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Apple VP Phil Schiller: 'there's a role for the Mac as far as our eye can see'

Apple VP Phil Schiller: 'there's a role for the Mac as far as our eye can see'

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phil schiller

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Macintosh this week, a few members of Apple's executive team granted a rare, albeit brief interview to Macworld. Marketing boss Phil Schiller and Craig Federighi — best known for his work on OS X and iOS — reflected on the last 30 years of Mac and how the iPhone rejuvenated Apple's computing business, but also about the oft-questioned future of the Mac. Many pundits have called for the convergence of iOS and OS X into one common operating system, and even for the death of the Mac, but Schiller won't have it.

"It's obvious and easy enough to slap a touchscreen on a piece of hardware, but is that a good experience?"

"We don't waste time thinking, ‘But it should be one [interface!]' How do you make these [operating systems] merge together?' What a waste of energy that would be," Schiller told Macworld. "There's a role for the Mac as far as our eye can see." He admitted that Apple merged certain elements of iOS and OS X (like the Calendar and Contacts apps) in order to not confuse users, but emphasized that different devices will always be better for different scenarios. "There's a natural form factor that drives the optimal experience for each of those things," said Federighi, "and I think what we are focused on is delivering the tailored, optimal experience for those kinds of ways that you work, without trying to take a one-size-fits-all solution to it."

Apple didn't spill any beans about its plans for future devices, but Federighi restated that it isn't Apple's position to simply jump into a new electronics category just for the sake of doing so. "It's obvious and easy enough to slap a touchscreen on a piece of hardware, but is that a good experience?" Federighi said. "We believe, no."