How much of that is driven by his own success vs. inertia from the success of his predecessor? I've heard many people say that they don't want to leave the ecosystem because they're already so invested into it.
The finances? Most of his own success. Even with Steve Jobs still at the helm, it was Tim Cook who managed the supply chain and operations. Tim Cook probably isn't the product manager Steve Jobs was, though Jobs sometimes went badly astray with his decisions too. But from a business point of view, Apple is doing greater than ever.
And yes, I was also someone who got unhappy with the Mac ecosystem and partially stayed because of being too much dependent on the eco system, but also because of the lack of true alternatives for my requirements. However, this has changed drastically with the switch to Apple Silicon, now it looks like a strong technical choice again.
Have they? The Apple Watch is selling well now after a few iterations. Have any other products launched that have sold well?
M1 looks good, but it's on the back of several years of lackluster laptops and things nobody wants like the touchbar. The pro video and audio community is increasingly alienated by $700 wheels and are switching to Windows or Linux. Earpods have been a success but has the Homepod? Iphones have been iterating but not really revolutionizing.
I was talking from the business side and if you look at Apples ernings, they are excellent. So excellent that Apple has become the most valuable company of the world. It is the sum of all the products launched and marketed. The Macs had a few bad years, mostly because of the keyboards and the lack of a Mac Pro. They fixed the keyboards and the 16" MB Pro is selling like hotcakes, wait times are often long. And so far their switch to Apple Silicon exceends every expectations. I don't think the pro video and audio community is switching because of those wheels, which certainly are overpriced, but because Apple waited too long for a new Mac Pro and the current machine is extremely expensive. This all might change a lot with Apple Silicon though.
Edit: after using the touchbar for a while, I love it. For a lot of tasks it is a great addition to their laptops, especially when you don't have a mouse around.
>if you look at Apples ernings, they are excellent
That's a business persons qualifier for success, it's not a product persons qualifier for success.
Steve Jobs spent his days thinking about how to make the best computer or phone.
Tim Cook spends his days thinking new ways to reduce the BOM of the product by removing things from the box or changing parts, how to carve the features into a product matrix to cause people to spend more.
He understands business perfectly, but does he understand product?