Tim Cook: Pro users remain incredibly important to Apple

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Apple HQ
This is the last shareholders meeting at Apple's old campus.
Photo: Ryan B/Flickr

Apple hosted its annual shareholders meeting today at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino where a number of new proposals were presented by investors before Tim Cook took questions from the audience.

During his Q&A session, Tim Cook discussed how Apple plans to fight for net neutrality. He also assured shareholders that Apple plans to come out with new products that appeal to professionals and creatives, but insisted that the Mac and iPad aren’t destined for a merger.

“You will see us do more in the pro area. The pro area is very important to us. The creative area is very important to us in particular,” Cook told the crowd. “You can expect to see us do more and more that people will view iPad as a laptop replacement, but not a Mac replacement. The Mac does so much more.”

Q&A with Cook

Apple hasn’t updated its Mac Pro, iMac and Mac Mini products in years. Even though the company came out with a new MacBook Pro at the end of 2016, many professionals panned the new machine for lacking enough power to be a true pro laptop.

Cook also talked about US manufacturing opportunities and job creation. The Apple CEO explained that the company has created 2 million jobs in the US. About 1.4 million of those jobs are app developers.

“We love this country, and we’ll continue to look for ways to expand and help in any way that we can,” said Cook.

Other Q&A topics included how Apple will respond to Donald Trump’s plans to end net neutrality. Although Cook didn’t have an immediate plan of action, he said Apple thinks all content should be treated the same.

Shareholders demand more diversity

Before Apple opened the meeting for questions a number of proposals were presented by shareholders, including a push to force Apple to have more diversity in its senior management and board of directors.

The proposal for more diversity was presented by Antonio Avian Maldonado who has requested Apple add more women and people of color to its ranks at every shareholder’s meeting since 2015. Apple advised shareholders to vote against the proposal, but not before others voiced their concerns about Apple’s whiteness.

Corey Webb, an Apple shareholder from Florida, supported Maldonado’s proposal, saying he experienced lack of diversity in Apple at the executive level in retail. Other investors said they were worried about the diversity problem in Silicon Valley, but are against putting language into Apple policies requiring it.

Other proposals presented by shareholders included one that would have forced Apple execs to hold onto 75% of their stock until retirement. Another proposal requested that shareholders get to nominate two members to the board of directors.

None of the proposals from Apple shareholders passed.

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