At Goldman Interview: Apple Chief Slams OLED, Hints of Cheaper iPhone

At today's Goldman Sachs conference in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook took a dig at Samsung by slamming smartphones with AMOLED screens. He says that while the iPhone's Retina display is currently best as the "color saturation on OLED displays is awful." Cook hinted of the possibility of a cheaper iPhone by recounting that the original iPod was sold for $399 but consumers can now buy an iPod shuffle for as low as $49. But he emphasized that Apple won't be making a crappy product just to lower prices. With a $137 billion cash hoard at the end of the year, Cook says the company has looked into large-scale acquisitions, but decided against the idea to this point.

What Else You Need To Know:

- Despite the widespread availability of the iPhone, Cook said there's still room for growth, noting that the device is only available to 50% of the world's mobile phone subscribers.

- Cook said in the Goldman interview that he expects the smartphone market to double during the next several years.

- On reports that the 7.9-inch iPad mini is hurting sales of the full-sized iPad, Cook quipped, “If we don’t cannibalize it, someone else will."

- The Apple CEO said the iPad is selling more than twice its nearest rival but noted he couldn't know the exact market share of the iPad because Android manufacturers aren't providing specific figures.

- Cook stated the a lawsuit by shareholder Greenlight -- which seeks a ruling that Apple should distribute high-yield preferred stock to shareholders -- is a "silly sideshow", although he said he's open to looking at the shareholder's proposals for sharing more cash with investors.