Tim Cook Should Have Stayed for “One Last Thing”

Tim Cook raised Apple from a critical point, and I think he should have stayed a bit longer. Cook’s tenure ended on September 1, and the foldable iPhone is expected to be announced only a week or so later.

I can’t help but imagine what it would have been like for him to host his last iPhone event. This isn’t about succession, but about the symbolism of leaving right before the product arrives.

Image credit: Michele Asselin for TIME

The foldable iPhone has been Cook’s “waiting game”

One more for the road

Rumors of a foldable iPhone have been around for more than a decade, and Cook has spent years watching Samsung and others experiment with the form factor.

Apple chose to move at its own pace, waiting for the technology to mature before entering the foldable market. If Apple launches a foldable now, it represents the payoff of that patience.

I have been watching the company closely for the past 10 years, and I think this would have been the perfect time for Cook to steal the show under his leadership.

Tim Cook introduced plenty of new products after Steve Jobs’ death, from the Apple Watch and AirPods to Apple silicon, Vision Pro, and a plethora of services. He took an already enormous company and helped scale it to a $4 trillion company.

The iPhone remained at the center of Apple’s business, which only gives me more reason to think Cook should have stayed a bit longer, maybe another month.

The foldable iPhone isn’t just another product launch

Segueing into a new category

Apple could finally be changing the iPhone in a meaningful way. The iPhone has largely kept the same slab-style form factor since Steve Jobs introduced it in 2007. The foldable iPhone would deviate from that approach and finally see Apple step outside its comfort zone.

I have been waiting for that to happen ever since the first Galaxy Z Fold was announced.

The competition never felt quite complete to me without Apple entering the conversation.

It’s not another accessory or incremental upgrade, which is why it would have been the perfect departure for Tim Cook.

The “one more thing” moment Cook never really had

The legacy lives on

Steve Jobs had iconic product launches that became part of his legacy, and I wanted Cook to have one of his own.

Cook built an enormous Apple empire, but his defining iPhone moment has arguably been less obvious. Introducing the foldable iPhone would have given him that moment.

“Here’s what’s next for the iPhone.”

I’m not saying that Apple should have delayed the succession, as John Ternus can absolutely lead the next era.

I just think Cook could have stayed through the foldable announcement and then handed over the reins.

The irony of Apple’s patience

Waiting until it’s ready

Cook’s Apple has often been criticized for being late to new categories, but that aligns with Apple’s philosophy of waiting until the technology is mature enough.

If that patience finally produces a compelling foldable iPhone, Cook leaving before the payoff feels particularly ironic.

At the end of the day, a foldable iPhone is just one of many products for Apple, and the company will move forward regardless of who announces it.

That’s just me. I wanted that moment, and maybe you did too.

Cook doesn’t need another five years to cement his legacy. He already has an extraordinary one.

But wouldn’t it have been better if the man who spent 15 years shaping the modern iPhone was there when Apple finally changed its shape?

That’s the reason I think Tim Cook should have stayed at Apple just a little longer.

“One last thing”

So, Tim, maybe you should have stayed just a little longer. Not because Apple needs you, but because I wanted to see you unveil one more iPhone that could define an era.

After 15 years of changing Apple in ways few expected, you deserved that final moment.

Thank you for everything, Tim. Goodbye.