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Microsoft Says Windows PC Makers Seeing 'Continued Growth' in Premium Market Led by Apple

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Microsoft on Thursday reported a 5% increase in revenue from licensing Windows to PC makers as part of its latest quarterly earnings results.

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In a subsequent conference call, Microsoft's chief financial officer Amy Hood said its "partner ecosystem continued to see growth and share gains in the Windows premium device category," according to Business Insider. The comment has been interpreted by some as Microsoft stepping up its game against the Mac.

Microsoft reportedly defines "premium devices" as computers that are in the $900-plus price range, which equates to the higher end of the market traditionally led by Apple products such as the MacBook Pro. By its own definition, this includes Microsoft's latest Surface Book and Surface Studio desktop.

Last month, Microsoft said "more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before" following "the disappointment of the new MacBook Pro." The company has not released actual sales numbers to back that claim, however, while Microsoft's latest results include licensing to all Windows PC vendors.

While research firm Gartner says the worldwide PC market continues to decline, Mac sales grew by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Lenovo, HP, and Dell, the top three vendors, saw an estimated 5.4%, 4.3%, and 1.6% growth respectively during the quarter as well, while Asus, Acer, and others faced declines, according to Gartner.

Article Link: Microsoft Says Windows PC Makers Seeing 'Continued Growth' in Premium Market Led by Apple
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/01/27/windows-pc-growth-premium-devices/
My iMac has been broken for the last two months. I haven't replaced it with anything yet because Apple's current lineup is so completely disappointing.

I've been getting by with my Windows 10 laptop from work instead. It's not awesome, but it does everything I need it to and saves me a few thousand.

Edit: Normally I'm happy to have a lot of upvotes on a post, but it's really depressing to have so many people agreeing with me that the Mac is dead.
 
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Many people are looking at the Surface Book as the MBP alternative and in my opinion that is the inevitable form of laptops, and makes more sense than a touchscreen standard from factor laptop or even a foldable 2-in-1. Of course Apple wouldn't do that due to the iPad.
 
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Yeah, I can feel people. I've tried to switch and Win 10 is now a competitive choice against MacBooks Pro.

For me though, MacOS is still ahead to development work. Better unix integration, better terminal. Brew is a breeze.

I am looking forward to have the Linux subsystem for windows improved and I will definitely not look bad. Apple is not what it used to be.
 
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Microsoft is starting from a small base, so percentages don't mean as much. It will be interesting to see how Mac sales fared last quarter, as well as how they do in the current quarter, now that the MacBook Pro has been updated.
 
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Do a significant number of people really switch from Mac OS to Windows 10? Seems like a bit of a red herring to me even if Apple's current lineup is unimpressive. I can see power users, maybe, who's revenue depends on fast output changing. But is that a big number? I can't see the avg. consumer switching and also Mac seems to remain the preference of kids and college students.
 
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Apple,add at least 1 extra USB port to the 12 Inch Macbook and Replace at least 1 of the USB-C ports of the new MBP with standard USB.

or indeed MANY will ditch Macbooks and swith to Surface.

It's just stupid and no one can defend these wrong design decisions.
 
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I'm one of the rare users in the market to get a new desktop. If Apple doesn't update the Mac mini or enable target display mode on the iMac this year I will be building a windows pc instead (the first windows pc I will ever have bought after decades of macs). I use my external display for more than just my computer so an iMac as it is wont work and there's no way I'm buying the current mini.
 
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MacRumors said:
Last month, Microsoft said "more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before" following "the disappointment of the new MacBook Pro."
Click to expand...

Yeah, that so called "hello again" event was such a disappointment. I had such high hopes with that event, now for the first time ever, I am considering a non-Mac computer for my next one. I have used Macs for over 20 years, and just a few years ago, I would have never thought I would be considering Windows.

My work computer is going to get Windows 10 soon, so I will wait and see if I like it or not. I hate Windows 7, which I am currently using.

Maybe I might just go Hackintosh.

MacRumors said:
The company has not released actual sales numbers to back that claim, however, while Microsoft's latest results include licensing to all Windows PC vendors.
Click to expand...

I guess if they were that great, we would see sales numbers to back up the claim. This goes for Apple too btw.
 
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I've been a Mac user for over 10 years because they were awesome.
The MBP is proving Apple is running for profit and not innovation.
Here's some key differences between SurfaceBook and MBP:
  • SB - 16 hours of battery life. MBP - 10 hour. In reality, SB is a little less with pro usage, but MBP is only about 2 to 3 hours. Pathetic.
  • SB - Has magsafe like connector for safety. MBP - got rid of Magsafe, one of the best inventions ever. This is ridiculous.
  • SB - Has touchscreen. Once you use it you never go back. MBP - no touch screen, but has touch bar, that once you use it, you tend to avoid it.
  • SB - Has detachable screen, where when detached, the OS changes into a tablet mode making it great for simple things like games, email, and browsing. MBP - can't detach screen, so if you wan't a tablet, it need to buy an expensive iPad. Obvious money grab.
  • SB - Has the option for Nvidia GPU, which is great for CUDA developement, which I do. MBP - does not offer this option. So stuck with non CUDA development.
Please let me know if I'm being over critical, but please justify you reasoning. Remember, I was a hard core Mac lover, and Apple makes more money than anyone, so there's no reason that Apple should be 4 years behind the competition. Tim Cook may be fantastic at organizing production, but he would be fired if Steve Job's came back to life for what he has done to the company. Yes, the stock is good, but that cause the company is running for profit. It won't last.
 
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RyanA said:
Re-read my posting. Emphasis on the word physical.
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True. I've just never understood that argument. Past pressing a physical key its still 1s and 0s sending a command, and is ultimately up to the operating system to decide whether or not to execute. A system failure still requires a restart.

Confusion on the possession of a physical key will continue.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Do a significant number of people really switch from Mac OS to Windows 10? Seems like a bit of a red herring to me even if Apple's current lineup is unimpressive. I can see power users, maybe, who's revenue depends on fast output changing. But is that a big number? I can't see the avg. consumer switching and also Mac seems to remain the preference of kids and college students.
Click to expand...

Maybe. Been a Mac guy since 2002, shareholder since '09 and bought my first PC - HP Spectre x360 15t. Why? I wanted a better machine than my 11" MBA for on the go photo editing. Wanted either a 13" or 15" screen. The new Macbooks are Meh at best and very overpriced. My main apps - Chrome, PS CS, Office 365 are all dual platform so switching costs are low to nonexistent.

I got the latest Intel CPU, a 4k screen, touch + pen, 16GB, Discrete graphics, 512GB SSD machine for $1499. A comparable 15" MBP was $2799 and no pen/touch input. Had it for a day now and it's very good. Awesome screen, speedy, and, while Win10 is not perfect it is serviceable. For the difference in price I could buy a very nice lens for my camera or even go on a nice vacation! Apple was never that much more expensive.
 
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I'm more familiar with Macs, plus I feel Apple has really good service. However, MS definitely showed up Apple with the Surface, IMO. I like the style of the Surface Studio, plus PCs often have better hardware & software for games. With Apple's obsession with thin will probably never truly bring it to parity with gaming computers.

Like many people on this forum, I want the power of macOS, but still touch enabled. I like have file system access, more granular printer options, multiple users, etc. I also like working with my fingers or a stylus as it feels more natural than a keyboard and mouse/trackpad in some situations. We'll see what iOS 11 and macOS 10.13 are like. Hopefully, it'll solve some issues.
 
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