Cook's Departure Marks End of an Era at Apple

Tim Cook's tenure as Apple's CEO has come to an end, marking a significant milestone in the company's history. He stepped down on January 31st of this year, bringing with him a legacy that spans over a decade.

Cook took over from Steve Jobs in 2011 and during his time at the helm, Apple's share price rose by an impressive 2,000%. The company also sold a staggering 3.1 billion iPhones, which is enough to stretch from the Earth to the moon if laid end to end.

Cook's achievements go beyond just hardware sales. He successfully transformed Apple into a services-oriented company, growing its services business to include Apple Pay, iCloud, the App Store, and Apple Music. Paid subscriptions now total 1.5 billion.

However, Cook's reliance on China has been seen as a weak point for the company. When U.S. President Donald Trump announced worldwide tariffs in April, $638 billion of Apple's market value evaporated in just three days. Analysts have pointed out that this demonstrates the geopolitical risk facing companies with heavy supply chains in China.