saving your money for a new MacBook Pro or going to see Battleship 75 times this weekend, you should probably save that money for the new MacBook, because it is probably just around the proverbial corner. It's also gonna be quite the machine, if the rumors are true.

Also, come on, how many times does one guy need to see Battleship?

That's all for This Week In Apple Rumors. Make sure you check back next week for more Apple rumors (we do this every week!); and if you can't wait that long, you can get up-to-the-second Apple rumors by following me on Twitter. (credit:Getty Images)
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