“Newsweek” ran an obituary for the Mac yesterday (see http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/techtonic-shifts/2010/06/08/does-apple-s-iphone-4-signal-the-death-of-the-macintosh.html) in which it said that the “future of Apple is no longer centered around the Macintosh.”
“You Mac guys just got kicked to the curb, relegated to the steaming dung heap of the past,” “Newsweek” wrote. “The future, for Apple, is all about iPhones and iPads, and, more important, the operating system software that powers them — the sexy new iOS 4, which these days seems to be getting most of Steve’s attention.”
I think “Newsweek” is right on one point: “the future of Apple is no longer centered around the Macintosh.” The Mac is no longer THE main focus of Apple (although that’s probably been the case for some time now). The company’s future will evolve around the iPhone, the iPod, the iPad AND the Mac. Not to mention the Apple TV, which will come out of “hobby” stage within six months, and other iDevices.
The Mac is still one of the top money makers for Apple. And it’s still the center of the “digital hub,” if you will. The other devices are great devices, but for a lot of people, there is — and always will be — the need for a personal computer.
Let’s face it. The iPhone can’t replace a Mac. The iPod can’t replace a Mac. And the iPad can’t replace a Mac (unless you use your Mac about 75% of the time for consuming media, not creating it).
Apple would be nuts if it’s even considering any plans to phase out the Mac any time in the near future. And there are plenty of fascinating technologies yet to be implemented on the computer: 3D, Light Peak, touch screens, etc. Apple likes to innovate — and there’s lots of innovating still to be done on the Mac.
The Mac will increasingly adopt features of the iOS (just as the iOS will probably adopt features from Mac OS X). Who knows? Perhaps the iOS will eventually evolve into the operating system that Apple personal computers will use.
But the Mac will continue to evolve and be a key part of Apple as far as my eye can see.
In fact, I fired off a quick email to Steve Jobs about the “obit” and asked him about it. His terse reply:
“Completely wrong. Just wait.
“Sent from my iPhone”