What you need to know
- Tim Cook sat down for an interview with CBS ahead of WWDC.
- The CEO talked about what to expect at this year's conference.
- He also talked about social justice and the recent ruling that prevented LGBT discrimination.
In an interview with "60 Minutes" correspondent John Dickerson that aired on CBS, Tim Cook says that "I'm full of secrets and it's hard not to overflow right now. But I've been trained well!"
In the interview, Cook said that there's something for everyone at WWDC. Whether you are a consumer, a developer, or a spectator, the conference is full of interesting moments that show how technology and humanity come together.
"If you're a consumer, you find out some of your most favorite software features are announced there ... If you're a developer, you get some new technology that you can incorporate in your app and make your app even better. And if you're somebody like me that sort of steps back and looks at it all, you see the intersection of technology and the liberal arts, and it really makes your heart sing."
When asked about the role the iPhone has played in capturing important social moments, Cook said that Apple is proud to have put a camera in everyone's pocket, saying that it makes it harder for a society to pretend something didn't happen.
"We are humbled by it, we are humbled by it ... If you look back in time, some of the most dramatic societal changes have occurred because someone captured video. This is true about things that happened in Birmingham; it was true about things that happened in Selma. The thing that has changed, though, and we're very proud of this, is that we put a camera in everybody's pocket. And so, it becomes much tougher as a society, I believe, to convince themselves that it didn't happen, or that it happened in a different manner or whatever it might be."
Dickerson also asked if Cook talked to Donald Trump about some of the ideological differences they had. Cook said that "of course I do", and that he longs for a day when everyone starts on an equal footing.
"Of course I do ... And on that issue, my mind, as I said before, all roads lead to equality. I believe that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. It's basically that simple. And that we start life on this equal footing and then the people that work hard can get ahead and those sorts of things. But we should start life on an equal footing. And I long for that day."
When asked about how Apple has dealt with the pandemic, Cook says that the company has viewed it as "a challenge to overcome", and that he "can't wait until we're all back together again."
"Well, you know, people generally just dislike uncertainty, I would say as a general rule ... I know very few people that thrive on uncertainty. They try to take an uncertain thing and make it a bit more certain. They do that by estimating where things are going, by predicting the worst that can happen and the best that can happen ... And we have done all of those things, I would tell you. But the most important thing for us is, we viewed it as a challenge to overcome."
Cook will take the virtual stage at WWDC later today to announce Apple's latest innovations across all of its software platforms.
