Windows 8 passes OS X in Brazilian market share

[skaertus]

According to StarCounter website, the market share of Windows 8 is already ahead of OS X in Brazil.

Here are the market share of each of these systems:

Last 7 days (December 23-29):
Windows 8: 2.16%
OS X: 1.55%
http://gs.statcounter.com/#os-BR-dai...3-20121229-bar

Last 3 days (December 27-29):
Windows 8: 2.16%
OS X: 1.54%
http://gs.statcounter.com/#os-BR-dai...7-20121229-bar

December 29:
Windows 8: 2.59%
OS X: 1.72%
http://gs.statcounter.com/#os-BR-dai...9-20121229-bar

Brazilian numbers were also the reason why Windows 8 has more market share than OS X in South America, as data from yesterday reveals: http://gs.statcounter.com/#os-sa-dai...9-20121229-bar

Windows 8 is ahead of OS X in Brazil not because it is wildly popular here; in fact, it may be quite as popular (or unpopular) as in the rest of the world. The fact is that OS X market share is very low in Brazil, even lower than the OS X market share in the African continent (which is about 1.9-2.1%). The reason is probably the very high prices of Macs. The cheapest Mac laptop that can be bought here is the base 11" MacBook Air, which sells for US$ 1,800, due to the heavy taxes charged by the government. The base 13" MacBook Air sells for US$ 2,500, and that's a no-go for most Brazilians. The 13" and 15" retina MacBook Pros sell for US$ 3,500 and US$ 5,000, respectively, and I have only seen these models been showcased in stores (I've never seen someone who actually bought them).

[ConCat]

Well, since Windows 8 is Windows, it should overtake Mac OS, seeing as its market share is minuscule in that part of the world. Very logical.

EDIT: You may want to get your local rulers to tax you less however. May make Macs more affordable.

EDIT2: I suppose you might be able to get someone to bring a mac with them from America. Never know. Might find someone going to brazil on the forums. Could save money that way.

[skaertus]

Originally Posted by ConCat

Well, since Windows 8 is Windows, it should overtake Mac OS, seeing as its market share is minuscule in that part of the world. Very logical.

EDIT: You may want to get your local rulers to tax you less however. May make Macs more affordable.

EDIT2: I suppose you might be able to get someone to bring a mac with them from America. Never know. Might find someone going to brazil on the forums. Could save money that way.

Well, we have the most expensive Macs in the world. But not only the Macs. We have the most expensive consumer electronics in the world.

The iPhone 5 is currently selling for US$ 1,200 (the 16 GB model). The Sony Vaio Duo, which costs US$ 1,199 in the US, sells for US$ 2,600 here. And the Lenovo Yoga, which sells for US$ 999 in the US, is selling for a whooping US$ 4,500 here. Totally insane.

PCs are far more popular than Macs here because people is able to buy affordable low-end desktops and laptops. By low-end I mean really low end. Kind of those ones equipped with a Celeron processor.

The government will not lower taxes. It is indeed adopting a very protective policy, with very heavy taxes on some imports. Several newspapers in the U.S. have already bashed this Brazilian protectionism, but the government will only listen to some sectors of the industry. We have a very sad picture then, where the OS X market share in Brazil is lower than in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Haiti. You Americans should impose some sort of embargo and force Brazil into reality again before it's too late...

I will only buy a new laptop when I travel to the U.S. And I will have to take the risk of passing the customs office with the laptop without being noticed (otherwise I will have to pay a 60% tax over any amount exceeding US$ 500, plus a 50% fine for not declaring it...). Insane, really insane.

[ConCat]

Originally Posted by skaertus

Well, we have the most expensive Macs in the world. But not only the Macs. We have the most expensive consumer electronics in the world.

The iPhone 5 is currently selling for US$ 1,200 (the 16 GB model). The Sony Vaio Duo, which costs US$ 1,199 in the US, sells for US$ 2,600 here. And the Lenovo Yoga, which sells for US$ 999 in the US, is selling for a whooping US$ 4,500 here. Totally insane.

PCs are far more popular than Macs here because people is able to buy affordable low-end desktops and laptops. By low-end I mean really low end. Kind of those ones equipped with a Celeron processor.

The government will not lower taxes. It is indeed adopting a very protective policy, with very heavy taxes on some imports. Several newspapers in the U.S. have already bashed this Brazilian protectionism, but the government will only listen to some sectors of the industry. We have a very sad picture then, where the OS X market share in Brazil is lower than in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Haiti. You Americans should impose some sort of embargo and force Brazil into reality again before it's too late...

I will only buy a new laptop when I travel to the U.S. And I will have to take the risk of passing the customs office with the laptop without being noticed (otherwise I will have to pay a 60% tax over any amount exceeding US$ 500, plus a 50% fine for not declaring it...). Insane, really insane.

The only consistent thing in the world these days, is that government is unreliable and volatile. I hope you guys can get your government under control. The entire world seems to be having trouble with it these days, we're no exception.

[aziatiklover]

Blame your greedy gov!

[emori]

Originally Posted by aziatiklover

Blame your greedy gov!

Apple is not the innocent here.

Despite receiving fiscal incentives, Apple still charges the same price for the iPad and iPhone mounted in the Foxconn factory in Jundiaí, São Paulo.

People accept to pay the absurd prices (there was huge lines for the iPhone 5), so they carry on with the huge profit margins and blame the gov.

[aziatiklover]

Originally Posted by emori

Apple is not the innocent here.

Despite receiving fiscal incentives, Apple still charges the same price for the iPad and iPhone mounted in the Foxconn factory in Jundiaí, São Paulo.

People accept to pay the absurd prices (there was huge lines for the iPhone 5), so they carry on with the huge profit margins and blame the gov.

Yea sure if you say so since I don't live in fashion week city!

[Macman45]

I don't think that there is any surprise here really...PC's and Windows laptops cost roughly less than one third of the price of Apple hardware, are mainstream, easily available, and Windows still retains the number 1 OS ranking anyway.

[JoeG4]

Yea, I'm not surprised. Most of the people I know still don't use Macs (primarily because they can't fit one into their budget). I see tons of them at my university, but then again i see tons of windows laptops as well.

[skaertus]

Originally Posted by JoeG4

Yea, I'm not surprised. Most of the people I know still don't use Macs (primarily because they can't fit one into their budget). I see tons of them at my university, but then again i see tons of windows laptops as well.

Well, Windows is the leader in market share anyway. OS X is far less used than Windows in any country.

But look at the margins. Numbers are not consistent. OS X has about 15% of market share in the US and about 7.5% worldwide. But only a puny 1.5% in Brazil.

----------

Originally Posted by emori

Apple is not the innocent here.

Despite receiving fiscal incentives, Apple still charges the same price for the iPad and iPhone mounted in the Foxconn factory in Jundiaí, São Paulo.

People accept to pay the absurd prices (there was huge lines for the iPhone 5), so they carry on with the huge profit margins and blame the gov.

Not the one to blame either.

The base version of the 4th-gen iPad is currently selling for US$ 850, which is expensive, but not double the price of the US$ 499 charged in the U.S. Macs are comparatively more expensive.

But the bottom line is: Apple is a company, and it behaves like a company. It is not a charitable organization. It is business. Apple seeks huge profit margins, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. The one (and only) thing that prevents huge margins is one little thing called competition, in which - as the Brazilian government seems to have long forgotten - the capitalist system is based on.

That's why the strategy of the government obviously doesn't pay out. At least for consumers. The Brazilian government gives tax incentives for companies which mount their products in Brazil. But if the competitors still import their products, the import taxes will make them expensive, leaving little incentive for Apple to reduce the prices of its own products, even if tax incentives are there. And that's why protectionism is one of the worst economic measures any country can take. It only protects a small elite of local entrepreuners, and there's no benefits for workers, consumers, other sectors of the economy and for the population as a whole.

----------

Originally Posted by emori

While the iOS devices manage to get traction even with the absurd prices, OS X still suffers.

It's not only because of the price, OS X itself is not attractive.

First, the Microsoft Office suite for Mac is horrible, it's not even available in portuguese.

Also there's no version of the keyboard in the ABNT2 standard (not that important, but still).

But mostly, no one here knows how to use it, even the promoters on the store kiosks. Windows is dominant everywhere, Mac still is the thing people use to play with photos and videos, as it lacks most software people use to work. People are used to Windows, there's no reason to change (specially if the entry cost is higher than US$1500).

Well, then, that's your personal opinion.

You may notice that Windows is far more used than Macs in the whole world. But Macs are more widely used in most other countries, and this is because the entry price is much lower than in Brazil.