In a wide-ranging interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained why mobile software head Scott Forstall had to leave, how the company hopes to salvage Apple Maps and what he thinks of Microsoft's Surface tablet.

Cook is making the rounds this week to publicize Apple's plan to manufacture a line of iMacs in the U.S.. Businessweek on Thursday morning released its interview with Cook. The Apple CEO fielded a variety of questions. Among the highlights was Cook's assessment of Forstall. When asked why the exec is leaving, Cook gave a somewhat opaque reply that hinted that the exec wasn't strong on collaboration:

The key in the change that you’re referencing is my deep belief that collaboration is essential for innovation—and I didn’t just start believing that. I’ve always believed that. It’s always been a core belief at Apple. Steve very deeply believed this. So the changes—it’s not a matter of going from no collaboration to collaboration. We have an enormous level of collaboration in Apple, but it’s a matter of taking it to another level. You look at what we are great at. There are many things. But the one thing we do, which I think no one else does, is integrate hardware, software, and services in such a way that most consumers begin to not differentiate anymore. They just care that the experience is fantastic. So how do we keep doing that and keep taking it to an even higher level? You have to be an A-plus at collaboration. And so the changes that we made get us to a whole new level of collaboration. We’ve got services all in one place, and the guy that’s running that has incredible skills in services, has an incredible track record, and I’m confident will do fantastic things.

Cook went on to praise Jony Ive, Apple's SVP of industrial design as having "the best taste of anyone in the world. and the best design skills."

Questioned about Maps, meanwhile, Cook reiterated that "we screwed up," and denied that the company was placing corporate strategy before the consumer experience. He said Apple is working hard to improve the app:

So what are we doing? We’re putting all of our energy into making it right. And we have already had several software updates. We’ve got a huge plan to make it even better. It will get better and better over time. But it wasn’t a matter that we … decided strategy over customers. We screwed up. That’s the fact.

Cook also critiqued competing tablets from Samsung and Microsoft. Not surprisingly, he found them inferior to the iPad: