Shira Ovide, Columnist

Tim Cook Needs Better Ideas Than This for Apple

Encouraging iPhone trade-ins isn’t going to counter the growth trends working against the company.

Pablum and bromides aren’t the answer.

Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

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Toward the end of Apple Inc.’s stunning disclosure about its worse-than-expected sales, the company’s boss suggests a tactic it will use to counter surprisingly meek demand for its smartphones. I hope Apple has better ideas than this.

In a letter to stockholders, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said that Apple couldn’t change global economic conditions that are hurting sales but that it would do more to control what it can. The single specific initiative Cook mentioned was making it simpler to trade in an older model iPhone at Apple’s stores, finance the purchase over time and get help transferring apps and other data.