Apple Loop: Cook Unveils Mission Statement, iOS 7 Gets Colorful, New iPhone ... - Forbes

Keeping you in the loop about some of the things that happened around Apple this week.

Designed by Apple in Cupertino. For those of us who attended the Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this week, it wasn't the new operating systems, updated MacBook Air or Mac Pro preview that stood out. It was the mission statement and TV ad unveiled by CEO Tim Cook. Why? Well, for much of the past 16 years, Apple has been about show, not tell. They showed new products — candy-colored iMacs, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad — and we could see immediately how different, how elegant, how innovative they were. And even though showman Steve Jobs was a master at making users covet Apple's technology, his superlatives – Amazing! Cool! Magical! – were really unnecessary because the products spoke for themselves. That's why the new messaging is kind of curious. In both videos, Apple talks about what it takes for a product to bear the "Made by Apple in California" label rather than show its tech in action. Here's the text from the 90-second mission statement, called "Intention." Video above.

if everyone/ is busy making everything/how can anyone perfect anything?/we start to confuse convenience/with joy/abundance with choice./designing something requires/focus/the first thing we ask is/what do people want to feel?/delight/surprise/love/connection/then we begin to craft around our intention/it takes time…/there are thousand no's/for every yes./we simplify/we perfect/we start over/until everything we touch/enhances each life/it touches./only then do we sign our work./Designed by Apple in California

I asked some marketing experts what they thought about Apple's approach. Former Apple ad man Ken Segall says the ad, called "Our Signature," is "filler" messaging until Apple delivers new products later this year. "If they had great products to talk about, we wouldn't be seeing those ads. It is a bit defensive because they're under attack, not just from Samsung, but also from all the critics out there because there are no new products. I think it is defensive – 'We may not have new products, but we really work hard on these things. We don't put our signature on it until it's right.'" Hayes Roth of Landor Associates gives Apple kudos for the ad because it "supports how integrated Apple products are in one's life. They really do enhance people's lives, connecting across borders, cultures, languages, and experiences – whether in your personal or professional life – Apple has found a way to be a part of it. It truly is a lifestyle brand for the digital age, and while they may have a hiccup here and there, Apple remains a cult brand, and its consumers are some of the most loyal in the world. This ad does a great job of underscoring that, and bringing it to life in a real, tangible way." Roth also says the ad and mission statement show that "it's a new era" under Tim Cook. "It is really a signal of a very different attitude. Steve Jobs would have choked on that. He would probably have fired someone. It doesn't make Tim Cook's approach wrong. It just means it's a new era."

Color palette redux? Apple's new version of the iOS mobile operating system – iOS 7 – features a new colors, a new font and new icons. It's the first time the OS was created under the direction of design chief Jony Ive, who was named head of human interface last year. Rather than take the stage at WWDC, Ive explained the design goals behind iOS 7 in a seven-and-a-half-minute video (below). There are lots of opinions on the new OS – Senator John McCain is a fan already and thanked Apple for being so quick to incorporate the feature (automatic iPhone app updates) he asked Cook for during that Senate subcommittee hearing on taxes back in May. But most reviewers will wait until the fall when it's released to offer their final verdict. I couldn't help feeling that the new color palette seemed somehow familiar. When I got home, I dug out a bag I got back in May 1991 from Apple to celebrate the release of its System 7 operating system for the Mac. I knew I'd seen those reds and pinks before.

The iPhone countdown begins. The release of iOS 7 in "the fall" means that the new version of the iPhone will also be released then, since Apple typically ties the release of its newest smartphone to the latest OS. For the past year or more, there's been speculation that Apple is working on higher-end iPhones with bigger screens as well as lower-priced models as part of a strategy to expand the audience for the device — just as it did with the iPod. So expect to see many stories in the coming months speculating on what those bigger and less-expensive models will look like. This week's rumor: Apple may release the iPhone in different colors. Just remember the takeaway: new iPhone in the fall.

Did too. Did not. The Department of Justice's case against Apple over e-book price fixing continued this week in New York federal court. The DOJ introduced an e-mail written by Steve Jobs and addressed to iTunes chief Eddy Cue, which the government said proves its case that Apple was colluding with publishers to force Amazon to adopt a new pricing scheme for e-books. The only thing is that Apple got up and said what the DOJ presented was a "draft" e-mail that Jobs never sent. The company then introduced the e-mail that Jobs actually did send to Cue, which lacks the reference to forcing Amazon to switch its pricing. Cnet has both emails here, and you can find all the government's exhibits here. Cue, a key figure in the alleged price-fixing scheme, was in the courtroom yesterday to testify, and he said Jobs was reluctant to offer e-books on the iPad at all before agreeing to the idea a few months before the tablet was introduced. The trial before U .S. District Judge Denise Cote, who will decide the case without a jury, continues next week. The other interesting piece out of the courtroom this week: Apple says it has about a 20 percent share of the e-book market.

Steve Jobs stuff. JOBS, the Steve Jobs biopic starring Ashton Kutcher, is set to be released on Aug. 16. ….Musician Kanye West described himself this week as the Steve Jobs of the Internet. "I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means," West told the New York Times. " I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of Internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump. I honestly feel that because Steve has passed, you know, it's like when Biggie passed and Jay-Z was allowed to become Jay-Z." Uh huh…And lastly, Apple fan sites were quick to note that Apple seems to be paying subtle tribute to Jobs in iOS 7: The heavy rectangular frames used for the "Add to Reading List" icon has been replaced with Jobs' rimless spectacles.

That's it for this week. Enjoy the weekend.

Missed last week's issue of Apple Loop? Here you go:

Apple Loop: iOS 7 Debut at WWDC, Apple Caught Up in Prism, New Campus Brings New Jobs 

 

Apple Loop logo designed by Laura Leddy.