Speaking to Mashable tech website, Apple Inc.'s SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller dismissed the concept of the growing market for hybrid tablet laptops, or 2-in-1 devices.
The exec thinks hybrid devices will not make it big time like Mac or iPad. "There certainly are more offerings today, more people trying to create a market," he said. "But based on all the data that I've been able to see, it is still incredibly small and niche and may not be growing to anything significant. Time will tell."
Schiller did not mention any company or device, but Microsoft News said he was clearly referring to Microsoft's Surface Pro.
The irony, however, the tech site said, is Apple's new device iPad Pro is a clone of Surface Pro, having almost identical features like stylus support, keyboard cover and a larger-than-a-tablet screen. However, the iPad Pro is not known as a hybrid tablet laptop.
Nonetheless, it is still to be seen if Schiller is right about the hybrid tablet laptop market or not. The Apple executive does not believe that products selling swiftly represent a trend. Schiller said their goal is to make the best in the categories which they choose to compete in.
The iPhone maker reported a 5.7 million Macs as last quarter sales. In more than 12 months, it has sold more than 20 million Macs. Research firm International Data Corporation reported that Apple's PC market in the U.S is growing at more than 13 percent.
Though Mac sales figure is growing, it is still behind HP and Lenovo, which had 20 and 18 percent of the global market share, while Apple only has 6 percent.
Schiller contended that people do not choose products like Mac because they appreciate craftsmanship and innovation, but love the products.
"It's important to us and something we're lucky to have and it's never lost on us that we have customers who really deeply love these products." He said. The customer's adoration of the Mac is not a new phenomenon though, but something that went back the to the first generations of Macs which people somehow developed an attachment that they cared about.
