Apple can do more with Facebook, wouldn't have bought Instagram

Apple can do more with Facebook, wouldn't have bought Instagram

When asked, as part of his D10 Conference interview, about the status of Apple's relationship with Facebook, Apple CEO Tim Cook said they could definitely do more.

Cook praised Facebook -- which just completed it's IPO -- as a great company, and one with which they enjoyed a good relationship, but also advised interviewer Walt Mossberg and the audience to "stay tuned" for more.

Because Facebook's user base is so big, Apple wants to make sure that those users are having the best Facebook experience possible on Apple products. This, of course, comes after Facebook integration was rumored to have been pulled from iOS 4 before it was released, and was very publicly yanked from Apple's Ping social music network after Facebook turned off API access.

When asked about Steve Jobs' comment that Facebook's terms for collaboration were "onerous", Cook countered that Facebook simply has their own way of doing things, and that many people say the same about Apple. While that's true, the nature of complaints about Facebook are different in kind than those about Apple -- mostly centered around privacy and ownership of personal informat

Whether or not that means the Apple/Facebook relationship has gotten better, especially considering rumors of Facebook hiring former Apple engineers to build a Facebook Phone, is hard to tell. Maybe we'll see some signs of it at WWDC 2012 next week when iOS 6 is expected to debut. If Facebook integration is part of the future of iOS devices, then obviously things have improved.

Cook also added that Apple wouldn't have bought Instagram the way Facebook did. As part of an ongoing discussion about Apple increasing their already legendary secrecy, Cook said he wouldn't even advise the world Apple bought a company if he didn't have to. Cook did say, however, that while Apple preferred smaller talent and IP based purchases, and ones that matched up with Apple product plans, he wouldn't rule anything out. Even an Instagram style purchase if one ever made sense.

Rene Ritchie


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There are 7 comments. Add yours.

Ha says:

Facebook will be the next dot bomb.
On a side note....."Cook said he wouldn't even advise the world Apple bought a company if he didn't have to".....this doesn't make any sense.

Luis says:

He means, for sure; Tim Cook said that advising (to the world) that Apple bought a company would be Apple's last option, but he have to (laws or something?)
I guess, I had to doubled read too.

pete says:

Agree it is ripe to bomb. Facebook has a serious competitor in G+, has huge profit margins that can't be maintained, has almost no assets of any value, puts out terrible software, and is a pretty long history of generally annoying the heck out of its user base.
Not to mention the slow realization people are coming to that when you know all the trivial everyday stuff your friends are whining about, over time your friends start to become awfully annoying.

Vox says:

I agree with you in everything, except calling G+ a "serious competitor" isn't.
I follow half as many people in my FB as in G+, and still I see several posts on FB every hour, when I have seen up to a day without any posts at all on G+, except from Robert Scrobble (that dude can't stop typing...I have no clue how he manages to breath, never mind anything else).
Twitter is more of a competitor to FB than G+, and they aren't even close...G+ is Google's Ping, but unlike Cook, they won't admit it.

pete says:

My point being that G+ is better (IMO). It's downfall is the active user base, but considering its only a year old it's made pretty impressive progress. That makes it a serious threat. That doesn't mean it's a lock to overtake Facebook, or that it will happen overnight. But the potential is there.

Hm says:

It's pretty obvious guys. Tim would prefer not to reveal acquisitions at all, as they give away future plans to some degree. Unfortunately it's impossible to keep acquisitions entirely secret for regulatory reasons.

Premium1 says:

Facebook app blows maybe they should work on their app first. Apple stick with twitter integration that is a better choice