Phil Schiller Says Merging OS X And iOS Would Be A ‘Waste Of Energy’

By

schiller

According to Phil Schiller, merging the OS X and iOS operating systems would be a “waste of energy.”

Schiller was giving an interview with MacWorld on the eve of the Mac’s thirtieth anniversary. Asked about the chances of such a convergence, Schiller had the following to say:

“We don’t waste time thinking, ‘But it should be one [interface!]’ How do you make these [operating systems] merge together?’ What a waste of energy that would be.”

Apple’s software head, Craig Federighi, added that, “The reason OS X has a different interface than iOS isn’t because one came after the other or because this one’s old and this one’s new. Instead, it’s because using a mouse and keyboard just isn’t the same as tapping with your finger.”

“You don’t want to say the Mac became less good at being a Mac because someone tried to turn it into iOS,” Federighi continued. “At the same time, you don’t want to feel like iOS was designed by [one] company and Mac was designed by [a different] company, and they’re different for reasons of lack of common vision.”

Apple’s insistence on keeping OSX and iOS separate is in marked contrast to Microsoft, which has been working toward merging the desktop and smartphone operating system worlds for some time now. Microsoft’s desktop Windows 8 OS featured a touch-friendly interface, with Metro-style apps — of the sort seen on the Windows Phone. MS also made Windows RT: an ARM-compatible version of Windows 8.

Source: MacWorld

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.