There’s a certain breed of tech guy who seems to wake up each morning disappointed that Tim Cook hasn’t achieved a feat on par with curing cancer. In fact, you can hear that tone loud and clear in Pirate Wires’ new interview with Ruby on Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH), a typical critic drunk on the Apple haterade who paints the company as a hollowed-out husk of its former self — a once-iconic brand that’s gone soft, stopped innovating, and become too boring to believe in.
Since Apple’s leadership is the target of much of DHH’s invective, let’s start with an acknowledgment that Apple CEO Tim Cook isn’t a showman, disruptor, or even a “product person.” He’s a calm and reasonable guy, seemingly the exact opposite of that famous quote about the kinds of people who change the world (“All progress depends on the unreasonable man”). Read DHH’s interview, and the implication couldn’t be clearer — that Apple is now basically an extension of Cook. That it’s too reasonable, too level-headed, and way too boring. “There’s no craziness left,” DHH says.
“It has been sucked out by a logistics bean counter at the very top, who I am sure does not have one bone of crazy in his body. And that’s why he’s exceptionally good at what he does, which is to negotiate with Chinese subcontractors and ensure that there’s X amount of parts available at this moment in time. I’m sure he is very good at that, but that is just not what fires up anyone to push forward.”
That’s certainly one perspective.
Here’s mine: Not every company needs to be run by a self-styled “visionary” who treats their employees like cannon fodder and their users like test subjects. Apple hasn’t gone soft; some of you are just addicted to the tech industry’s normalization of drama and chaos from its CEOs. Cook might not be flashy, but he is effective — the kind of unflappable, even-tempered operator who turned Apple into a $3 trillion juggernaut while everyone was busy pining for the ghost of Steve Jobs.
Rather than a focus on bending the world to his will, Cook’s goal is simply to keep building one of the most reliable, seamless, and trusted ecosystems on Earth. As a consequence of that, Apple has grown up. No one stays a pirate forever, and at some point, thrashing around like a rebellious upstart starts to look less visionary and more like a middle-aged dad still clinging to his punk phase in a faded Ramones T-shirt.
Then there’s the AI panic. DHH, like so many other Apple doomsayers, seems particularly hung up on Siri not being smart enough or whatever. As if the company’s relevance hinges on whether or not your iPhone can write a shopping list in iambic pentameter. Let’s be real: Apple doesn’t need to be first to every hype cycle. People like me only care about Apple doing things right — securely, at scale, and without turning your personal data into chum for ad sharks. The AI stuff will come. Or it won’t.
What’s wild is how deeply personal all of this seems to be for Apple critics like DHH. As if Apple… I don’t know, hurt them somehow. The Pirate Wires interview reads less like a diagnosis of a tech company and more like a breakup letter (“You changed! It wasn’t me…”). There’s this weird cult of Apple haters who still sound heartbroken that their favorite brand grew up and moved on. Here’s an idea: Maybe don’t invest your identity in a corporation.
If you like what they make, cool. If not, buy something else. No need to stage a TED Talk about your disillusionment.
Back in the real world, Apple’s doing just fine. Their products still dominate in sales, customer satisfaction, and cultural relevance. Regular people, the ones not foaming at the mouth about RCS messaging or App Store fees, still love their iPhones. And they don’t need a manifesto to justify it. So no, Apple hasn’t gone soft. It’s just grown up. Maybe the critics should try it sometime.
