Cook: Chinese tastes influence designs, Watch see strong dev interest

Announces new Chinese educational programs to be offered in schools

In a new interview given to the Chinese-language version of Businessweek, Apple CEO Tim Cook admits that the company takes Chinese consumer tastes into account in its product designs, along with other factors. Cook specifically pointed to the gold color option -- first introduced with 2013's iPhone 5s and now expanded to the iPad and new 12-inch Retina MacBook line -- as reflecting in part "the popularity of that color among Chinese users."

China is one of Apple's fastest-growing markets, and "Greater China" (which includes other territories such as Taiwan and Hong Kong) already accounts for 29 percent of Apple's revenue, and as of the most recently-reported quarter, Apple sells more iPhones in China than it does in the US. Currently, Apple is taking advantage of weakness in Samsung's efforts in the country, which have been undercut by rival Android maker Xiaomi, and has become the top brand of smartphone in the country. The iPhone 6 in particular is also the top smartphone in Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, and other countries in the region.

The interview took place when Cook was in China last month, where he visited schools and the latest Hangzhou Apple Store, said to be the largest such outlet in the world. He also announced a China-only mobile technology learning program that Apple will partner in, helping with 180 trial programs throughout the country that will teach children various digital skills, from how to compose music (using the Garageband application) to assisting hearing-impaired students learn to use smartphones.

Cook said he hopes the program will expand by 50 percent by the end of 2015. The goal, he said, was to "transform traditional educational models," thus ensuring that students make notable contributions to society.

When asked about the Apple Watch, Cook did not talk about sales but instead said there was greater developer interest in the wearable than there had been at comparable points in the early days of the iPhone and iPad. He pointed to the debut availability of some 3,500 applications for the Watch, compared to just 500 for the first iPhone and 1,000 for the first iPad.

by MacNN Staff

Source: Cook: Chinese tastes influence designs, Watch see strong dev interest