Amid reports that Apple is planing to support cross-platform apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, a new interview with Tim Cook sheds light on the Apple CEO’s thoughts on the distinction between iPad and Mac…

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Cook explained that the Mac and iPad are two separate products that serve different use cases. He explained that the idea of merging the two doesn’t make sense as it would result in watering down one or the other:

We don’t believe in sort of watering down one for the other. Both [The Mac and iPad] are incredible. One of the reasons that both of them are incredible is because we pushed them to do what they do well. And if you begin to merge the two … you begin to make trade offs and compromises.

Cook acknowledged that merging the iPad and the Mac could theoretically make Apple “more efficient,” but he was quick to point out that that’s not the point of Apple. Ultimately, Cook says that having both products gives users “things that they can then use to help them change the world or express their passion.”

So maybe the company would be more efficient at the end of the day. But that’s not what it’s about. You know it’s about giving people things that they can then use to help them change the world or express their passion or express their creativity. So this merger thing that some folks are fixated on, I don’t think that’s what users want.

For his part, Cook stated that he switches between an iPad and a Mac, using the former at home and while he travels, and the latter at work. “I generally use a Mac at work, and I use an iPad at home. And I always use the iPad when I’m traveling. But I use everything and I love everything,” Cook said.

Ultimately, however, it’s important to note that by adding support for cross-platform apps, Apple isn’t merging macOS and the iPad in any way, shape, or form. What do you think of Tim Cook’s explanations? Let us know down in the comments!

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