Tim Cook calls Apple Maps launch his 'biggest mistake,' names Apple Watch his proudest achievement

Apple recently announced that CEO Tim Cook will step down on September 1, 2026, after nearly 15 years in the role. Josh Turner, Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, is expected to carry on the mantle. As his tenure of more than a decade comes to an end, Cook is taking stock of the journey, the missteps, and the triumphs that came with it.

According to Bloomberg, Cook spoke candidly to Apple employees during an internal town hall meeting held shortly after the announcement. The outgoing CEO picked the hasty launch of Apple Maps as his "first really big mistake." In 2012, Apple officially launched its in-house Maps application with iOS 6, replacing Google Maps on the iPhone.

However, the rollout quickly became one of Cook's biggest missteps. Apple Maps suffered from inaccurate directions, mislabeled landmarks, distorted roads, problematic 3D views, and poor performance across many regions, ultimately forcing Apple to issue a rare public apology. Scott Forstall, who led Apple's software division and oversaw the Maps project, was later pushed out of the company.

3

Cook summed up the Maps debacle simply: "The product wasn't ready, and we thought it was because we were testing more of local kind of stuff." In other words, Apple was so focused on getting details right close to home that it lost sight of the bigger picture. He went on to describe the experience as "valuable," saying it taught important lessons about product readiness and execution.

He apologized to users at the time and had even suggested they use competing navigation apps from Google and Nokia instead. "But it was the right thing for our users. And so it's an example of keeping the user at the center of the decisions that we made... Now we've got the best map app on the planet. We learned about persistence, and we did exactly the right thing having made the mistake," Cook said.

Beyond Maps, Cook also listed the abandoned AirPower charger and the scrapped self-driving car project among his regrets, while noting that Apple had largely avoided the product recalls and cancellations that other consumer electronics companies have faced in the past 15 years.

3

On the wins side, Cook pointed to the Apple Watch and its life-saving health features as one of his proudest accomplishments, recalling the first time a user wrote to him to say the device had saved their life. "Now, of course, I get these on a daily basis, but that first one hit me particularly hard. It caused me to just stop in my steps." He described the Watch and its health innovations as standing out among "so many moments" of pride during his time leading the company.

Since succeeding Steve Jobs, Cook has transformed Apple into a global powerhouse with a market value topping $4 trillion. Now, as Cook steps aside, Ternus, the incoming CEO, said he is excited to take over and added that Apple is about to change the world again.