When Tim Cook became Apple's CEO in 2011, he began leading what was already one of the world's most successful technology companies. The iPhone was driving Apple's growth, the iPad was still relatively new and the Mac was at the center of its computing business. Cook inherited an enormous ecosystem, then he spent 15 years finding new ways it could be put to use.

By the end of Cook's tenure, Apple had introduced entirely new product categories, moved the Mac to its own processors, turned the iPhone into a wallet and satellite communicator and built a services business worth more than $100 billion a year. Meanwhile, some of Apple's biggest changes weren't new products, but rather familiar ones that slowly evolved into something else.

There are now more than 2.5 billion active Apple devices, while the company brought in $416.2 billion in net sales in fiscal 2025. Apple's announcement on Cook's transition lays out the scale of the company he leaves behind. But the more interesting story is how under his leadership, Apple products took on entirely new forms and jobs.

When the Apple Watch launched in 2015, it was primarily an iPhone companion for notifications, communication, apps and activity tracking. Apple began expanding its health and fitness capabilities with Apple Watch Series 2, which added built-in GPS, swim tracking and more workout features.

The bigger shift came with Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018. With this, Apple added an ECG app and fall detection, giving the Watch capabilities that went beyond basics like tracking steps.

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