Hey Tribe,

I know there's another thread about Apple's presentation, but I wanted to focus only on Phil Schiller's "sad" dig that's been causing a stir among writers.

I wondered what everyone thought of Schiller calling it sad that hundreds of millions are still using PCs five years and older. Do you think it was an unintended bash against those who can't afford shiny and expensive Apple products? Or intended? Or only directed at Microsoft?

I thought Vlad's piece yesterday was thought-provoking.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/22/11282646/first-click-the-apple-we-love-and-the-apple-we-hate

"Apple returned to its familiar shtick of immature trash talk. Phil Schiller, Apple’s longtime marketing chief, dusted off a 15-month-old statistic from Intel’s CES 2015 slide deck, noting that there are more than 600 million Windows PCs that haven’t been upgraded in the past five years. He called that situation "really sad." Here’s the thing: Microsoft and Intel can use that number to motivate themselves to do better and give people a reason to upgrade, but when Apple cites it, it just comes off as a smug sideswipe at people who either can’t afford to or don’t need to upgrade."

And this as well

http://www.neowin.net/news/how-apple-is-clueless-to-income-disparity-and-the-environmental-impact-of-ditching-older-pcs

"That coexistence and mutual dependence has apparently belied some smugness under the surface in Cupertino. At yesterday's Apple event launching the new iPad Pro and iPhone SE, marketing head Phil Schiller asserted that it’s "sad" hundreds of millions of people are stuck using perfectly fine PCs and laptops, as laughter filled the room. If you’ve ever suspected it, it’s now pretty clear that Apple's executive suite is out of touch with how normal people use their computers."

"Apple also seems to have taken for granted that it benefits from a worldwide web of connected devices, even those that are older, cheaper, and aren't made by Apple. The more affordable PCs and handsets that Apple doesn't sell do much of the heavy lifting that helps fulfill the promise of an increasingly small world, where the democratization of information and social connections are vital to any technologist’s vision, including Apple’s."

http://www.cnet.com/news/using-a-pc-is-sad-says-apples-schiller/

Thoughts?