The Apple rumor mill has long been filled with speculation about when the company will release its own version of a folding iPhone (which companies like Motorola and Samsung has long come to market with). Myself, it’s not a form factor that interests me until the fold portion of the screen (the screen and hinge section) is foolproof hardened and economies of scale kick in where the price premium commanded isn’t as huge as it currently is (because all that does is give these companies a license to keep increasing the price points of these now commodity pieces of hardware).
The other (and longer) part of this post is me slamming Tim Cook (yet again) for debasing himself even further. Some folks have opined this is just a part of doing business and navigating the geopolitical climate to best keep the company out of the wrath of an autocratic dictator. I have to disagree because this is part of the problem; corporations, institutes of higher education, the broader media, etc. not standing up in a majority opposition to such pressures where their constant caving, bending the knee, and folding to bullying tactics including mob-style extortion like behavior, is a contributing factor to this country being turned into a fascist dictatorship (the ones who still say we’re still not there yet have blinders on).
It’s no different than European leaders trying to placate/offer up this diplomacy angle when “Felon 47” has no desire to negotiate in good faith as was customary with past norms. This should be more about standing up to a bully and not allowing them to get away with such bad faith conduct. But that is my personal opinion and well, I dislike politics in general (and I dislike having to even write about topics like this to begin with).
As noted before, Cook personally donated $1 million to the felon-in-chief’s inauguration, then in August 2025 offered up a “nice shiny object”; a glass plaque on a 24-karat gold plaque manufactured by Apple (but signed by Tim Cook) with an assurance that Apple would be spared from the then threatened 100% chip tariffs.
Then in October 2025, a list of companies and individuals who donated for this regimes new ballroom for the White House was released; Apple was one of those companies (I wrote about my disgust in that posting). I also made it transparently clear how this was not ok (which led to write about my accelerated plans to execute on divesting from my long time investments in AAPL).
There’s a word for this; it called BRIBERY. The rich/powerful have long found ways to sugar coat their undermining of norms including this really simple one using lobbying as an example. That is simply the legal ability of being able to BRIBE public officials (filling a politicians campaign coffers with money in exchange for having government policy being made in the best interest of those companies they are lobbying for).
The Citizens United decision in 2010 by the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for unchecked corporate money to become involved in shaping politics (who are now the real owners of the U.S. and helping to drive it into the ground). The backsliding of democracy in the U.S. is the end result. But I digress…
Then most recently, Cook was at a premier screening of Melania on the very same day that Alex Pretti was gunned down by the ICE Gestapo/SA. Tone deaf IMHO. As the article mentioned, Apple’s internal Slack was overwhelming filled with negative commentary on the situation (with some stating they would be looking to leave the company). The problem here is that this isn’t just a Tim Cook thing. It’s a longer term Silicon Valley thing and was one of those key reasons I left back in the early 2000’s when I did.
IMHO, I believe that a bunch of recent executive level retirements (like COO Jeff Williams) are just a silent rejection of some of these moves. Some of the other lower level moves (especially the AI folks that have left for Meta) are about taking the financial path (due to the huge amount of money they were given). It’s not something I would’ve done but I understand why those folks took the money (to set themselves up financially).
Most long time executives at Apple no longer need to work (unless they are living an excessive lifestyle). Some continue in order to maintain that continuity (the Jobs legacy) while I am sure there are others in the “more” category. But it’s also just a matter of time (the reality of time itself) where the young will take over (being also clear that the brain drain will nonetheless happen though if more worker bees feel that their executive leadership is not rowing in the same direction they are).
The grass isn’t greener over the hill (look at Google and Meta as primary examples of companies that do not give an actual damn about your personal privacy and data — and users of those platforms cannot find it within themselves to simply dump those platforms where they are allowing those companies to farm them for their personal information and usage patterns that are all being fed into these models that in the really wrong hands, will allow all sorts of neferious things to happen. But like everything else, it takes the proverbial shit to hit the fans for people to realize that (when it is too late).
Back during that earlier dot-com bubble era, it was easy to see this tech idiocracy forming (which people now see on full display with this technofascist movement by these folks like Bezo’s, Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg, etc; billionaires who are out of touch with regular people and their daily struggles). Apple was one of the few companies that tried to at least practice what it preached (not perfect). I am now under no illusion that Apple has caved to these pressures (though some have tried to justify Cook’s action as being one who is trying to absorb all of the criticism/taking hits to his legacy).
Reminder, I am still an AAPL shareholder but have long written that I do not believe that it should be a “shareholders at all cost” mentality. Companies and its executive leadership need to also do what is ethically and morally correct. These companies need to be responsible to the communities they operate in and also being socially responsible in the process. To cave to criminals (like the ones running the U.S. government) is an afront to those principles that should be a huge part of the fiduciary responsibilities in corporate governance (versus being mainly about return on investment). But I digress again…
Social media posts also had a photo of Cook posing next to the films director, Brett Ratner (accused of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct). There is another phrase regarding this; “you are the company that you keep”. It’s self-explanatory but in its simplest meaning, the people that you associate yourself with (including your friends, significant others, acquaintances and other personal connections), are a reflection of your own character as much as they are a reflection of themselves.
For the longest time, Cook kept himself out of these types of situations. Now, this goes well beyond the “a matter of business” in an attempt to shield Apple (and therefore its shareholders) from being this huge target by this criminal enterprise that now is in control of the U.S. government. Bending the knee and folding in this manner is a reflection of the erosion of the norms once expected by the most powerful people in the world.
Cook did eventually address employees in a corporate-wide e-mail regarding the ICE shootings in Minneapolis a few days later. From my POV, it’s standard corporate boiler plate PR speak meant to placate the growing negative criticism taking place on the companies internal comms plus the general public. AFAIK, the damage is done in “it is what it is” fashion.
Writing this as a former Apple employee, Tim Cook was someone who I once respected because he earned that distinction in those earlier years and over time. He’s managed to throw that away (in my eyes) in recent times because this ends up in the “actions speaking louder than words” category.
From a transparency POV (refer to the disclaimer again), as I’ve noted before, my plans to divest (how aggressively that would happen) would be determined by actions like the above. I managed to sell a small amount at the end of 2025 since I was originally planning to do these sells in smaller increments. In light of the above, I decided to now take a more aggressive exit strategy for the first group (increasing the quantity from 4-digit to 5-digit increments in 2026 in my retirement and regular brokerage accounts) with a target price of $325/share.
As with previous sell orders, I have no idea if it will reach this price point by the “good till” dates (where I may change these orders like I previously did with the end of 2025 one). Broadly speaking, if it sounds like I am done, I am well beyond that feeling now.
