Apple held its annual shareholders meeting today at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park. While Tim Cook expressed excitement as he walked on stage, the meeting quickly saw some controversial topics brought up by a couple of shareholders. The meeting also included a vote on whether Apple’s board should be required to disclose ideological information about nominees. And we also got tease about a new iPad Pro functionality coming at some point from Craig Federighi.

CNET’s Ian Sherr noted that Tim Cook walked out on stage with the energy of a product launch: “I love this meeting because I get to see some of my old friends here that I only see maybe once a year.”

Apple’s general counsel, Kate Adams, then took over the business portion of the meeting. Some debate started over the idea of Apple needing “more conservatives on the board.”

Interesting debate going on among shareholders about ideological diversity on the board. Some argue that there needs to effectively be more conservatives on the board. — Ian Sherr (@iansherr) March 1, 2019

Another shareholder said they didn’t approve of Apple donating $1 million to the Southern Poverty Law Center whose mission is “fighting hate, teaching tolerance, and seeking justice.”

Serious note. A shareholder just voiced disapproval of Apple’s $1 million donation to the @splcenter after Charlottesville saying “many people call them a hate group.”

There were hisses in the room. #AppleShareholderMeeting — Sean Montgomery (@gomery) March 1, 2019

Someone else made another controversial statement by alleging that Apple’s diversity policy is “sexist and racist.”

Apple's shareholder meeting quickly turning political. Conservative shareholder advocate Justin Danhof called Apple's diversity policy "sexist and racist." Another shareholder criticized Apple's $1M donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center after Charlottesville clashes. $AAPL — Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 1, 2019

As things turned more positive and Apple focused, we got a tease from Craig Federighi about transferring video on the iPad Pro over USB-C.

Craig Federighi answers question about "video" output through USB-C from the new iPad Pro. Says new functionality in that realm coming (jokingly asking Cook if he can "pre-announce" it, Cook says sure then gets a laugh when he asks no one in the room to share it broadly) — Ian Sherr (@iansherr) March 1, 2019

But rather than talking about video output to external devices, it sounds like the question was asking about transferring video files over the iPad Pro’s USB-C port.

The sort of pressing questions asked of Tim Cook by shareholders:

-Can I get a second hand on the Apple Watch?

-Why can't I transfer movies over the USB-C port on the iPad Pro?

-What's your strategy for FileMaker for small and mid-sized businesses? — Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 1, 2019

As for the vote to require Apple’s board to release ideological information on nominees, it was voted down by the vast majority of shareholders.

More debate among shareholders on the proposal to require more ideological diversity on Apple's board, but the biggest applause was for the guy who said let's move on. The proposal was voted down by 98.3% of votes. — Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 1, 2019

Cook noted how the company will continue “pulling the string between wellness and health.” Previously, Apple’s CEO said that the company’s “greatest contribution to mankind” will be health-focused.

On Apple Watch, Cook says expect the company to continue "pulling the string between wellness and health." Points out ECG, but also more workout types in the Apple Watch. AirPods, he says, have been "a cultural phenomenon." He feels like similar to the white iPod earbuds — Ian Sherr (@iansherr) March 1, 2019

Cook also used the meeting to reiterate Apple’s values of privacy, capitalism, diversity, immigration, and the environment.

Amid the political debates at the $AAPL shareholder meeting today, Tim Cooks says this is what Apple believes in:

-The environment

-Immigration

-Diversity

-Capitalism

-Privacy — Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 1, 2019

With a comical note about Apple and privacy, Sean Montgomery shared how luxurious and “private” the stalls in the men’s bathroom are at the Steve Jobs Theater.

Apple is clearly all in on privacy. Just went to the men’s room at the Steve Jobs Theater. Man. The stalls are like private suites! #AppleShareholderMeeting — Sean Montgomery (@gomery) March 1, 2019

Other highlights from the meeting include the board being reelected, Apple acquiring 18 companies last year, 50% of new Apple hires were from underrepresented groups, and research and development spending grew to over $14 billion.

Apple’s General Shareholder Meeting in a Tweet: Board was reelected; 18 cos acquired in ‘18; half of new hires were in underrepresented groups (women, African-American, Hispanics); R&D spending up to $14B plus. — Tripp Mickle (@trippmickle) March 1, 2019

Top image via Sean Montgomery

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