The CEO of the 'Apple of vaping' explains why the comparison makes sense

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This is an artistic rendering of what a Pax Labs and Apple collaboration might look like. We only wish it were real.

The Pax 2 vaporizer is smart design at its best. The brushed aluminum body features clean lines and sensors in the mouthpiece that activate the device. It monitors the oven temperature every 30 seconds, allowing for a smooth hit of loose-leaf tobacco or marijuana every time.

Some have called it the "iPhone of vaporizers," making its manufacturer the "Apple of vaping." But both monikers have been used to describe lots of players in the marijuana industry.

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The comparison makes sense in the case of Pax Labs, the company behind the Pax 2 and Juul e-cigarette, because the two companies share a belief that technology shouldn't be overly complicated, according to newly-minted CEO Tyler Goldman.

"Great technology is generally simple to use," says Goldman, who described the Apple comparison as apt, but also aspirational considering Apple's $586 billion market cap.

Steve Jobs once described Apple's design ethos as "intuitively obvious." Things work the way a user expects them to, the company's operating systems put a lid on customization.

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Pax Labs subscribes to a similar ethos. Taking a hit from a Pax 2 vaporizer is as easy as placing your lips on the mouthpiece and inhaling. The LED lights glow green when the device is in use and red when it needs a charge. There are no buttons.

Like an iPhone, the Pax 2 comes at a premium. It costs $279, five times more expensive as vape pens that work just as well. Still, more than one million Pax 2 vapes have been sold globally.

Goldman argues one of the biggest similarities between Pax Labs and Apple is a commitment to getting better all the time. The company dabbled in designing e-cigarettes before releasing version one of the Pax in 2012. Today, the Pax 2 and the newer e-cigarette, Juul, are leaders in the space.

"I would say we're probably investing more - or, disproportionately more - in R&D in our category than Apple is doing in their category," Goldman says. "And ultimately, great products only remain great products by continuing to evolve."