Apple CEO Tim Cook has once again dismissed the possibility that the company would be merging iOS, Apple's operating system for mobile devices, with the OS X, its operating system for computers.
In a fireside chat with Box CEO Aaron Levie, Cook revealed that the iPads and MacBooks will remain as separate devices, despite the many new similarities shared by the devices with the release of the iPad Pro.
"We don't believe in having one operating system for PC and mobile," said Cook, stating that merging the two operating system would be subtracting from both of them and would not lead to the best user experience on either iPads or MacBooks.
"We're very much focused on two," Cook added.
Cook's comments fall in line with the sentiments of Apple over the previous years of keeping its computers and mobile devices as separate products. Last year, Apple senior VP of software engineering Craig Federeghi told CNET that the company had no plans of releasing Macs that featured touchscreens.
"We don't think it's the right interface, honestly," Federighi then said, adding that using the Mac was seen as a sit-down experience for users.
Cook's reiteration of Apple's stand on the topic shows that the company is not feeling any pressure to follow what rival Microsoft has done with Windows, with the operating system now being used for both computers and mobile devices, and even for its gaming console Xbox One.
There were hopes that Apple may finally merge the two operating systems together due to new features that allowed for better interaction between the iOS and OS X. One of these features is the Handoff feature introduced in the iOS 8, which allowed users to continue their work when moving from an iOS device to an OS X device and vice versa.
In addition, the unveiling of the iPad Pro, which could be paired with a stylus and keyboard and has a larger 12.9-inch screen, could lead to users replacing their MacBooks with a tablet as the iPad's functionality increases.
However, it seems that users hoping for a merged operating system will have to keep hoping, as per Cook's statements.
