Even before his death, Steve Jobs was Apple’s ethereal visionary.
A motherboard luminary in Issey Miyake turtlenecks and futurist wire frames, until his death in 2011, Jobs was the face not just of his company but of the US tech sector.
In contrast, Tim Cook, 65, who announced Monday (April 21) that he would be stepping down as Apple’s CEO after nearly 15 years, was more the facilitator.
As many tech critics have pointed out since his announcement, the critique about Apple today is that its bestselling products are riffs on ideas that Jobs had.
What Cook did, though, was lift Apple from a US$350bil (approximately RM1.4trillion) company to a US$4trillion (RM15.8trillion) tech behemoth.
He may have had the look of a suburban dentist in his navy polos and dark jeans, but he was a ruthless executor, closing deals with Chinese competitors, president Donald Trump and rapper Dr Dre.
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A deeply private person (Cook came out as gay in 2014, really his only major statement about his personal life), Cook became a recognisable figure, if understated.
But in following a titanic figure like Jobs, it may have been prudent, necessary even, for Cook to present as a kind of blank slate.
That sensibility seemed to suit the Alabama native who worked at Apple for over a decade before rising to CEO.
That blankness was, in many ways, an asset once Cook took charge.
As Apple’s remit swelled, it allowed him to maneuver deftly between vastly different scenarios – including when he presented Trump with a plaque at the White House, attended the Oscars the year Apple’s Coda won best picture or showed up at Coachella.
That’s to say, like Jobs, Cook also had a uniform.
He has long dressed in the prevailing sensibility of the ideas festival circuit: dark jeans, polos or collared shirts, but never ties (unless appearing before a congressional committee) and Zegna’s roughly US$1,200 (RM4,745) “Triple Stitch” slip-on sneakers.
Based on how he looked, Cook could’ve been a real estate developer, a television mogul, a retired governor or any business leader trying to keep his profile low and his stock price high.
If Apple under Jobs was an extension of his Merlin-like otherworldliness, Cook made its products prosaic, necessary to exist.
His look was part of that. Cook played the square while courting cool.
It worked. Under him, the company started a film studio, fleshed out Apple Music and acquired Dr Dre’s Beats, bringing the ubiquitous millennial accessory into the corporate fold.
You could see him next to Lana Del Rey in a zip sweater. Or sandwiched between Travis Scott and Mr Beast, in a polo, slim jeans and an Apple Watch.
He watched Justin Bieber at Coachella, dressed in a dark button-up, (once again) jeans and Nikes.
Nikes are perhaps Cook’s only hypey indulgence.
He has been photographed in many different models, including a pair of custom, one-of-one Sashiko-like denim Nike Vomero Plus sneakers that he wore to the reopening of the Apple Ginza store in Tokyo, which Highsnobiety called “shockingly cool” (Cook has sat on the Nike board since 2005).
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When Cook went to the Super Bowl this year, he wore a leather bomber jacket, a rare style swerve for him. It was not one that he, thus far, has repeated.
Last year, Cook appeared on the cover of Variety, posing next to Lewis Hamilton, the Formula One champion and producer of the film F1, to talk up Apple’s film endeavours.
The photo shoot included a stylist credit for Cook, but, dressed in a tan Zegna jacket and Cucinelli jeans in the picture, he still looks, unmistakably, like himself.
He may have been styled, but he was, as always, in control. – ©2026 The New York Times Company
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
