Here's Apple news of the non-iPhone related kind: its CEO Tim Cook has just come out. Writing in a Bloomberg Businessweek column, the 53-year-old says that he is "proud to be gay" and hopes that his announcement will help other LGBT people struggling with their identity.

"I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realise how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others," he writes.

"So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy."

Cook says that the decision to go public about his sexuality wasn't easy, but quoted Dr. Martin Luthor King, who said: "Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"

"I’ve come to realize that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important," Cook writes. "That’s what has led me to today."

Is it kinda depressing that somebody coming out is still considered newsworthy? Probably. But according to the Human Rights Campaign, there isn't a single openly gay CEO in the Fortune 1000 – until Cook, that is. 

A recent study of 1,700 Americans also found that it was more common than not for LGBT employees to remain closeted at work. Hopefully, Cook's admission will make workplace equality that little more achievable.