Apple’s iPad Pro is being called a replacement for a laptop or desktop by Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook. Earlier this week, Cook made clear that he was not saying that the iPad Pro will replace Macs; it will replace Windows PCs.
In a recent interview with Independent.ie and he said there is no future for a Mac-iPad hybrid device. If Apple isn’t interested in producing a hybrid, there must be a reason behind it.
“We feel strongly that customers are not really looking for a converged Mac and iPad,”
Cook went on to articulate the reason for the company’s reluctance to build such a device.
“Because what that would wind up doing, or what we’re worried would happen, is that neither experience would be as good as the customer wants. So we want to make the best tablet in the world and the best Mac in the world. And putting those two together would not achieve either. You’d begin to compromise in different ways.”
While Apple may think creating a hybrid laptop tablet device would produce a lacking device, that hasn’t stopped others from trying.
Other companies like Lenovo, HP, and ASUS have marketed “2-in-one” computers that are hybrids of a laptop and a tablet. The 2-in-one devices have yet to really captivate consumers.
Cook bashed the Surface Book, calling it a “diluted” device. He said that it’s trying to be a tablet and a notebook but excels at neither. As the Verge noted, Cook has been critical of two-in-ones for sometime. In 2012, he mocked two-in-ones, comparing them to a toaster and a refrigerator being combined.
“You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things are probably not gonna be pleasing to the user,”
It is worth noting that iPads have long supported bluetooth-enabled keyboards. This feature makes the iPad more like a laptop, but with all the limitations that come with an iOS device.
Most Apple fans likely have no desire to see a two-in-one Apple device.
In the interview, Cook was also asked about Apple’s future in the auto industry. There have been reports since September that Apple is working on their own electric car. The plans have yet to be confirmed and when asked about it, Cook declined to comment on any possible plans for an Apple electric car.
“But I think there’s some significant changes in the automobile industry over the next several years with electrification and autonomous driving. And there’s a need for a focus on user interface. And so I think there’s a lot of changes that will go on there.”
Elon Musk, the founder of the high-end electric car brand Tesla casted doubt on Apple’s automobile aspirations. He said that building a car is much different from building a phone or smartwatch.
“But cars are very complex compared to phones or smartwatches. You can’t just go to a supplier like Foxconn and say: build me a car.”
He also made fun of the fact that Apple has hired several former Tesla employees to help with their car project. Musk said he calls Apple the Tesla graveyard because the people his company fires go and work for Apple.
Musk also said that he thinks it’s a good thing that Apple is investing in the electric vehicle market. Elon Musk’s critical take on the possibility of an electric car produced by Apple is anything but surprising.
With Apple in the ring as an electric car manufacturer, Tesla would have some serious competition that it previously hasn’t had. It’s not clear whether an Apple car would be high-end or not, but Apple will almost certainly have different tiers for its vehicles.
[Photo by Stephen Lam / Getty Images]
