Tim Cook verspricht Großes für 2014

In der traditionellen Weihnachts-E-Mail an alle Mitarbeiter blickt Apple-Chef Tim Cook auf ein erfolgreiches Jahr zurück und verspricht zugleich ein spannendes 2014. Man habe einiges in petto, darunter große Pläne und gehe davon aus, dass die Kunden begeistert sein werden.

Die komplette E-Mail liegt der US-Webseite 9to5Mac vor. Cook freut sich darüber, dass sich allein zur Weihnachtszeit mehrere zehn Millionen Neukunden über Apple-Produkte freuen werden. Man habe auch 2013 mit Produkten wie dem iPhone 5s, iOS 7, den neuen iPads oder dem Mac Pro Innovationskraft bewiesen. Zudem wäre mit dem 50-milliardsten Download aus dem App Store ein Meilenstein erreicht worden, den niemand derart schnell erwartet habe.

Apple habe zudem mehrere zehn Millionen Dollar an Spendengeldern für die Sturmopferhilfe auf den Philippinen sowie die AIDS-Bekämpfung mit (PRODUCT)RED gesammelt.

Das vollständige Schreiben hängen wir im Original unten an.

Team,

This holiday season, tens of millions of people around the world, from all walks of life, are experiencing Apple products for the first time. Those moments of surprise and delight are magical, and they’re all made possible by your hard work. As many of us prepare to celebrate the holidays with our loved ones, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve achieved together over the past year.

First and foremost, we introduced industry-leading products in each of our major categories in 2013, showing the breadth and depth of innovation at Apple. We extended our lead in the smartphone market with iPhone 5s; launched iOS 7, an extraordinarily ambitious project; released OS X Mavericks for free to our customers; introduced the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display; and this week began shipping the Mac Pro from a manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas. We also marked our 50 billionth download on the App Store – a milestone no one could have predicted we would reach so quickly.

Together we’ve shown the world that innovation at Apple goes beyond our products to the way we do business and how we give back to our community. This year, Apple raised and donated tens of millions of dollars for important charities and relief efforts like Red Cross aid to typhoon victims in the Philippines, and we continue to be the largest contributor to (PRODUCT)RED, supporting the Global Fund in its fight against the spread of AIDS in Africa. Just a few weeks ago, Jony Ive led an unprecedented effort that brought money and awareness to eliminating the transmission of AIDS from mother to child.

And finally, Apple is standing up for what we believe is right. We know that equality and diversity make our company and our society stronger, so we’ve urged the U.S. Congress to support workplace protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. We are also laser focused on our contribution to several environmental initiatives and we will increase our efforts even more in this area in the future.

We have a lot to look forward to in 2014, including some big plans that we think customers are going to love. I am extremely proud to stand alongside you as we put innovation to work serving humankind’s deepest values and highest aspirations. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world for the opportunity to work at this amazing company with all of you.

Happy Holidays,

Tim