Tim Cook talks removing stock apps, Siri privacy and more
Apparently, Tim Cook likes to drop in on Apple Stores unannounced while traveling, and during one of those trips he gave an interview to talk about new Apple products like the iPad Pro, features like the always-listening Siri, and older user inconveniences in iOS.
One of those minor annoyances that iOS users have come to live with is the fact that preinstalled apps from Apple are unable to be removed from the homescreen. The best someone could do is create a "useless" folder to hide away the unwanted apps. But, that may change... eventually. At least, we can say that Tim Cook is thinking about the issue.
Cook said that some of those stock apps will have to be permanent because of how they are integrated into the system, but there may come a day where at least some of them will be able to be removed.
There are some apps that are linked to something else on the iPhone. If they were to be removed they might cause issues elsewhere on the phone. There are other apps that aren't like that. So over time, I think with the ones that aren't like that, we'll figure out a way,
Cook fought back against privacy concerns surrounding the always-listening Siri by noting that the feature can be turned off, but didn't mention how Apple would make that option clear to users. Though, Cook also took the moment to jab at Google a bit.
The information is held on the device and so it is not going back to Apple. Apple doesn’t have access to it. So there’s not privacy concerns I think, for most people, when the information is held on their device and they can encrypt it with their passcode.
He spoke briefly about how the 3D Touch feature will make it easier to navigate deeper into the system without actually entering apps. But, the most amazing moment came when Cook went deep into Apple's reality distortion field to claim that the new Live Photos feature was "a medium that hasn’t existed before." Because obviously the world had never seen video, or HTC Zoe before.
Lastly, Cook admitted that the iPad Pro is not for everyone, although he does expect some people to use it as their primary device instead of a traditional PC.
I think that some people will never buy a computer because I think now we’re at the point where the iPad does what some people want to do with their PCs. I think there are other people — like myself — that will continue to buy a Mac and that it will continue to be a part of the digital solution for us. I see the Mac being a key part of Apple for the long term and I see growth in the Mac for the long term.
That last part seems to be true, as consumers have been opting for traditional laptops over tablets recently, but time will have to tell if there really is a market for the iPad Pro.
source: Buzzfeed via AppleInsider
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