Tim Cook Assures Apple Hasn’t Forgotten About ‘Pro’ Customers

Apple is still highly focused on its ‘pro’ customers, and is ready to double-down on its creative and professional areas, CEO Tim Cook told shareholders at a recent Q&A in Cupertino.

“There’s still a ton of revenue outside of iPhone. The Mac, Watch, services, iPad are all essential to Apple’s growth,” Cook said. “You will see us do more in the pro area. The pro area is very important to us. The creative area is very important to us, in particular.”

Cook’s answers come in the midst of rumors and worry that desktop Mac platforms are getting “left behind” at Cupertino. According to CNET’s Shara Tibken, who covered the shareholder event, Cook’s comments are “likely to raise hopes that Apple will finally update its desktop Macs.” Indeed, it’s been over 500 days since the iMac was last refreshed, and over 860 days since the Mac mini saw an update

“Don’t think something we’ve done or something that we’re doing that isn’t visible yet is a signal that our priorities are elsewhere,” Cook stated. Similarly, in December 2016, Cook promised that “great desktops” are certainly in Apple’s future.

Cook was also faced with a question about whether Apple plans on merging the iPad and Mac lineup into one device or series of devices. While he initially stated that Apple doesn’t “like to talk about future products,” he reiterated that he views them as remaining separate. Specifically, in the future, the iPad may be recognized as a laptop replacement, but not as a Mac replacement — as the Mac “does so much more.”

“To merge these worlds, you would lose the simplicity of one and the power of the other,” Cook reportedly said of the idea.

Given the timeline and how long it’s been since there’s been an update, it’s definitely a possibility that Apple will introduce some sort of Mac refresh at its spring “special event.” At this point, we’re not sure exactly when Cupertino’s event will take place — but, historically, Apple has usually held its spring events in March.