Fortune also reveals that Cook "often sits down randomly with employees in the cafeteria at lunchtime," according to the Walter Isaacson biography, Jobs typically dined with Jonathan Ive.

It's not just Apple staff that are seeing the friendly face of Cook. Cook is surprising investors by actually turning up to meetings and paying attention, something that Steve Jobs wouldn't have done. According to the Fortune report, this is a "subtle but significant change" that means investors now have the CEO's ear for the first time in years.

Cook is also a hit with Wall Street, not surprisingly since the company's market value is up $140 billion since Cook took over. "Wall Street in particular has good reasons - billions of them, actually - to love the Cook regime," states the report.

Today's Apple may never have happened under Steve Jobs, nor might the announcement that the company would pay a report.

Cook's progress in China is also keeping analysts and shareholders happy. Fortune mentions Apple's strengthened relations with China. In particular Cook's visit to the Foxconn factory after Apple was criticized for working conditions there.