Apple on pace to sell 5.1M Macs in September quarter

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Apple is on pace to see a record breaking September quarter with sales of 5.1 million Macs in the three-month span, according to the latest data.

The projected sales were issued on Monday by analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, who revealed that the latest domestic sales data from the NPD Group shows U.S. sales down 7 percent year over year through the first two months of the September quarter.

But in both the March and June quarters of 2012, Apple's total sales outpaced NPD's domestic number by 12 percentage points. Based on that Munster, is estimating that Mac sales will be up 5 percent year over year in the September quarter, which would imply sales of 5.1 million Macs.

Apple's previous record for the September quarter came last year, when the company reached sales of 4.9 million Macs. The Mac maker's all-time record came in the holiday quarter of 2011, when Apple sold a total of 5.2 million desktops and notebooks.

While 5 percent growth would propel Apple to a new record September quarter, it's also less growth than the company has been used to seeing in recent years. Munster acknowledged that Mac sales have been weak since the beginning of 2012, but with the importance of the iPhone and iPad to Apple's bottom line, he doesn't think investors should be overly concerned about Mac sales trends.

>MacBook Pro


"More importantly, Apple is holding an event likely for the iPhone 5 on Wednesday, which will be the next significant event for the stock," Munster said, acknowledging the diminishing role the Mac now plays in Apple's business.

But Apple is still expected to have a number of big updates for the Mac this fall, most notably a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. The high-resolution notebook is said to be joined by an updated iMac lineup that will see thinner designs for the all-in-one desktop.

Mac sales were also given a boost in the June quarter, when Apple refreshed its MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lineups, and also debuted its new high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. The company also opted to streamline its notebook lineup and discontinued the 17-inch MacBook Pro.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    Mac Sales could be helped immensely when a refresh of it's main Mac lines [non-macbook] actually happens.
  • Reply 2 of 23


    Comments about the look of AI moved to the thread about it.

  • Reply 3 of 23


    Maybe they had some selling issues due to the disaster of the Image Retention problem of the new retina macbook pro?


     


    see the 180+ pages forum https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4034848?start=0&tstart=0

  • Reply 4 of 23

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by peach123 View Post


    Maybe they had some selling issues due to the disaster of the Image Retention problem of the new retina macbook pro?


     


    see the 180+ pages forum https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4034848?start=0&tstart=0



    disaster? really? go on and take your pills.

  • Reply 5 of 23


    Originally Posted by pedromartins View Post

    disaster? really?


     


    While I agree with your sentiment, I do not with the words chosen.

  • Reply 6 of 23
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member


    And if you listened to the concern troll, Apple will be shuting down their Mac division next year. 


     


    I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Mac sales wouldnt be half of what they are without the popularity of iOS devices- just imagine the amount of people theyve brought into Apple stores, and who considered and purchased a mac they otherwise would not have because of this, because of the added syncing and benefits as well as being introduced to Apple through their iPhones/iPads. 

  • Reply 7 of 23
    modemode Posts: 163member


    I've noticed a recent trend with quite a few of my long-time clients switching back to Windows with new hardware purchases this year.


    As they were clients I persuaded to switch to Mac's, I was curious about why the overall negative experience.


     


    1. They hate Lion and don't trust Apple's motivation to push everything to the cloud.


    2. They don't like the direction Apple is taking and feel Mac's are fine for home, but not for work.


    3. The longevity of the hardware has been a problem. (high HDD fail rate - swath of logic board problems - connectivity/workflow issues with internal networks)


    4. Price. They don't see the value anymore.


    5. No desktop solutions. Mac Pros are horrible value and iMac's are too expensive and have no matte option. (this is mostly a complaint with creative professionals and those in very bright lab environments).


     


    I believe what has happened is their 3-4 year old computers have been having mechanical failures, and they don't feel they got their value from paying a premium for them.


    Now that they are re-assessing - almost all of them talked about the direction of Lion and the cloud - and frankly, just don't trust it.


    They would rather rely on their own internal back-up systems.


    Windows 7 is the preferred system and none were excited or planning on upgrading to W8.


     


    It's interesting to note that most of them have iPhones and a few iPad's kicking around - and they still love them.

  • Reply 8 of 23
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member


    Add +1 to the total if they release a new iMac by the end of the month. I need to replace my old one.

  • Reply 9 of 23
    modemode Posts: 163member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jungmark View Post


    Add +1 to the total if they release a new iMac by the end of the month. I need to replace my old one.



     


     




    +2 if they release a matte version.


    Actually... +1000's as I know a lot of designers and medical labs who need a non mega-gloss display.

  • Reply 10 of 23
    slurpy wrote: »
    And if you listened to the concern troll, Apple will be shuting down their Mac division next year. 

    I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Mac sales wouldnt be half of what they are without the popularity of iOS devices- just imagine the amount of people theyve brought into Apple stores, and who considered and purchased a mac they otherwise would not have because of this, because of the added syncing and benefits as well as being introduced to Apple through their iPhones/iPads. 

    They only sell 5 million per quarter, make more than 1/3rd of the world's PC profits, it's a pinnacle part of the Apple ecosystem where they don't offer the same services in Windows or Linux, and trump every other PC vendor with R&D innovations YoY so clearly they want to shut it down. It's so obvious¡
  • Reply 11 of 23


    Originally Posted by Mode View Post

    …I know a lot of designers and medical labs who need a non mega-gloss display.


     


    I weep for the labs where such intelligent people can be so misguided. Good to know that Apple is reducing all forms of glare, though.





    Originally Posted by Mode View Post


    5. No desktop solutions. Mac Pros are horrible value and iMac's are too expensive and have no matte option.



     


    If they're too foolish or naïve to think of an iMac or Mac Mini as a desktop solution, should this even be an issue?

  • Reply 12 of 23


    Count me as +1


     


    New MBPretina owner here. 


    Expensive but this thing kicks arse!

  • Reply 13 of 23

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mode View Post


     


     




    +2 if they release a matte version.


    Actually... +1000's as I know a lot of designers and medical labs who need a non mega-gloss display.



     


     


    IMO, the new MBP versions, the gloss is not that bad, very tolerable... for my use. Old ones yes, pretty bad.

  • Reply 14 of 23

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    While I agree with your sentiment, I do not with the words chosen.



    well, yes maybe they're too hard, but guys, all the LG units sold within macbook pro are affected by Image Retention. And the LG are more than 50% (the other ones are Samsung). I think it's enough to speak about a really bad quality control by Apple.

  • Reply 15 of 23

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by peach123 View Post


    Maybe they had some selling issues due to the disaster of the Image Retention problem of the new retina macbook pro?


     


    see the 180+ pages forum https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4034848?start=0&tstart=0



     


    Image retention is a serious problem on my retina macbook pro. I see the images on that beautiful screen and I'm retained almost all night.

  • Reply 16 of 23
    "Munster said, acknowledging the diminishing role the Mac now plays in Apple's business."

    Hardly a diminishing role considering that the PC market in total declined but Apple's sales and share continue to increase. Keeping things in total perspective, on track to sell in the range of 20M Macs a year makes them a huge and significant business, especially at Apple's industry leading margins. This part of Apple's business should not be downplayed.
  • Reply 17 of 23
    freerange wrote: »
    "Munster said, acknowledging the diminishing role the Mac now plays in Apple's business."
    Hardly a diminishing role considering that the PC market in total declined but Apple's sales and share continue to increase. Keeping things in total perspective, on track to sell in the range of 20M Macs a year makes them a huge and significant business, especially at Apple's industry leading margins. This part of Apple's business should not be downplayed.

    Munster's comment is accurate, although incomplete as stated. The Mac does have a diminished role in Apple's business. In the PC business Macs are most important to that industry than they've ever been before.
  • Reply 18 of 23
    mode wrote: »
    I've noticed a recent trend with quite a few of my long-time clients switching back to Windows with new hardware purchases this year.
    As they were clients I persuaded to switch to Mac's, I was curious about why the overall negative experience.

    1. They hate Lion and don't trust Apple's motivation to push everything to the cloud.
    2. They don't like the direction Apple is taking and feel Mac's are fine for home, but not for work.
    3. The longevity of the hardware has been a problem. (high HDD fail rate - swath of logic board problems - connectivity/workflow issues with internal networks)
    4. Price. They don't see the value anymore.
    5. No desktop solutions. Mac Pros are horrible value and iMac's are too expensive and have no matte option. (this is mostly a complaint with creative professionals and those in very bright lab environments).

    I believe what has happened is their 3-4 year old computers have been having mechanical failures, and they don't feel they got their value from paying a premium for them.
    Now that they are re-assessing - almost all of them talked about the direction of Lion and the cloud - and frankly, just don't trust it.
    They would rather rely on their own internal back-up systems.
    Windows 7 is the preferred system and none were excited or planning on upgrading to W8.

    It's interesting to note that most of them have iPhones and a few iPad's kicking around - and they still love them.

    First, not sure what business you are in, but if they are worried about iCloud storage it's real simple, advise them they can turn it off, at least for document storage. If you use it for syncing contacts etc. that doesn't prevent you from using their regular backup methodologies.

    Since Apple uses the same HDD's as every other computer manufacturer this sounds like total FUD.

    The scenario you describe seems to be from the technocrats, not users.
  • Reply 19 of 23

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    I weep for the labs where such intelligent people can be so misguided. Good to know that Apple is reducing all forms of glare, though.


     


    If they're too foolish or naïve to think of an iMac or Mac Mini as a desktop solution, should this even be an issue?



     


    I would think a Mac Mini would be ideal in the professional environment, as it is small, powerful for its size, and allows the reuse of the monitor.  Of course, it depends on the business, but a sound investment in some non-Apple, non-glare screens would eliminate the largest complaint of the "creative professional" judging from these comments.   We have to use HP machines at work, which have countless hard drive failures and mainboard issues.  Also, they cost more than you would think more, probably for the service contract and a large supply of replacement drives and boards.  I could see software as an issue depending on the business, but if you had to, I guess you could have Windows installed.  I hear a lot of people dismissing the Mac Mini as a toy for the home, but it has come a long way.  For more powerful tasks, a Mac Pro is the way to go, as they often last for long periods of time, and again allows the reuse of the monitor.  As Apple does not make the hard drives, I hardly think you can blame them for the failures.  As for Apple pushing the cloud, last I checked, you are not forced to back up to the cloud so it should be a non-issue.

  • Reply 20 of 23
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Interesting observations!
    mode wrote: »
    I've noticed a recent trend with quite a few of my long-time clients switching back to Windows with new hardware purchases this year.
    As they were clients I persuaded to switch to Mac's, I was curious about why the overall negative experience.

    1. They hate Lion and don't trust Apple's motivation to push everything to the cloud.
    This is an issue that is largely overblown. Nobody is forced to iCloud.
    2. They don't like the direction Apple is taking and feel Mac's are fine for home, but not for work.
    Apple doesn't have a suitable desktop solution for business. I've been on the XMac wagon for a long time but the fact is most of Apples hardware is not suitable for business use! I know people will squak about that but itis reality.
    3. The longevity of the hardware has been a problem. (high HDD fail rate - swath of logic board problems - connectivity/workflow issues with internal networks)
    This comes back to the no hardware problem. Or put better no hardware suitable for business use. That would be a mid-range machine that is easy to service
    4. Price. They don't see the value anymore.
    This is highly debatable.
    5. No desktop solutions. Mac Pros are horrible value and iMac's are too expensive and have no matte option. (this is mostly a complaint with creative professionals and those in very bright lab environments).
    Yep! It isn't actually a pricing problem on the iMacs as much as it is a support problem.
    I believe what has happened is their 3-4 year old computers have been having mechanical failures, and they don't feel they got their value from paying a premium for them.
    Now that they are re-assessing - almost all of them talked about the direction of Lion and the cloud - and frankly, just don't trust it.
    More likely they don't understand it. The iCloud integration actually could be a big driver as far as business sales go.
    They would rather rely on their own internal back-up systems.
    iCloud IS NOT a back up system. This tells me immediately that your customers are woefully mis informed.
    Windows 7 is the preferred system and none were excited or planning on upgrading to W8.

    It's interesting to note that most of them have iPhones and a few iPad's kicking around - and they still love them.
    Most likely due to iCloud. You see the problem there.

    Apples best business solutions lie with their laptop lines. On the desktop they can only succeed with niche applications.
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