Tim Cook Reveals Apple's 'Greatest Contribution To Humankind' And It's Not iPhone

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said the biggest contribution of Apple is not the iPhone but the brand’s support to humanity in terms of devices that save human lives.

Speaking to Japan’s Nikkei news service in an interview, Tuesday Cook touched upon the legacy question. “If you ask me what Apple’s greatest contribution to humankind was, it is in the health care area.”

Then Cook extrapolated on the Apple Watch that assists in taking ECG reading right from users’ wrist. “It’s only a few people that have an ECG per year, a very small percentage of the population, ” Cook said.

Cook stressed the “electrocardiogram technology” embedded in Apple Watch as a lifesaver to defend his claim.

In the interview, Cook also touched upon topics such as Apple’s manufacturing policy, criticism over heavy China exposure, innovation, competition and job creation in the U.S.

Cook rebutted the perception that the smartphone industry is reaching saturation and insisted there is “plenty of room for innovation and growth.”

Using a metaphor, he said no one says a 12-year-old as mature.

The comment is significant after reports said Apple has asked suppliers to step up production of the iPhone 11 by 8 million units after global demand surged.

In smartphones, Apple has big competition from Huawei and Samsung Electronics.

Cook also dismissed criticism that the company relies too much on China for outsourcing, a point President Donald Trump has raised many times.

Rejecting the charge, the Apple CEO said the glass on iPhone comes from Corning in Kentucky and semiconductors are also from the United States.

Nikkei reported in June that even though Apple has been shifting production capacity out of China, around 90 percent of Apple's products are still assembled in the Asian country.

On job creation, Cook said the company created well “over 2 million jobs in the U.S.” On innovation, Cook asserted the“ethos and the DNA of the company have always been stronger.”

Defends monopoly business

Cook has defended monopolies in business with a key merit differentiator, Fox News reported.

“A monopoly by itself isn't bad if it's not abused," Cook said. But he rejected the idea that Apple itself is a monopoly noting that it has more competitors than any company on earth.

Among the Apple products, Macbook has been trying to gain market share in the personal computer segment while Apple TV+ entered the video streaming market amidst competition from giants such as Netflix and Disney.

Resents bunching Apple with other tech giants

Meanwhile, Cook resented the way Apple is being lumped with other tech companies such as Facebook and Google who occasionally face allegations of abusing consumer data.

Cook is a strong votary of protecting the privacy and has urged a U.S. federal privacy bill on the matter.

“We don't believe in trafficking your data,” he quipped.

Apple is known for its refusal to decrypt the iPhones of the San Bernardino attackers despite demand by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, sticking to consumer privacy as a core policy.

In Tokyo Cook also visited Apple store outlets and met many suppliers including Seiko Advance and technology developers such as self-taught 84-year-old Masako Wakamiya, the BGR reported.

Apple stock was up 0.2 percent in the after-hours trading on Wednesday, per Yahoo finance report.