Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s Tim Cook “will always be compared to Steve Jobs and he’ll never live up to that”: Gene Munster

Tim Cook has begun to build his legacy as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s CEO following the iPhone 6’s record-selling weekend, but it’s only the first step, and a bigger one could yet be achieved with the upcoming Apple Watch. Speaking to Fox Business News, Piper Jaffray senior research analyst Gene Munster spoke about Cook and the shadow of former CEO Steve Jobs that hangs over him still.

“The reality is he will always be compared to Steve Jobs and he’ll never live up to that; no one will. But as far as his legacy is concerned, the success of the iPhone 6’s is a huge step for his legacy and the strength of his legacy. I think that if you look at ultimately at where he could go, as far as what happens with the Watch that’s the next piece to how his legacy is going to play out,” Munster said.

While the iPhone 6’s are essentially just building on the foundation already established in the product line by Jobs, it should be noted that Jobs was not a proponent of larger-screened “phablets” like the 6 Plus, making the new models with their much larger screens huge departures from his vision in that sense.

Still, as Boy Genius Report editor-in-chief Jonathan Geller said, the Watch will be the first really unique product that will come out of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the post-Jobs era, and Harpervision president Greg Harper echoed those sentiments, saying that while the iPhone 6 was a great and much needed improvement over the previous models, the Watch is potentially the next big thing for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Early indications are mixed on the Watch’s appeal however. The $350 price point was met with dismay by many Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fans, and a recent survey of 6,000 people by RBC Capital Markets showed that just 11% of those surveyed would purchase the Watch, compared to 65% who said they would not (24% were undecided). The Apple Watch, with Cook’s legacy partially in tow, is expected to be released in early 2015.

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