Apple CEO Tim Cook Continues European Tour, Talks iPhone Pricing, App Store, Apple TV+ and More in Interview

Apple CEO Tim Cook is in Europe this week, visiting local Apple employees and App Store developers and even attending an Oktoberfest celebration.

Cook was in Munich on Sunday before traveling to Berlin, where he visited the offices of Blinkist, an app that distills non-fiction books into bitesize text and audio snippets, similar to CliffsNotes.


Cook also sat down for an interview with German news site Stern, and his comments were published today in German.

On the topic of the App Store and an anticompetitive lawsuit the U.S. Supreme Court allowed to move forward, Cook said (based on Google translation from German) that “no reasonable person would ever call Apple a monopolist.” He said that offering apps through the App Store isn’t a limitation, but at an advantage because of Apple’s rigorous App Store policies that keep customers safe from malicious apps and illicit content.

[Translated From German] “Customers buy an experience from us, and this experience includes a trustworthy place to buy apps in which we curate and check all applications. ” As a result, many apps would not come to the iPhone, such as pornographic offers, explains Cook. “But anyone can take their iPhone and access that content in the browser, but we do not offer it ourselves.”

Cook went on to address complaints about Apple offering its own App Store apps and competing with developers.

We have 30 to 40 apps – versus more than two million others.” Cook compares the App Store to a supermarket: “The likelihood that it has its own brand is very high, and who benefits from having another product on the shelf? The customer, and that’s a good thing.”

On the topic of Apple pricing, Cook said that Apple always tries to keep prices “as low as possible.” “Fortunately, we were able to lower the price of the iPhone this year,” he said, referencing the $699 price point of the iPhone 11.

Cook also answered questions about Apple TV+. When asked about whether Netflix sees the Apple TV+ pricing ($4.99 per month in the U.S.) as a challenge, Cook said that he doesn’t think competitors are afraid of Apple. “It’s not whether Netflix wins and we lose, or we win and they win. Many people use multiple service and we’re trying to become one of them.”

Following his meeting with Blinkest, Cook moved on to France and met with Ubisoft and Pastagames and then visited students and professors at Polytech Montpellier. Cook also visited several Apple Stores, including Apple Kurfürstendamm, Apple Odysseum, and Apple Champs-Élysées.




Cook’s full interview with German site Stern can be read in its original German (or through a translation) on the Stern website.

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