Admittedly, a bit bizarre the Situation is. There are five people, two women, three men – including one of the most powerful entrepreneurs of the world stand in front of a huge shelf full of books. They talk passionately about literature and about what can be seen from biographies of his own life learning. But no one takes one of the countless tomes in the Hand. All rigid only to the Smartphone, the keeps Tim Cook, in his left Hand. But why wouldn’t you – the App on the phone, finally, is the reason why the Apple CEO even came here, to the edge of Berlin’s Neukölln district.

Tim Cook is on a visit to Germany: On Sunday, the Apple Boss visited the Oktoberfest in Munich, then looked at the 58-Year-old with a former Apple interns over the is made with a DJ App on their own. He then took a course on the Sonnenallee: Here, in front of the neukölln shipping canal, is located the corporate office of a Start-up Blinkist.

The new Lust for Learning

Blinkist is an App that makes the thickness of non-fiction books relatively small. No matter whether a best seller or a psychological counselor, all books, statements of experts in their core – so-called Blinks – evaporated in 15 minutes. Depending on your preference, you can read the summary yourself, or listen to.

The ambitions of seven years, young Start-ups are great: “Our goal is to be the leading brand for life-long Learning,” says Blinkist-founder Holger Seim. Until then, however, it is still a long way off. To look at the beginning of his visit, Tim Cook, on a Whiteboard, to see the development of the subscribers of the individual years. “In the beginning it was really hard. In between, it was so tight that for two months no salaries were paid,” says co-founder Niklas Jansen.

However, in a time of permanent self-optimisation has found, the concept is now in its niche. “We have 500,000 paying subscribers, in the coming year we want to crack the one million mark,” said Seim. The customers come from all Parts of the world, The main markets are the USA and the UK, besides Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

For Cook was Blinkist is a “Prime example” of a modern company, which was only through the App Store successfully, he says in an interview with the star. “No matter if you’re in Berlin or Munich, you can be from there to a globally active company. This is phenomenal,” says the Apple CEO.

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star-Reporter Christoph Fröhlich (left) in conversation with Apple CEO Tim Cook.

©Brooks Kraft/Apple Cook and developers

That Cook looks over at the young company, it is not surprising. Apple and Berlin, has the Tradition. Here he met Angela Merkel and inspected the halls of the Philharmonic, last year, he looked at the Yoga rebels of Asana Rebel (click here to read the related report).

in Addition, the company represents many of the values that are the head of Apple, important: Here, more women than men work, a rarity in the Tech industry. And in the corridors of English is spoken – the Team has a global footprint, the 155 employees come from more than 40 Nations.

For Cook’s visit, but also a service in its own case. By talking with developers, and as a sparring partner for acts – with the Blinkist-founders, he discussed about the effects of text-to-speech-voices on the mood of the user, he is approachable. And Cook relies on the worldwide community of developers. It is the water on the mills of Apple’s Software world, and devised new applications for Apple’s devices.

The Cook is important for two reasons: firstly, users are held in place by a variety of new applications in the rod and, on the other, Apple earned on each sale of a paid App (84% of all applications are free). The group requires a contribution of 30 percent of the App purchase price and In-App sales. Subscriptions are from the second year, 15 per cent. A practice that is also on other platforms, such as Google’s Play Store usual.

Are 30 percent too much?

the device But in the home market, the United States this approach is now under pressure: In may, the U.S. Supreme court has allowed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. With your consumer want to force Apps for iPhone and iPad can be provided on the group’s past directly to the customer. Apple have magnetized the market unlawfully monopolized, argue the plaintiffs. Thus, there is less competition and the consumers to higher costs. This assertion finds Tim Cook absurd: “No reasonable person would call Apple ever as a Monopolist,” he says in an interview with the star. In addition, he underlines that there is in every market in which Apple is active, strong competition and you have to share, no dominant market.

10 years Apps The thumb nail great Revolution Of Christoph Fröhlich

That there is to purchase Apps only via App Store, see Cook not as a limitation, but as an advantage: “For us, the customers buy an experience. And this experience includes a trusted place where you can buy Apps. We make sure that we curate and review all the applications.” As a result, many Apps would not come to the iPhone, for example, offers of pornography, says Cook. “But anyone can take his iPhone and use this content in the Browser. We offer these not yourself.”

it threatens not only in the United States in Trouble, but also in Europe. The music streaming service Spotify put in March to the European Commission a complaint against Apple. Therein is accused by the group from the Cupertino, California, to abuse its Power, and its own music service Apple Music to share. Apple rejects the allegations of the business partners and competitors. Its aim is to clarify the EU-Commission.

Transformation of Apple

These debates are not for Tim Cook this Monday in the foreground. Instead, he chats with employees about the advantages and disadvantages of the Algorithms. A topic that he probably wouldn’t have picked out, finally, the Apple Boss makes no secret of the fact that he is holding, in spite of all the technology, the human factor in his service is essential. Among other things, by the Curate wants to stand out Cook from the portals of competitors.

Because people use their devices longer and the iPhone-growth seems to be irritating, introduces Tim Cook, the next Transformation of the group: His company will not only sell Hardware and the associated Software, but increasingly on services. In this way, can be achieved with each device over a number of years continuously for more sales. He added in addition to the App Store and iCloud at Apple Music or the upcoming movie and series streaming service Apple TV+. The so-called Services are to be the Foundation of a new growth story.

health-Offensive to Apple’s most exciting product is the iPhone By Christoph Fröhlich

the group with his for the first time in years, falling iPhone prices is also the Basis for the Service business wants to expand, has Cook but. “We always try to keep our prices as low as possible. Fortunately, we were able to reduce this year, the prices of the iPhones,” said Cook.

The strategy so far appears to be working. “My assessment is that Apple will achieve with the new services even faster growth in the coming year. This year, Apple could reach a Services sales from 46 to 50 billion US dollars”, estimates the Gartner analyst, Annette Zimmermann.

“I don’t think that the competition is afraid of us”

the most attention of The Film and series service Apple TV+ gets currently. The group starts from November for five euros per month for up to five family members at the same time. On the question of whether Netflix feel this announcement as a fight, tells Cook: “I think that the competition is afraid of us. The video section works differently: It is a question of whether Netflix wins and we lose. Or if we win and you lose. Many people use multiple services, and we are now trying to be one of them.”

Similarly, the analyst Annette Zimmermann sees it. It keeps the low price for a smart move: “you are not to become greedy. At five euros a month, you can decide easily, if you book the Service in addition to Netflix & co.. Since the Either-Or-question no longer applies then.”

From the point of view of the critic has changed Apple’s role in the App Store, because the group is now marketing only applications, but also to the competitors is. On the allegation says addressed Cook: “We have 30 to 40 Apps, compared with more than two million others.” Cook compares the App Store, with a supermarket: “The probability that this has an own brand, is very high. And who benefits when another product is on the shelf? The Customer! And that is a good thing.”

competition is everywhere

smashing, as it calls for the US presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, he said this was the wrong approach. “I’m the first to say, big companies should be thoroughly investigated. I have no problems at all,” said Cook. “I just hope that the people throwing the large technology companies all in a pot.”

the report of the week star left exclusively To visit in Apple’s Secret lab Of Christoph Fröhlich

Cook in the past not have the opportunity to draw a line between his and other companies in Silicon Valley-especially Google and Facebook -. Particularly in the area of privacy, he tries to differentiate yourself from the competition (read more in our report from Apple’s secret lab). “If people look only a little below the surface, you will come to the conclusion that we are in all of these things in a very different Position.”

Blinkist cofounder Holger Seim followed the debate relaxed. Fear that Apple will eventually Partner with the competitor, he did not. “Should Apple build a day also for life-long Learning, we have also Apple as a competitor. This motivates us then, because the market is much larger. If a huge company goes, you can say you did it.”

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