The kid right before she utters her famous phrase. YouTube/Apple

Apple is running a commercial in which a kid with an iPad asks, "What's a computer?"

The ad is meant to portray a world where computers no longer exist - and kids don't know what they are.

Many who have watched the ad say it rubs them the wrong way.



Apple's new commercial showing off the multitasking prowess of the iPad Pro and iOS 11 is rubbing some people the wrong way.

The ad shows a kid, age unknown, retiring to her grassy backyard after a day of hanging out with friends and doing school projects with her iPad Pro in what appears to be Brooklyn. A neighbor asks her what she's doing on her computer.

"What's a computer?" the kid replies.

The ad is meant to show the versatility of the iPad (and some in tech media have speculated it's a subtle dig at Microsoft). In this fantasy Apple world, traditional computers are so outdated that a child doesn't even know what they are.

Of course, that's not the world we live in. Computers are still how the vast, vast majority of work gets done, and the word "computer" is still part of the public consciousness - even for a child.

That fact has not escaped some viewers who say the kid's question can be perceived as insolence.

"Does this commercial tick anybody else off?" one person said in a top comment on a snippet of the ad posted to Facebook. "I want to smack this kid. What's a computer? You know what a computer is you disrespectful smarta--!!"

Plenty of other posts on social media, some with thousands of retweets, echo that observation.

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The ad debuted in November and is running on major TV networks. Check it out for yourself below.

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