Tim Cook: Recent Apple earnings no reason to panic - CNET

Responding to those conces, Cook said he hasn't lost faith in the company's ability to tap consumers in China.

"I could not be more optimistic about China," Cook said. "There has never been anything like it in the history of the world. If you look at it on a two-year basis, Apple grew 70 percent in China. It's hard-pressed to say those aren't good results."

Noting that services such as the App Store, Apple Music and Apple Pay are important to Apple's bottom line, Cook also addressed the Chinese govement's decision last month to shut down Apple's iTune's Movies and iBooks services.

"In terms of the books and movies, what you're talking about we did offer books and movies, currently we're offline, what I can tell you there is that we're working with the relevant govement agencies and businesses, and we're confident and optimistic we'll be back online," he said.

Still on the subject of services, Cook gave some insight into the pace of the company's expansion.

"We have bought some companies to help us in services," he said. "We haven't acquired a very large company yet, but we have acquired a lot of companies. We generally acquire a company ever three to four weeks, on average. We are always looking."

On the subject of iovation, Cook compared the Apple Watch to the iPhone, and promised that improvements were in the pipeline for the wearable device.