Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage at Goldman Sachs today and talked about supplier responsibility, iCloud's success and how tablets are going to affect the market. Tim Cook gave his personal thoughts on how he sees tablets being used.
According to The Next Web, Tim Cook was asked if he iPhone market would diminish as the product numbers sold grew, and he began talking about emerging markets, such as China and other countries where the subsidy model doesn't work. Cook said in response to this that "We want to focus on…making the world’s best product…the paramount thing is the product, it is the focus."
He went on to say that the iPhone is creating a 'halo effect' in developing and emerging markets for their other product lines, such as the Mac, and likewise, the iPad. Cook said that pre-iPhone Mac sales in China were $1.2 billion and are now $22 billion, which is an impressive jump. "The iPad has stood on the shoulders of everything that has come before it."
Cook says that Apple tested the iPad internally before launch, and over time he found that he was completing 80-90% of his daily work tasks on the device. Apparently, this is why he feels the tablet market will eventually outgrow the PC market, saying that he believes it is "only a matter of time." Cook joked that "that’s just my opinion, you’re free not to agree with me."
He also pointed out that he wasn't predicting the demise of the PC market, saying that both tablets and PC's would benefit from the competition, and that they wouldn't be going away anytime soon.
In response to a question about cheaper, Android tablets, Cook replied that if you take a crappy tablet home "the joy is gone" soon after. "As long as people invent their own stuff, I welcome the competition" he continued, referring to Samsung's ongoing battle with their tablet devices.
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