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Tim Cook Doesn’t Understand Why Anybody Would Buy a PC

Robert Hackett
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Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
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Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
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November 10, 2015, 10:17 AM ET
19th Annual HRC National Dinner
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 03: Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during the 19th Annual Human Rights Campaign National Dinner at Walter E. Washington Convention Center on October 3, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images)Photograph by Leigh Vogel—Getty Images

Personal computers may still dominate the workforce, but Tim Cook believes their time is almost up.

In an interview with U.K. newspaper The Telegraph, Apple’s CEO was incredulous that anyone would continue to buy a PC in a world where his company’s iDevices are available. And that goes double for businesses.

“I think if you’re looking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore?” he told the paper during a trip to visit Apple’s flagship store in London for the debut of its powerful big-screen tablet, the new iPad Pro. “No really,” he said, “why would you buy one?”

Apple (AAPL) and its latest tablet have clear designs on the enterprise market, where the PC still rules. During an event in September, hell essentially froze over (depending upon whom you ask) when the company welcomed Microsoft (MSFT) executives on stage to demo a version of Microsoft Office on the iPad.

Just a couple years ago, Cook said about Microsoft’s Surface tablet that, “Our competition is confused. They’re turning tablets into PCs and PCs into tablets.” Now with the iPad Pro, Cook hopes to steal PCs’ market share once and for all.

iPads are the dominant tablet computer—accounting for nearly a quarter of the market—although the devices have suffered steady declines over the past few years. The latest version is available to order this Wednesday.

Apple made $25 billion in enterprise sales over the 12 months ending in June, an executive at the company recently said. The market still represents a drop in the bucket compared to the company’s projected $200 billion in total revenue for the year.

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For more about the iPad Pro, watch this video:

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Robert Hackett
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