While refuting rumors that Apple is no longer interested in keeping up its desktop business, CEO Tim Cook said: "Let me be very clear: We have great desktops in our roadmap. Nobody should worry about that."
He added that better performances including in screen sizes and storage make desktops "really important, and in some cases critical, to people."
Given the slower upgrade cycle of desktops, the consensus was that Apple has given up on the desktop Mac. However, Cook put all the rumors to rest by revealing that Apple is still very much interested in the desktop business citing the better performance of desktop computers, including screen sizes, memory, storage, and more variety in I/O as the main reasons to continue making the powerful machines.
When asked about what is Apple's biggest differentiator and what employees can do to foster and advance those efforts, Cook said, "Our greatest differentiator is our culture and our people. They are the foundation by which everything else comes about."
Cook pointed out that Apple works the way it works not because it wants a return on its investment, but because it is clear the work is interesting and that it might lead somewhere. "A lot of the time it doesn't, but many times it leads us somewhere where we had no idea in the beginning," Cook added.