During a Q&A session at today's shareholder meeting held at Apple's Cupertino campus, Apple CEO Tim Cook reassured investors that Apple is still very much focused on its professional customers and has plans to "do more" in the pro area.
"You will see us do more in the pro area," Cook said. "The pro area is very important to us. The creative area is very important to us in particular."
Cook's comments were directed towards the Mac, Apple Watch, services, and iPad, but may reassure those who are worried that Apple is abandoning its desktop Mac lineup, especially the Mac Pro. The Mac Pro has not been updated since December of 2013, going more than 1,100 days without a refresh.
Other desktop Macs have also gone more than a year without an update. The iMac last saw a refresh in October of 2015, more than 500 days ago, while the Mac mini was last updated in October of 2014, over 860 days ago.
"Don't think something we've done or something that we're doing that isn't visible yet is a signal that our priorities are elsewhere," Cook also told investors.
There have been no hints that a Mac mini or Mac Pro refresh is on the horizon, but Apple is rumored to be planning to introduce new iMacs in 2017, perhaps as early as March. Future iMacs are expected to be updated with USB-C ports and AMD graphics chips.
At the meeting, Cook was also questioned about a potential convergence between the Mac and iPad lines, in the form of a touchscreen Mac. While Cook said he didn't want to comment on future product plans, he again reiterated that he sees the iPad and the Mac as two separate product lines that serve different purposes.
"Expect us to do more and more where people will view it as a laptop replacement, but not a Mac replacement - the Mac does so much more," he said. "To merge these worlds, you would lose the simplicity of one, and the power of the other."
Much of the rest of the shareholder meeting consisted of voting on several proposals and reiterating information that was previously shared during Apple's January earnings call. While no shareholder proposals passed - including those calling for increased diversity and more transparency about donations - Apple reelected its board of directors, approved board compensation, and approved Ernst and Young as the company's accounting firm.
