During his recent visit to France this past weekend, Apple CEO Tim Cook gave an interview to the French newspaper Le Figaro. In it, Cook reviewed a wide variety of topics, including Apple's interest in buildings on the Champs Elysees, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and taxes.
As noted in MacGeneration, when asked about Apple's interest in building a new point of sale on the Champs-Elysees, Cook did not confirm the company's plans, but did point to the existence of a possible interest. "As for the space on the Champs Elysees that you mentioned, work is continuing to see what we can do with it."
Tim Cook also spoke about his love for France entirely: “France has always had a special place for Apple. This is the best place to discover and dialogue with all the musicians, graphic designers, designers or photographers who use our products. Here there is great creative energy. The statement by Apple's CEO seems to imply that, while the company obtained ownership of the building, it has not yet decided whether it wants to build a retail space or dedicate it to offices. Previous reports suggested that the company wanted to do both, and an Apple store would make the most sense to build given the commercial nature of that area.
How could it be otherwise, Donald Trump made an appearance in the interview. The new president of the United States insists time and again on penalizing with tariffs and taxes companies that sell in American territory but do not manufacture there. The theme of the same then focused on the production of Apple products amid pressure on the company to assemble some of them in the United States. Cook explained, however, that an important issue is often overlooked when discussing factory locations, which is where the parts come from: “In these factory location discussions , there is too much of a tendency to focus on where the product is assembled. When you open the product and look at the different components, you will see that everyone is represented. We have 4600 suppliers in Europe and we have already spent $ 11 million on the continent. '
Cook also touched on the Apple tax battle taking place in Ireland. He did it again, stating that Apple pays "more taxes than any other company in the world." “We pay more taxes than any other company in the world. We do not evade taxes. In our opinion, the law is clear. We have to pay taxes where we create value.
Last but not least, Cook touched on augmented reality and artificial intelligence, two areas that he has praised multiple times in other interviews. Cook first observed that an artificial intelligence technology like Siri "makes the iPhone even better." Regarding the decline in iPhone sales, Cook pointed to the PC as an example of an industry that declined and subsequently recovered as technology advanced and predicted the same trend for smartphones. Look what happened to the PC. If you go back to the 1990s and early 2000s, you will see that sales dropped a bit before starting to grow again. The smartphone will have the same pattern. Innovative products always make the difference. "
During his time in France, Tim Cook made surprise appearances at various Apple outlets. Cook met with designer Julien Fournié, VizEat founders Camilla and Jean-Michel, visited Apple's facilities in Marché Saint-Germain, and met with artist JR. Cook also sat down to eat with the Konbini media company.