Here's Why Tim Cook Has Been Telling Everyone Exactly How Long It Took Apple To Make The Apple Watch

Tim Cook has been doing something highly unusual for Apple.

He's been blabbing about how long Apple spent developing the Apple Watch.

"We had an intense team working on this for three years," Cook told Charlie Rose.

Apple blogger John Gruber noted on his podcast that Apple doesn't normally talk about the development process. It keeps things quiet, because it doesn't want it competition to know its development cycle.

So, why is Cook being open about the Apple Watch? Because he wants to subtly drive home the point that Apple has moved on from Steve Jobs.

Jobs died three years ago last Sunday. By emphasizing that the watch started three years ago, Cook is dropping a not so subtle hint that the Apple Watch is a post-Steve Jobs project.

In a memo to Apple employees commemorating the three year anniversary of Jobs' death, Cook said, "Many of the ideas and projects we're working on today got started after he died, but his influence on them - and on all of us - is unmistakable."

Gruber noticed that Cook said the projects started after Jobs' death.

In both cases, Cook is trying to drive home the point that Apple doesn't need Jobs to survive.

It's a fine line to walk for Cook. He doesn't want to denigrate Jobs, or his legacy. But at the same time, he wants people to see Apple as something bigger than just one guy.