Tim Cook's greatest moments hosting WWDC

Tim Cook's career as Apple CEO can be mapped through his best WWDC announcements. Here's what we think are the best, as he puts the final touches on handing the baton to John Ternus.

As Tim Cook steps down as CEO, he's been looking back at his legacy, and so has AppleInsider. He was rarely more high-profile than at WWDC, which ultimately he presented from 2012 to 2026.

Those appearances were where he practically trademarked his way of saying "good morning," but they were also where some of the key moments in Apple's history were unveiled.

From iOS 7 to Liquid Glass, and from a failed Mac Pro to the overwhelming success of Apple Silicon, here are Tim Cook's best WWDC moments.

2012

If you didn't know, you wouldn't know. While it wasn't Tim Cook's first product announcement, that was in October 2011 for the iPhone 4S, it was his first WWDC keynote.

From his now familiar "good morning," it was business as usual with Cook seamlessly taking over from Steve Jobs. He even had the hyperbole down pat.

"Only Apple could make such amazing hardware, software and services," he said while describing iOS 6, Mac OS X Mountain Lion, and the first Retina display MacBook Pro.

"We are so proud of these products and they are perfect examples of what Apple does best," he continued.

Cook had some small stumbles, some small hesitations toward the end. But he did not acknowledge that it was his first time and if you can imagine how nervous he must have been, there was little sign of it.

2013

It may just be our imagination, but if Cook was perfectly confident for his 2012 debut, still he seemed more settled in the role for 2013. He was cracking jokes in his speech, even if some of them didn't quite land, but that's not the reason to note this particular WWDC.

Instead, this was a significant Tim Cook moment because it marked another dramatic change from the Steve Jobs era. It was at this WWDC that saw the end of OS X versions being named after cats.

From that day on, every OS X and later macOS release has been named after a place in California. This is when iOS 7 was launched with its radical redesign, and when the Mac Pro was launched with its own radical redesign.

There was also iWork for iCloud, which lets you use Pages and Numbers in a web browser, even if you've never tried. There was iTunes Radio, which you didn't listen to.

For all of Cook's growing confidence, this was a WWDC that exemplified Apple at the time. It was coming out of the shadow of Steve Jobs, it was trying to move forward the iPhone and the Mac, but most efforts like iOS 7 would be controversial.

And some efforts would be failures. Like that Mac Pro.

2016

"Before we start with the keynote, we'd like to take a moment, to talk about the tragedy that occurred yesterday in Orlando, Florida," began Cook at WWDC 2016. "We offer our deepest sympathies to everyone whose lives were touched by this violence."

A man had killed 49 people, wounding 58 more, in a mass shooting at Orlando's Pulse gay nightclub.

"It was [a] senseless, unconscionable act of terrorism, and hate, aimed at dividing and destroying," he continued. "The Apple community is made up of people from all around the world. from all different backgrounds, and all different points of view."

"We celebrate our diversity," he said. "We know that it makes us stronger, and moves everyone forward."

Cook then asked the audience to stand for a moment of silence. It lasted about 15 seconds, which sounds incredibly short but was moving, and perhaps the only quarter minute of silence in WWDC history.

2020

Although speaking of moving, it's unlikely that anything will beat 2020's WWDC that came during COVID. Hopefully nothing will, anyway.

This was when Apple pivoted, through necessity, to producing all of its events as pre-recorded videos instead of being live on stage. The company has never gone back, while others such as Google have, and the company has consistently produced videos that are remarkably well done.

But think back to 2020 when this was announced and no one knew how it would work. That year's WWDC presentation seemed to be starting as normal with a zoom down into Apple Park, but then we were in the Steve Jobs Theater.

The empty Steve Jobs Theater.

Unless you've managed to tour Apple Park, you've never seen it like this at any other time. It was eerie, it was somehow much smaller than you imagine, and then there was Cook, walking out onto the stage.

For the first and only time in his WWDCs, he sat on a stool. The staging and the lighting said that this was personal, and that this was special.

"We're all looking forward to a more hopeful tomorrow," said Cook in his opening remarks. He would go on to talk about how Apple products were helping people through COVID, and he would talk about Apple innovation, but that's not how he started.

"I'd like to first talk to you about two big things that are happening in the world right now," said Cook. "To start, I want to address the topic of racism, inequality. and injustice, and to recognize the pain being felt throughout our nation, especially in our black and brown communities, after the senseless killing of George Floyd."

"And while the events of this past month are sadly not new, they have caused us to face long-standing institutional inequalities and social injustices," he continued. "This country was founded on the principle of freedom and equality for all. For too many people and for too long, we haven't lived up to those ideals."

"We're inspired and moved by the passionate people around our nation and around the world who have stood up to demand change," said Cook. "We must all aim far higher to build a future that lives up to our ideals [and this] means taking action."

At this point in the presentation, you could expect that WWDC 2020 would be remembered for Cook's sober speech, and for the initiatives he described. Apple had recently launched its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, backed by a $100 million investment, and there was also the new Developer Entrepreneur Camp for Black Developers.

All of this was important, all of this was delivered with the same gravitas as any Apple hardware announcement.

But then there came this. "Today is going to be a truly historic day for the Mac," said Cook toward the end of the event.

Apple isn't exactly shy of hyperbole, but Cook was right on the money this time. WWDC 2020 saw the announcement of Apple Silicon.

Just as Steve Jobs had overseen the move to Intel processors, and just as Apple had previously overseen the move to PowerPC, so it was going to happen again. If you don't appreciate what an enormous undertaking this is, that's because every time Apple has pulled it off so seamlessly and apparently effortlessly.

Then Microsoft, for all its money and all its developers, has not managed to make such a transition even once. And it has tried.

Apple Silicon is surely the biggest launch in Tim Cook's WWDC career. Outside of WWDC, he did also present the launch of the iPhone X and of the Apple Watch, but Apple Silicon is indisputably the most significant announcement he got to make at WWDC.

Although he might dispute that, because of what happened in 2023.

2023

No, U2 was 2014, and anyway that wasn't at WWDC. What you should be thinking of is a product announcement that was at least meant to be momentous.

"In the same way that Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing," he said, "Apple Vision Pro will introduce us to spatial computing."

After years of rumors, Apple's augmented reality headset was finally announced at WWDC. Tim Cook launched it by invoking a call back to Steve Jobs's famous phrase of there being "one more thing."

He called Apple Vision Pro profound, he called it "a new kind of computer." Cook said that "this marks the beginning of a journey that will bring a new dimension to powerful, personal technology."

Cook may yet be right. Apple Vision Pro is certainly remarkable, and there are use cases where even its original starting price of around $3,500 makes it a bargain.

But as Cook steps down, it's been three years since this announcement and Apple Vision Pro still has a long way to go. It will surely progress, and of course the price will come down over time, but it's not yet shaking the Earth the way Cook seemed so sure it would.

It's possible that it may never do, too, since the most recent reports say that Apple has been laying off Apple Vision Pro staff.

2026

Tim Cook did not comment on how the 2012 WWDC was his first, but he did for his last. The 2026 WWDC was his 14th and final one, and for once he did take a moment to refer to that.

Yet it was just a moment, and if you didn't know he was stepping down, you wouldn't necessarily know it from his remarks. That's because as well as being brief, Cook also managed to weave his farewell speech into the kind of Apple mission statement he so often would.

"On a personal note, some of the greatest highlights of my time as CEO have been events like this, sharing powerful new tools with all of you, and then seeing what you create with them has been a constant reminder that imagination has no limits," he said.

"It's been the honour of a lifetime to help advance that mission," continued Cook, "with teams whose creativity, care, and conviction continue to make a lasting difference in people's lives."

There was just one moment where Tim Cook's speech slipped into the first person. "I truly believe the best is still ahead," he said.

Few CEOs attain the fame and get the global attention that Cook has, but so many of them would've made a big deal out of stepping down. Cook just wished everyone a great WWDC.

No fanfare, no gathering of the executives to applaud him, and since this was a pre-recorded presentation, there wasn't even an audience to give him a standing ovation. Since it was recorded, it's probably imagination that says he did have the smallest catch in his throat toward the end.

It's hard to blame him. And it's easy to wonder just how he'll feel in 2027, when it's the new CEO John Ternus who steps out to say "good morning."