Apple's US Mac sales see strong 29% holiday growth

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Domestic Mac sales were up 29 percent in the first two months of the current holiday quarter, benefitting from an iMac shortfall that plagued Apple during the same quarter a year ago.

New 15-inch MacBook Pro


The latest data from the NPD Group was published on Monday and shared in a note to investors by Piper Jaffray. Analyst Gene Munster said the fact that Macs are tracking up 29 percent year over year is a reflection of supply issues seen by the company a year ago.

Apple had a massive 700,000 shortfall of new iMacs when the revamped all-in-one desktop launched late in the quarter. In a rare public admission, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said he wished he had held the launch of the new iMac until 2013 so that his company could build a better supply before making them available to the public.

NPD's data reflects U.S. Mac sales in the months of October and November. Munster believes that Apple will see a year-over-year recovery in Mac sales due to easy comparisons from a year ago.

His forecast calls for Apple's Mac lineup to see 13 percent year over year growth worldwide in the current December quarter, which runs through the end of the year and includes the lucrative shopping season.

MacBook Air


Since June, Apple has updated virtually its entire Mac lineup to Intel's latest Haswell processors. The lone exceptions are two of Apple's desktops: The Mac Pro, which is due for a significant overhaul that will arrive this month, and the Mac mini, which has yet to see a refresh to Haswell CPUs.

Apple's MacBook Air lineup was the first to see updates in 2013, with a refresh at the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June. An update to the iMac was pushed out in September, while updates to the MacBook Pro models with Retina displays later arrived in October.

As sales of the iPad continue to grow, it's believed that Apple's bestselling tablet is cannibalizing sales of the company's Mac lineup, as well as the larger PC market. As a result, Mac sales are becoming an increasingly less important part of Apple's bottom line.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17

    Dümed.

  • Reply 2 of 17
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,090member

    It'll be an iPad AND a Mac christmas....



    Am still continuing to wait for the "but..but...macs are overpriced!!!" remark.

  • Reply 3 of 17
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    sflocal wrote: »
    It'll be an iPad AND a Mac christmas....


    Am still continuing to wait for the "but..but...macs are overpriced!!!" remark.

    Ok, just so I can end your anxiety:

    Macs are overpriced. Feel better?
  • Reply 4 of 17
    Meanwhile, Microsoft can't liquidate their unsold inventory of Surface RTs from LAST CHRISTMAS fast enough...
  • Reply 5 of 17
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Where does NPD get their data from? I'm not going to assume its accurate just because it's good news. Let's see what Apple has to say next month.
  • Reply 6 of 17
    mvigodmvigod Posts: 172member

    Easy comparison?  Understatement.  Apple had no imacs to sell last October, November and December when Cook completely blew it for the all important Q4 and holiday season.  Could only go up from the goose egg of last year.

  • Reply 7 of 17
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    rogifan wrote: »
    Where does NPD get their data from? I'm not going to assume its accurate just because it's good news. Let's see what Apple has to say next month.

    Even with the new Macs and lower prices ready for this holiday shopping season I wouldn't be surprised if the unit numbers YoY are slightly lower. I just see too many people holding onto aging desktops and notebooks longer so even if they do move from WinPC to Mac it could still be a net loss in unit sales even as the WinPC market suffers more.
  • Reply 8 of 17
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    Even with the new Macs and lower prices ready for this holiday shopping season I wouldn't be surprised if the unit numbers YoY are slightly lower. I just see too many people holding onto aging desktops and notebooks longer so even if they do move from WinPC to Mac it could still be a net loss in unit sales even as the WinPC market suffers more.

    That WinPC pool is pretty big, there's potential for enormous growth.
  • Reply 9 of 17
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    That WinPC pool is pretty big, there's potential for enormous growth.

    Potential I agree but the iPad seems to be filling that gap more than Macs. That said I hope I'm wrong and Macs start seeing YoY unit sale growth every quarter simply so we see Apple invest more in their Mac line.
  • Reply 10 of 17
    Just did my part and picked up a new 27" iMac with 16GB RAM and a 1TB Fusion drive for the family.

    Let's hope for a nice YoY bump this year. Stock performance has been encouraging lately...
  • Reply 11 of 17
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    Potential I agree but the iPad seems to be filling that gap more than Macs. That said I hope I'm wrong and Macs start seeing YoY unit sale growth every quarter simply so we see Apple invest more in their Mac line.

    While that's true I do however see the iPad as a stepping stone device and many that still need a desktop will graduate to a Mac which has the added advantage of running Windows as well.
  • Reply 12 of 17
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    melgross wrote: »
    Ok, just so I can end your anxiety:

    Macs are overpriced. Feel better?

    I'd say expensive, because overpriced would suggest that it's priced much more than it's worth.
  • Reply 13 of 17
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,712member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    Potential I agree but the iPad seems to be filling that gap more than Macs. That said I hope I'm wrong and Macs start seeing YoY unit sale growth every quarter simply so we see Apple invest more in their Mac line.

    Anecdotal I know, but many PC users I know get an iPad first then later many get a Mac. So perhaps there is a lag. Eventually every one will have a Mac :D
  • Reply 14 of 17
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Anecdotal I know, but many PC users I know get an iPad first then later many get a Mac. So perhaps there is a lag. Eventually every one will have a Mac :D

    I hope your right but I see more capable tablets gaining ground this causing people stop purchasing desktops and notebooks rather than more people switching from WinPC to Macs.

    (This comment does not include us truck drivers of the computing world.)
  • Reply 15 of 17
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    My brothers and I bought 3 iMacs.


    Still, Apple is doomed because...just because. /s
  • Reply 16 of 17
    marvfoxmarvfox Posts: 2,275member

    Enjoy it and good luck.

  • Reply 17 of 17
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    I hope your right but I see more capable tablets gaining ground this causing people stop purchasing desktops and notebooks rather than more people switching from WinPC to Macs.

    (This comment does not include us truck drivers of the computing world.)

    Come the day that desks themselves become obsolete because they are no longer necessary for the particular tasks that people must perform using them, desktop computers will have become obsolete.
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