Apple CEO Tim Cook, Jony Ive, Laurene Powell Jobs panel interview

Apple CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday that Apple isn’t doing much to improve the texting experience between iPhones and Android devices because its users aren’t asking for it.

“I don’t hear our users asking that we put a lot of energy on this, on this,” Cook said in response to a question from the audience at Vox Media’s Code conference in Beverly Hills, Calif. “I would love to convert you to the iPhone.”

The answer comes less than a month after the launch of Google an advertising campaign intended to put pressure on Apple.

Currently, texting between iPhones uses iMessage, which provides a much smoother experience than when an Android device sends a text message to an iPhone, where text messages appear as green bubbles. Google wants Apple to adopt RCS, a kind of messaging designed as a next-generation SMS replacement with encryption and other modern features.

The interrogator pressed Cook, saying he couldn’t send videos to his mother due to text messaging limitations.

“Buy your mom an iPhone,” Cook said.

Cook was joined by former Apple chief designer Jony Ive and Laurene Powell Jobs to discuss the legacy of Apple’s founder and announce a new Steve Jobs Archive and potential documentary.

Apples The recent privacy push isn’t a new focus for the company — the thinking actually goes back to founder Steve Jobs, Cook said.

“Steve really ingrained the importance of privacy in the business early on and it’s only grown since then,” Cook said.

Cook cited a 2010 Jobs talk where he said privacy means users consent to share their data. “Privacy means people know what they’re signing up for, in plain language and repeatedly. That’s what it means,” Jobs said in the lecture cited by Cook.

Cook’s remarks come as the company’s privacy policy takes shape growing criticism as selfish as the company has introduced new privacy features that make online advertising more difficult to measure as Apple reportedly intends to increase the size of its advertising business and introduces new ad units.

It’s the same philosophy behind App Tracking Transparency, a feature introduced in 2021 that has disrupted the online advertising industry. iPhone owners are asked to share a unique device identification number with apps on startup – and most iPhone owners choose not to, preventing online advertisers from accurately tracking the performance of their advertisements.

Companies including Meta, Facebook’s parent company, called the change anti-competitive. In February, Meta said it would cost him $10 billion this year.

“What we believe is that people should own their data and they should make their own decision,” Cook said Wednesday. “People should be empowered to make that decision in a really direct and simple way. Not buried 95 pages in a privacy policy somewhere.”

Cook clarified that Apple follows stricter rules than advertisers and defended the company’s search ads.

“We never said digital advertising was a bad thing,” Cook said. “What’s not good is sucking people’s data when they don’t knowingly do it.”

Cook was asked if he views Apple as a powerful company that stepped in because regulators failed to pass privacy laws.

“We’re not trying to be a regulator,” Cook said. “All we’re trying to do is give people the opportunity to make the decision for themselves.”