Analysts: Macworld "underwhelming", "evolutionary"

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Apple watchers on Wall Street are weighing in on Tuesday's Phil Schiller-led keynote address at Macworld, which they found disappointing but somewhat reassuring when it comes to the continued role of Steve Jobs as the company's primary spokesperson.



Kaufman Brothers' Shaw Wu and PiperJaffray's Gene Munster both termed the event "underwhelming" in their reports, although they still maintain Buy ratings on the Cupertino-based company.



"Even though expectations weren't that high (especially with Steve Jobs not giving the keynote), we still found the announcements somewhat underwhelming," Wu wrote.Â* "This was arguably among the weakest product introductions we can remember over the last 10 [Macworlds].



Wu praised iPhoto as the most impressive announcement, writing "[Apple] continues to innovate on software, further differentiating its hardware."



Over at Barclays Capital, Ben Reitzes titled his report "Macworld: Evolutionary Not Revolutionary" and wrote that while Macworld "was not very eventful, we believe Apple continues to be the leading innovator in its space...building a loyal community across a range of devices."



Reitzes sees new iPhones appearing in mid-2009, stressing the importance of an improved camera with video capability.



As for Macs, Wu cited supply chain checks and asserted that "new Macs are at a late stage of development and ready for production, so we are somewhat surprised they were not announced."



But, according to Munster, that is proof Steve Jobs remains the spokesman and "active leader" of the company.



"We believe that Steve Jobs relinquished the Macworld keynote to Phil Schiller primarily because there were no significant announcements.Â* If Phil Schiller had made a significant announcement, we would have seen that as a sign of a changing-of-the-guard, but that was not the case," Munster wrote.



"Steve Jobs remains the primary spokesperson for the company and we expect him to continue to appear at special events for all major product announcements."



All three maintain their estimates.Â* Reitzes lists $113 as his price target while Wu is slightly more bullish at $120.Â* Munster's 12-month target is $235.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 77
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    If channel inventory is high and contractual commitments to OEM partners have not been met for existing products, why would Apple announce new computer models?
  • Reply 2 of 77
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Foo2 View Post


    If channel inventory is high and contractual commitments to OEM partners have not been met for existing products, why would Apple announce new computer models?



    Quote:

    why would Apple announce new computer models?



    You can't announce what doesn't exist.



    Unless you mean why should they ? And that answer would be because they're old and stale models-Mac mini and iMAc.
  • Reply 3 of 77
    aplnubaplnub Posts: 2,605member
    Well, one thing is for sure. The vacuum of news that exists the day after. Talk about silence that speaks volumes.
  • Reply 4 of 77
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:

    If Phil Schiller had made a significant announcement, we would have seen that as a sign of a changing-of-the-guard, but that was not the case," Munster wrote.



    Munster is whack- Schiller introduced the G5 iMac at Apple Expo Paris 2004. NO changing of the guard then- there just was no new product ready. SJ even said he was recuperating so why this speculation?
  • Reply 5 of 77
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    You can't announce what doesn't exist.



    Unless you mean why should they ? And that answer would be because they're old and stale models-Mac mini and iMAc.



    Yeah that iMac what a pile of old junk barely has the power to run text edit.



    Mac mini sure but if you bought one today the average user would hardly notice an iMac refresh.
  • Reply 6 of 77
    cilgcilg Posts: 18member
    I agree with Gene Munster on this one. Having Shiller as the spokesman was a way perhaps to fulfill any remaining obligations with IDG while not stealing any thunder from future Apple announcements.
  • Reply 7 of 77
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    Macworld Coverage: Hits and Misses

    Tuesday January 6, 2009

    During a keynote address that Apple says will be its last from a Macworld Conference and Expo, Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing, handled himself with grace, delivering an excellent performance in a robust voice.



    Unfortunately, the script Phil had to work with was anything but memorable. The crowd waited patiently for the (pre-2009) dependably gee-whiz product announcements. Phil started with marketing department reports about Apple’s market share, growth, and other typical items designed to whet the appetites of the Mac faithful. Then came the first product announcement: iLife ’09. Not exactly a heart-stopper, but Apple always saves the best for last, and the crowd is usually content to go along for the ride. The crowd expressed its appreciation for the elegance of iLife ’09’s new features, with a few ooohs and ahhhs for iPhoto’s new features.



    Next came iWork ’09, with its satisfying, if not earthshaking, new features. The new web-based document sharing system was an obvious crowd pleaser.



    The crowd was still waiting patiently when Phil started describing the first new hardware item: the new 17” MacBook Pro. The crowd appreciated the design of the new MacBook Pro, with its unibody construction and choice of a glossy or matte screen. (The crowd leaned heavily toward the matte option.)



    Then suddenly, the hardware portion of the show was already over. Phil moved on to iTunes and its new pricing structure and DRM-free library of music. DRM-free is certainly a crowd pleaser, and the new pricing structure went over well as well.



    And then the keynote was over. There was no ‘just one more thing.’ No stunning revelations. No new Mac Mini. No bump in the iMac’s performance. No iPhone nano. (If you’re keeping track, that means I went 0 for 3 in my top three picks, the things I most expected to see.) There wasn’t even a sneak peek at Snow Leopard, the next version of OS X.



    In the end, I believe Steve stayed away not because of poor health, but because he knew this lackluster keynote would make him ill.
  • Reply 8 of 77
    "This was arguably among the weakest product introductions we can remember over the last 10"



    Probably the most common comment yesterday - despite the excuse of high expectations, the stuff announced yesterday pales in comparison to other keynotes (and some of those weren't even that strong).
  • Reply 9 of 77
    mjtomlinmjtomlin Posts: 2,673member
    This is exactly why Steve Jobs didn't give the keynote and Apple pulled out of MacWorld; expectations are always set way too high for this keynote. Regardless what Apple has ready to ship, the media, analysts and rabid fans, expect something amazing and earth shattering to be announced. The only reason Apple went ahead and intro'ed the iPhone in 2007 was because the product had to be submitted to the FCC six months before release and would've been publicly disclosed. And funny thing is, even with that announcement there was a ton of negative reaction and speculation.



    Personally, I liked the keynote. I thought Phil did a good job and all the announcements they made were excellent! But then again I watched without preconceived notions.



    All the negativity is rather pathetic and just shows how self-centered people have become.
  • Reply 10 of 77
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sequitur View Post


    Macworld Coverage: Hits and Misses

    snip



    How about you don't use the size tag like that? It's ugly, makes it less readable and totally unnecessary. Just use bold if you have to emphasize something. Besides, the tacky hyperbole that you use doesn't help either.



    I think it's unfortunate that people expect Apple to pull a rabbit out of a hat every presentation. True revolutions are rare, don't expect to see two revolutionary new products every year (MWSF & WWDC). If you do expect to see revolutionary products on every presentation, then you're just plain being unrealistic. These are solid improvements and it's unfortunate that Apple gets blamed when everybody works themselves up to unrealistic expectations.
  • Reply 11 of 77
    rnp1rnp1 Posts: 175member
    APPLE,

    Hire a Vegas Magician next time. Even Penn & Teller or Steve Wyrick. Phil is dumpy and unenthusiastic. The crowd should have been cheering but they weren't worked. Apple wasn't demoing a new color of socks! The guy who showed of the great new version of iMovie way out shown Phil! Reading a script is an art and requires more than being a nice guy who is productive within a company and enjoys high cholesterol food. Just because MicroSoft has a portly bozo Balmer and a unsocial frumpy Gates as spokesmen, doesn't mean Apple can put on a show with someone who looks like they never owned or used a SoloFlex or a Breville Juicer!

    This is real marketing-to the world, not a bunch of overweight college boys who drink beer and watch football and eventually flunk out! Maybe Apple was just trying to make Al Gore feel better, by having the Keynote read by someone less enthusiastic and more overweight than him!

    Keep the stock price high! If you hire Tony Bennett, you can get an entertainer when Steve is gone to dazzle the crowd to rush to the Apple store and improve their lives with a newer Apple device or software!
  • Reply 12 of 77
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mjtomlin View Post




    All the negativity is rather pathetic and just shows how self-centered people have become.



    I've noticed the trend. Since the return of Steve the more cultish fans have become addicticted to the pomp and circumstance of a Job's lovefest aka Macworld Keynote.



    Frankly Apple's problem is sticking with a product or idea long enough to flesh it out but hell when you have fans that expect earth shattering changes every keynote that becomes a bit difficult.



    In fact most Apple groundbreaking tech is so misunderstood at first it takes a while to sink in to the rank and file
  • Reply 13 of 77
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    It does reinforce Steve's dominance as Apple's spokesman/cult leader. They still need to do more to shift Steve's role to that of company cheerleader and evangelist. Would Steve go for it? Probably not...
  • Reply 14 of 77
    jdwjdw Posts: 1,324member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mjtomlin View Post


    expectations are always set way too high for this keynote. All the negativity is rather pathetic and just shows how self-centered people have become.



    Please cut us a break. Apple itself is the one who has set the standard for what is to be expected at MacWorld. "MacWorld" centers on the Mac, which is an Apple product. It does not center on "us" technically, hence "self-centered" is largely irrelevant here. Everyone knows the Mac should always be paramount at any show bearing its name. And with this being their last appearance at MACworld, Apple should have exited with a bang. But now they will be know in the Apple history books as the company who existed MacWorld with one of the weakest showings anyone can remember.



    Expectations are high because Apple made them that way over time. It's no different from telling your child on Christmas Eve, "Son, don't expect much from Santa tomorrow morning despite how generous he may have been to you in the past." Expectations are a natural result of what has taken place in the past, and has little to do with being "self-centered." If the child throws a temper tantrum after being disappointed at Christmas and starts to destroy the house as a result, he is dead wrong and requires a thrashing. But if he merely expresses calm and intelligent disappointment over what took place, regardless of how deep that disappointment may be, he should by no means be punished and tongue-lashed for it.



    And even if you wish to argue against this line of thought, the fact remains that the poor Mac Mini has not been updated since 2007 and hence developed a lot of excitement and yes expectation surrounding a possible update at the show. I for one was anticipating the release so I could place an order for two of them right after the announcement. I can therefore only hope it will be released before March.



    So please stop bashing your fellow Mac lovers who had hopes for something great (other than a notebook and other that software) at the show. We are all Mac users and lovers, and we should stand united because of that fact.
  • Reply 15 of 77
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rnp1 View Post


    APPLE,

    Hire a Vegas Magician next time. Even Penn & Teller or Steve Wyrick. Phil is dumpy and unenthusiastic.



    Jesus could not have saved the keynote, and Jobs certainly couldn't have. End of the day they had nothing "EXCITING" to show off. I though Shiller did a grand job, but they had shit all to enthuse me with product-wise.



    They had no new products besides the 17" MacBook Pro, which interests me as much as a grain of sand. The fact that the keynote was crap was because they had no new mini, no new Apple TV, no new Tele, or no new Mac touch. I was half expecting to see something wonderful, I didn't. I genuinely couldn't give a shit that Jobs wasn't there.
  • Reply 16 of 77
    ivladivlad Posts: 742member
    I am sure there's gonna be a special event pretty soon. Right after Stevo gets better. Perhaps April?
  • Reply 17 of 77
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iVlad View Post


    I am sure there's gonna be a special event pretty soon. Right after Stevo gets better. Perhaps April?



    You may be right, but I'd say it'll be before April. iWant new iProduct too
  • Reply 18 of 77
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Jesus could not have saved the keynote, and Jobs certainly couldn't have. End of the day they had nothing "EXCITING" to show off. I though Shiller did a grand job, but they had shit all to enthuse me with product-wise.



    You mean you weren't gaga for the super-sized MAcBook Pro?

    I thought Schiller did great too.
  • Reply 19 of 77
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    You mean you weren't gaga for the super-sized MAcBook Pro?

    I think Schiller did great too.



    Not gaga, not goo-goo.
  • Reply 20 of 77
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Phil was ok I thought. The problem is not Steve or Phil but Ive, they are tapping a dry well with that guy. The software people continue to innovate (e.g. facial recognition in iPhoto) but at nothing like the pace of a few years ago.



    To get their mojo back Apple should get Ive a room full of new assistants, or something else to inspire him, and the software team should have the whip cracked to get their pace back up to what it used to be.
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