Continuing his promotion of Apple's 50th anniversary, Tim Cook has now talked about how the iPhone will be important to people for the next 50 years — but should take a back seat to art and culture.
Cook has most recently been seen promoting the anniversary in China, but his tour began back on March 13, 2026, when he attended the Alicia Keys concert at Apple Grand Central in New York. Now an interview recorded there has been released, focusing on Apple's future.
"The greatest invention that Steve [Jobs] ever had was Apple itself," Cook told YouTuber Nikias Molina, "and Apple is about people and culture."
"So if you look at the last 50 and the next 50, that's what will define [us]," he continued. "It's the people that come up with the products, the people that see around the corner, it's the people that are relentless on the simple, not the complex."
Pressed specifically about the iPhone, Cook said that it wasn't going away, that it will be around for a long time, but it will change.
"There's so much left that we can do with the iPhone, and I think it's going to continue to be the center of people's digital lives," said Cook. "But [the future is] going to be a combination of hardware, software and services, because the magic occurs at the intersection."
Apple Intelligence and AI
Cook was also asked about AI and Apple's position on it. Cook answered that Apple's aim is to keep the user at the center of what the company is trying to achieve with AI.
"If you're always trying to, as we are, always trying to enrich the life of someone else, then you keep them at the center," he said, "and you can bet the creations that you make are going to be good for the world, not bad for the world."
Since that interview was recorded, the Apple anniversary celebrations have continued with the concert in China and a special Today at Apple in South Korea. It is expected to next continue with a series of events in France.
