Mac sales lowest since 2010
MR just ran a story pointing out that this quarter has seen the lowest sales of Macs since 2010. Is there a similar article from AI in the works? I think this needs pointing out to those who think Apple's Mac strategy and pricing is dandy. Maybe that will help toward Apple noticing that others have noticed the decline and pick up the ball they dropped in 2016.
Comments
60% of the lowest Mac quarter in recent memory went to NEW Mac users. Where are the existing users?
I suppose by most terms the Mac, as a business, has never been bigger, but I don't remember a prior period in its history when it has been left without a real update strategy.
It has been left to idle and Apple seemingly has focused on the top end and specifically ways to raise prices (you still can't buy a modern 15" Mac without TB, which in my part of the world, means 2,700€ for the base version). That is crazy.
The Mac has never had as many users*. If, in the past, they could refresh machines regularly with less (half ?) the users, why not now!?
If the answer is they don't really care, then split the division off (a la FileMaker) and run it with people who do care!
If the answer is 'Intel', then give management a prod and remind them that there is a lot more that can be done to keep things fresher.
*If the 60% end up doing what existing users appear to be doing, this quarter Mac results might turn into a trend.
Ask again if the next quarter doesn't see an uptick.
Tim seems to imply sales to new Mac users is a good thing. Yes it is, as long as your existing users aren't leaving the platform. If there are more sales of new Macs to new users than existing ones, it means either you don't have a desirable enough product that fits the needs of existing Mac users, or the new products are too expensive.
For me, it's a combination of both. I'd like a new iMac to replace my 2012 one, but I'm not going to fork out £1750 for one that's still got a damn hard drive, still only has 8GB RAM and is essentially about 4 years old. The CPU is a bit faster but the cheap Radeon Pro 570 would be slower than the Geforce GTX 680MX that's in my 2012 iMac, due to the 5K display. Even the top of the line iMac still comes with just 8GB RAM, the pretty lacklustre Radeon Pro 580 - with no alternative GPU upgrade - and Apple wants over £500 for a 1TB SSD. Apple raised the price of these iMacs in 2016 when the pound fell after the EU referendum, but it's since recovered most of that ground and oddly enough, the prices never went back down. Timmy really is in a little world of his own.
I think the answer is that Cook for some reason doesn't like the Mac. Unfortunately unlike Steve he's just a bean counter, he doesn't really care about the experience people get or seemingly the longer-term viability of the Mac and the "halo effect" the iPhone has on the Apple/Mac ecosystem, as long as his darling iPhone continues making money. Growth in the smartphone market has now stalled though, and rather than returning to the Mac which has huge growth potential, Tim is ignoring it and pushing services. I wonder if the Mac team within Apple has gradually become pared down and engineers shifted to the iPhone. Certainly seems that way. Thanks for the info, I'm looking rather apprehensively toward next quarter's results, especially with regards to the Mac. The updated MacBook Pros will help, though since there's still no sign of Mac updates on the horizon, I can't see the Mac section being that great. Apple has allowed the competition to catch up on the hardware front - some of the PC hardware is really quite solid now. It's just Windows that lets it down. Sadly I think my next "Mac" will end up being a Hackintosh.