Tim Cook: Tablet market will eventually exceed PC market

As part of today's earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he believes tablets will eventually eclipse PCs.

"I believe there will come a day when tablet market by unit is larger than the PC market," he said.

Cook emphasized that Apple would continue to be innovative in the tablet market, and that people want to do multiple things with them. He added that Apple does not see tablets such as iPads being in the same category as devices such as the basic Kindle and Nook. "People who want an iPad will not settle," Cook said.

A recent report from the Pew Research Center shows that the number of adult Americans who own tablets leaped from 10 percent to 19 percent over the holiday season. While Pew cited the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet being behind the ownership surge, Apple selling 15.43 million iPads in the previous quarter certainly contributed to this as well.

As Apple continues to do more with the iPad, and whatever successors it has, it's not hard to believe that Cook's predictions will come to pass within the next few years. (It's already coming true for Apple -- the iPad outsold all Macs combined by nearly three to one last quarter. --Ed)

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2012/01/24/apple-q1-2012-results-liveblo…

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As part of today's earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he believes tablets will eventually eclipse PCs. "I believe there will come a...

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Clayton Randall

Lion was the grand experiment to bring iOS features to the Mac, I am confident that eventually we will be dealing with the flow going back the other way. As it is now, I use a bluetooth keyboard and magic trackpad to control my Mac. Both of these devices could easily be made to control an iOS device to allow for wall mounted (dare I wish for Big Screen iPads) to be controlled remotely, with a full iOS/MacOSX hybrid operating system allowing for consumption and creation on the same device.

January 25 2012 at 10:57 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Andy

Tablets are cool and the iPad is amazing... but at this time you still need a computer to do serious stuff. I wish future tablets would have more flexibility, including their OS.

January 25 2012 at 6:00 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to Andy's comment

Kevin

Future tablets will undoubtedly have more power and flexibility than today's tablets. In fact, they will have more power than today's desktops. (Just as today's tablets have more power than the desktops of a decade ago.)

As for still needing a computer to do "serious" stuff, that probably won't change soon. There will be situations that need a real keyboard and lots of peripherals. But Tim Cook isn't predicting the death of PC's. Not even a little bit. He's predicting that tablet sales will exceed PC sales.

If there are ten tablets sold for every nine PCs, then Tim Cook's prediction will have come true. That's still nine PCs sold for every ten tablets. The people who buy those PCs will be the people who need (or THINK they need) the power and flexibility of the PC.

January 25 2012 at 2:40 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply