The iBook/iMac connection

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
The iBook is the new iMac.



The laptop market is quickly eclipsing the desktop in the consumer market.



The latop market is perfect for Apple. Image and feel are equally important as specs given that these things are used in public. This allows Apple to leverage its real strength - its industrial design team - to compete even with sub-par components. 167mhz bus? Didn't seem to slow sales last quarter. Even techies who whould thumb their nose at a 2.5 ghz Powermac don't mind having an iBook around to play with while they configure their AMD game rigs.



The desktop situation is bleak. Specs take precedence over style, and margins are razor thin. Apple cannot compete in this market. It has inherintly higher fixed costs than any other manufacturer due to OS development, and the low volume of sales means these costs are very significant on a per-box basis.



Why have a $999 15 inch flat panel iMac with very low margins when the iBook is a much easier (and more profitable) sell at that price point (given the different expectations in each market)?



Thus we get a more expensive boutique computer, designed to generate sales from the installed base. At 1299 and above, this thing will not sell in large quantities, but should be profitable enough to justify its existence from Apple's perspective. Expect sales similar to iMac2, or slightly better.



The specs given by TS represent a strategy that is shifting away from consumer desktops and towards portables, where Apple's prospects are much brighter. Apple cannot abandon the desktop market entirely, but it is no longer prepared to fight a war it can't win.



iBooks are the new iMacs.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    garypgaryp Posts: 150member
    I disagree. To me, the AIO represents a distinctly different opportunity than both the laptop and the pro performance desktop. Since it doesn't have to be portable, engineering is less critical (and less expensive), because the components aren't packed so tightly. Since it doesn't have to compete with workstations, it can get away with simply adequate performance. And, you can have a bigger screen, as in the 20" iMac. There is a market for a cool little stationary computer. That market is with those people who want their computer to complement their tastefully decorated interior, and the iMac fills the bill. I would bet sales will pick up once the iMac moves to the G5.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    Quote:

    Originally posted by garyp

    I disagree. To me, the AIO represents a distinctly different opportunity than both the laptop and the pro performance desktop. Since it doesn't have to be portable, engineering is less critical (and less expensive), because the components aren't packed so tightly. Since it doesn't have to compete with workstations, it can get away with simply adequate performance. And, you can have a bigger screen, as in the 20" iMac. There is a market for a cool little stationary computer. That market is with those people who want their computer to complement their tastefully decorated interior, and the iMac fills the bill. I would bet sales will pick up once the iMac moves to the G5.



    Well I described the new iMac as 'boutique' because it will cost more than equivalently spec'd PCs and be sold mainly on intangible qualities.



    While the iBook can succeed via this appoach because of the different expectations in the laptop market (which seems much more style orientated), the iMac has struggled because image is less of a factor with desktops.



    The market that does exist for stylish consumer desktops is a small one, and while Apple will continue to offer products in this market, ultimately the iBook will be Apple's biggest consumer Mac.
  • Reply 3 of 5
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Sceptic

    The iBook is the new iMac.



    The laptop market is quickly eclipsing the desktop in the consumer market.



    The latop market is perfect for Apple. Image and feel are equally important as specs given that these things are used in public. This allows Apple to leverage its real strength - its industrial design team - to compete even with sub-par components. 167mhz bus? Didn't seem to slow sales last quarter. Even techies who whould thumb their nose at a 2.5 ghz Powermac don't mind having an iBook around to play with while they configure their AMD game rigs.



    The desktop situation is bleak. Specs take precedence over style, and margins are razor thin. Apple cannot compete in this market. It has inherintly higher fixed costs than any other manufacturer due to OS development, and the low volume of sales means these costs are very significant on a per-box basis.



    Why have a $999 15 inch flat panel iMac with very low margins when the iBook is a much easier (and more profitable) sell at that price point (given the different expectations in each market)?



    Thus we get a more expensive boutique computer, designed to generate sales from the installed base. At 1299 and above, this thing will not sell in large quantities, but should be profitable enough to justify its existence from Apple's perspective. Expect sales similar to iMac2, or slightly better.



    The specs given by TS represent a strategy that is shifting away from consumer desktops and towards portables, where Apple's prospects are much brighter. Apple cannot abandon the desktop market entirely, but it is no longer prepared to fight a war it can't win.



    iBooks are the new iMacs.




  • Reply 4 of 5
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by LOLOMGWTF





    This type of smut is all over this forum, admins, where the hell are you guys?
  • Reply 5 of 5
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    This type of smut is all over this forum, admins, where the hell are you guys?



    They're offline! LOLZ!

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