Apple CEO Tim Cook says Apple is seeing iPad sales cannibalize Mac sales to some degree. Of course, he also argues tablets are cannibalizing PC sales, which most people intuitively might guess is happening. To the extent that consumers have to choose between spending money on a new smart phone or a tablet, one would guess there is some shift of spending towards tablets as well.
It isn't that the tablet displaces a smart phone in terms of function, but only that tablets are the new "hot" consumer gadget, compared to smart phones.
“Yes, we’re seeing cannibalization," Cook says. "Some people are electing to buy an iPad rather than a Mac."
"However, I think a larger percentage are choosing iPad over a Windows-based PC," he says.
