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Apple Again Trails U.S. PC Market in Key Back-to-School Quarter as Tablets Continue to Eat Into PC Sales
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Updates would help but, in the end, it's not what is driving the market.
People are paying little as possible for computers. iPads are also eating into computer sales.
I would love updated Macs but it will not turn around this trend.
On the plus side, I'm sure Apple is earning more for their total computer sales then the other manufacturers.
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Sales would not have increased significantly since people are buying on price. Updates cost lots of money.
Sales increased marginally + large update development cost = less money for Apple.
No hardware refresh
No new, exciting hardware (how old is the basic MBP formfactor and contruction??)
Mavericks still not released
Still high price points
Windows no longer completely sucks
Shouldn't be a surprise, but something that can be turned around.
They really do, though, need to come out with something new/exciting.
No new, exciting hardware (how old is the basic MBP formfactor and contruction??)
Mavericks still not released
Still high price points
Windows no longer completely sucks
Shouldn't be a surprise, but something that can be turned around.
They really do, though, need to come out with something new/exciting.
No significant updates, falling behind the competition = no money for Apple (we had that in the 90s).
Speak for yourself. I still find the "web" versions of most apps to be inferior to their desktop and native mobile counterparts.
Apple knows just how little that is.
That is why the iPad is what they emphasize. They know that the Mac market has dried up, and that is why they are no longer spending much effort on it.
Don't worry though, the margins on iPads are substantial. Apple will be fine even without selling Macs. It is just a matter of transitioning properly and gradually.
Misleading title?
Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but doesn't that chart say that Apple came in 3rd for the quarter, beating out both Lenovo and Toshiba? If so, the title of the article is a bit misleading.
Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but doesn't that chart say that Apple came in 3rd for the quarter, beating out both Lenovo and Toshiba? If so, the title of the article is a bit misleading.
I can't help but think that part of the reason for Apple's decline is their stupid release policy over the past few years which has seen their Macs updated at erratic intervals and slow periods like December.
If they are going to continuing releasing updated iPhones and iPads in Sept/Oct for the holidays then surely it would make sense to move their Mac updates to earlier in the year.
Most companies I've worked for use up their IT budgets in the first few months of the year as that is the peak hiring season, so go with Mac Pro updates in Feb, and Mac Consumer updates in April and the Mac Education focussed updates in June so they have plenty of stock for the back to school/college season.
I know this depends on Intel processor release schedules but their must be some way to work around that.
If they are going to continuing releasing updated iPhones and iPads in Sept/Oct for the holidays then surely it would make sense to move their Mac updates to earlier in the year.
Most companies I've worked for use up their IT budgets in the first few months of the year as that is the peak hiring season, so go with Mac Pro updates in Feb, and Mac Consumer updates in April and the Mac Education focussed updates in June so they have plenty of stock for the back to school/college season.
I know this depends on Intel processor release schedules but their must be some way to work around that.
1. You are correct. With a phone iPad Mini you'd need a bluetooth or some other wireless headset or ear piece. I see a lot of people using these kind of devices these days so that i not really an issue.
2. You are right that the technology is outpacing what the small iPhone screen can do. But that is what the iPad and iPad Mini are for. There in my opinion is no need for a new iPhablet category. I think phones (as in the phone part only, not the rest that makes up an iPhone) will move to the iPad Mini or possibly a Nano or iWatch sized device.
3. "A Mini with a cellular radio would hit that happy medium."
All your talk on this and I actually agree. The Mini is not quite a phablet but also not quite a full sized tablet. I don't exactly agree with the Mini's existence. But it is here so lets make full use of it. It does some very nice potential. It defo does not take over the standard iPad for everything. I'd not swap my iPad 4th gen not a Mini even if I was paid to do so. In saying that I think both devices have their place in the market. But they need to do more to differentiate the two. At the moment for the average user it's smaller screen vs retina. Is that enough? I think smaller screen + phone radio vs better specs, retina and I can't think something else but it needs it.
So it looks like we have worked it out. Keep the iPhone the same size. And add a phone radio to the mini. And then everyone is happy.
The 6.5 year old 17" MBP (with SSD added) I am typing this on would challenge that. True, it's near the end of it's useful life, but it's still a 7 year old platform and works great.
I've got I don't know how many macs. Personally, 3 at home. I'm on the tech committee of small school where we have 30 MBP. I got my parents 2, and my aunt and uncle 1 each. I've also had PCs, and some teachers at our school wanted PCs instead of Macs.
My older Macs have a far longer service life than any PC I've seen. There have been issues, but they've been corrected. We have ongoing issues with even our newer PCs.
I don't have universal stats, but I know what I see, and what I see is a higher quality rate amongst Macs, though nothing is ever perfect.
Nah the best OS ever made is the latest Apple Mac OS. Unless MS or another finally step up and make a good OS. SL is a dinosaur now.
They would sell more, but make less profit. Apple knows how to make profit. Unit sales are just a means to profit. There is a complex formula for determining selling price, and the desired output is maximum profit. Apple knows how to do that calculation.
Same for what I've seen. When I bought Windows laptops, they lasted 3-4 years until they were too slow, started breaking apart at seams/plastic corners/etc. Things like a speaker busted, ports got loose, screen problems, etc.
My White MacBook from 2006 is still going strong after 7 years now. I'm only using Snow Leopard, because I can't upgrade beyond that, and it's still great for most everything. I'd upgrade Snow Leopard if I could.
"Do not want one made" is a rather aggressive, active stance. Usually it's people who "want a product to be made", and then those that "wouldn't want it". Note the lack of "made" in the latter. They just wouldn't want it. Are you concerned that your current form factor will disappear, or is yours an ideological position?
So iOS apps are all going to be developed on windows and Linux? As much as Apple Computers Inc.(formerly) wants to shed it's past and simply turn into a "simple" device company, there are those little things known as Apps that end up Laing those simple tech devices worth owning.
It would not shock me that some dramatic changes are coming to the Mac lineup, but dumping it completely is not really an option. If apple would get it's head out of it's arse, and price these things like they used to, the upswing would still be there. Well that and actually updating machines that are over a year old would go along way to improving this trend as well.
With the removal of an optical drive and a lack of recent refresh, why should anyone buy an iMac. Everyone on here may scream optical drives are not needed, but they are to me, and maybe to a good many more. Sometimes Apple, people will believe what they believe ... not what you tell them or want them too!
everyone is just waiting for the gold MBA to come out
you jest, but I would SO buy dat, so long as it doesn't cost a golden premium
Not a big deal. Desktop hardware doesn't become obsolete as fast as it used to.
4 years. But it still looks great. And they have tweaked it a bit for the Air and Retina machines.
So? It's on schedule and will be out soon.
Agreed. Prices should probably come down a bit. Windows laptops are WAY cheaper.
That's subjective.
It's better, but I'd still rather use OS X.
price price price
no matter how sleek & shiny, it's about the price.
Retina/not-Retina? ...pshaw...phooey... you really think the average consumer cares? Apple's problem is the PRICE. remember the economy? how bad it is? 200 bucks difference is enough to make people shift their focus.
no matter how sleek & shiny, it's about the price.
Retina/not-Retina? ...pshaw...phooey... you really think the average consumer cares? Apple's problem is the PRICE. remember the economy? how bad it is? 200 bucks difference is enough to make people shift their focus.
Not a big deal
They release these same type of results every quarter. I'm not sure why people are getting so testy and defensive. These are analyst making guesses, yet we grab these numbers and build narratives around them as if they are facts. They're not facts and that is a fact.
Apple isn't doomed. The PC market is in a slow steady decline for a reason. The way we interact with technology is evolving. For some time to come there will still be a need for PC's/Mac's. That need will lessen, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The companies in the PC industry will have to evolve to remain viable. Some will, some won't. No different than any other industry.
They release these same type of results every quarter. I'm not sure why people are getting so testy and defensive. These are analyst making guesses, yet we grab these numbers and build narratives around them as if they are facts. They're not facts and that is a fact.
Apple isn't doomed. The PC market is in a slow steady decline for a reason. The way we interact with technology is evolving. For some time to come there will still be a need for PC's/Mac's. That need will lessen, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The companies in the PC industry will have to evolve to remain viable. Some will, some won't. No different than any other industry.
Why not? XCode is software that creates a file.
If an Intel Apple XCode can spit out a file that runs on an ARM, then a Windows XCode can spit out a file that runs on an ARM.
"Cross-compilers" have been around since the dawn of computing.