Considering both intel an amd are selling "desktop" single socket machines with >16 cores, I'm not sure where you got the idea he was talking about servers. TR is now at 32 cores, 64 threads so definitely >30 cores and classified as a desktop.
It might be more useful to argue "workstation" but I think his point remains, people calling their 5W 8 core part "desktop" class are referring to the "laptop without a battery" class of devices that exist in the low end space and don't take advantage of the capabilities of the desktop form factor.
It absolutely is comparable to desktop processors. The latest A12 bionic is more powerful than the average desktop CPU in use across the world.
That's not saying it's better than the BEST desktop CPUs, but then, 99.99% of people don't have a 16 core Threadripper or whatever.
The point is, Apple's mobile chips have reached a point where they are absolutely desktop class processors and most normal users wouldn't notice a thing if you replaced their laptop or Desktop CPU with them. This is because most normal users use their home computer for web browsing, photos, music, and Netflix.
For example, the A12 bionic is absolutely more powerful than my 2015 Macbook Pro and my PC which I built in 2014. You might not like this reality, but unless you're a "power user", this processor is desktop class. End of story.
Ok, so we are moving the goalposts from what you can currently buy as a desktop machine, to what you bought as a desktop machine 5 years ago, which likely wasn't even top of the line.
Then because you can run a web browser on it that makes it desktop class?
Please that argument doesn't hold an ounce of anything. For that matter the processor in the original iphone was desktop class because it was capable of surfing the web better than the Pentium II's common in desktop machines in 2000.
Which is why tons of people just bought ipads and stopped upgrading their desktops. I never made an argument that you couldn't replace a desktop with a phone/tablet/whatever, that wasn't what this was about. It was about claiming that apple's products were performance competitive with (current) desktop class machines. Which for some use cases they probably are, for others like heavy gaming, engineering work, or basically most of what people actually have desktop machines for these days (as opposed to laptops which is probably a better comparison) its not really a comparison outside of some great marketing.
Of course this is the usual apple crap, I've been hearing it since the PPC in the mac was a "supercomputer".
It might be more useful to argue "workstation" but I think his point remains, people calling their 5W 8 core part "desktop" class are referring to the "laptop without a battery" class of devices that exist in the low end space and don't take advantage of the capabilities of the desktop form factor.