Apple Halted M2 Chip Production in January Amid 'Plummeting' Mac Sales

[bluecoast]

I suspect that they had a huge spike due to M1 Mac sales from people with older machines who were holding out and it's now more low key with incremental upgrades.

Only a small majority of people would feel the need to go from an M1 to an M2 Mac, I suspect.

But... It is getting confusing.

Hopefully things will settle down so that they release all Mx Macs at the same time, in a logical order

i.e. Mx, Mx, Pro & Max, Mx Ultra

Rather than having M2 Pros and Max around the same time as the M1 Ultra

 

[spnc]

M3? But then M4 comes after that. Should I wait for that are well?

Read my more detailed post above. There's a number of factors that will make the next model(s) attractive for M1 users. Which the M2 failed to deliver because of course it was too soon.

 

[orbital~debris]

I love Apple silicon but I am finding the release cycle very confusing. I feel like the Pro/Max/Ultra chips need to come before the regular chip, otherwise you end up in the weird scenario where the lowest end Macs are running on newer chips than those at the highest end.

Easier if you remember that newness ≠ level of performance.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

M3? But then M4 comes after that. Should I wait for that are well?

Best to wait for the M5.

 

[Ru_C]

Hey Apple, how about not absolutely screwing your customers (especially in Europe) with Memory & storage upgrade prices, then maybe we'd be inclined to buy.

 

[Edsel]

Maybe it is time for Apple, Inc. to separate their divisions into independent corporate entities, i.e. Apple Hardware Inc, Apple Software Inc, Apple Cloud Inc, Apple Entertainment, Apple Everything Else Inc.

 

[Dydegu]

because the new MacBook Pro was a terrible update and not worth it; apple stop with the minor updates year after year

Sales would have been even lower had there not been an update.

 

[Mr_Ed]

I think it was on Unbox Therapy where the guys were talking about what people are looking for in a slow economy, and that's value for money. Performance-wise, the Air can do most tasks outside of demanding Pro workflows. Even if folks do some creative projects every now and then, the Air is enough - and in some ways that competitive advantage of Apple Silicon is a shot to the foot, most folks just don't need a MacBook Pro anymore.

One thing I will say, is the loss of Bootcamp, coupled with growing interest in gaming on PC - even doing a build - I think this time around Mac folks are actually looking at the PC as a 'Pro' purchase - or at least, that's where that money is going, because the Mac can no longer scratch that itch for tinkerers and folks who like to dual boot. A lot of Mac users have become used to being able to dual boot for what feels like decades.

I know for me that's the case - the Air is a fantastic everyday laptop, great plugged into a screen and covers a lot of bases, but for gaming & other Pro workflows, for hobbiest computing, it's not hard to be looking elsewhere.

I think you hit on a couple of significant points here.

When you come right down to it, more and more people are finding they can do most of the things they used to do on a “computer,” on an iPad now. Where in years past the default decision was “I’ll buy a computer,” those who don’t have a specific work-based use case may well buy a tablet instead.

For gaming and other hobbies, sad to say, Mac is not my first choice either. Hasn’t been for years.

 

[ninecows]

Yes… if sales are plummeting then your product is not worth the price tag you’ve put on it. It’s that simple. Either you bump the specs, lower the price or accept the lower sales

 

[2ilent8cho]

I don't think the price of them is helping. The 16" MacBook Pro went up by a lot with the M2 and the M2 Air went up compared to an M1 Air. They need to come back down a bit in price.

 

[aaadktda]

Plummeting is never a good word when it comes to mac sales.

True, but word wise they make up for it with the sky high prices. In Europe the prices just went through the roof.

 

[UK-MacAddict]

Sort the ridiculous pricing out and sales would pick up. Worth half the price they're listed at. This is the absolute number 1 reason why sales are falling.

Also Apple Silicon isn't even an advantage with Intel chips catching up and even exceeding performance.

Factor in the plucked from thin air pricing of its RAM and SSD upgrades and Apple are taking customers for a ride.

 

[4odomi]

Apple halted production of its M2 series chips at the start of 2023 following a pronounced slump in global demand for MacBooks, claims a new report out of Korea.

Facing "plummeting" Mac sales amid a severe PC market downturn, Apple in January completely suspended production of its custom-designed M2 series processors that power new MacBook Pro and Mac mini models and the latest MacBook Air, according to The Elec.
As the report notes, TSMC finalizes its fabrication process by sending the wafer-processed products to Amkor Technology's Korean factory for packaging work. However, in January and February there were reportedly no products forthcoming, which also forced the package material parts company for M2 chips to stop supplying the usual materials.

The suspension is said to have continued through February, after which production of M2 series chips resumed, but they were "only half the level of the previous year," said the Korean-language report, quoting a person familiar with the matter.

Apple's revenue was down approximately 5% year-over-year in the first quarter, a steeper decline than had been expected by analysts as Apple grappled with iPhone supply issues in particular but which also saw declines in Mac and wearables.

iPad revenue was up 30 percent thanks to the launch of new M2 ‌iPad‌ models, but Mac revenue saw a notable drop because there were no new Macs released in the final months of 2022. Mac revenue was $7.7 billion, down from $10.9 billion in the year-ago quarter. ‌

During his Q1 2023 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook admitted that Apple faced a "challenging" situation in the PC market. "The industry is contracting," said Cook. "We have a low share but we have a competitive advantage with Apple silicon, so strategically we are well positioned within the market. But I think it will be a little rough in the short term," added the Apple chief.

Article Link: Apple Halted M2 Chip Production in January Amid 'Plummeting' Mac Sales

M2 was a very poor upgrade, hence a lack of demand....everybody is waiting for the M3 let's hope Apple don't mess that up as well

 

[femike]

I had preferred macs over window pc's as I'm no fan of Microsoft. But I switched over to Windows. After you clean it up and debloat it, it does the job with little mess or fuss. The computers last longer at a cheaper price. It may not look as nice but its more capable than a mac. I don't use any Microsoft products or services and iTunes works fine on Windows. Apple need to double-down their efforts for the mac.

 

[Bonte]

I would have bought a new Studio to replace my M1 Mini, no laptops for me.

 

[Wokis]

M1 was released during the work from home boom and following years of pretty lacklustre Macs.

M2 was released when on the verge of a global recession and a way too high dollar value. Nothing is wrong with the chip. It was a decent increase although as expected not something that motivated previous-gen buyers to upgrade.

With the M3 you should expect a similar increase but perhaps with some exciting news surrounding the GPU-cores in particular.

If M3 is around the corner? Guess we'll see but my money is on no. First 3nm product will likely be the A17 with M3 to follow in the first half of 2024.

 

[Sean J]

I’m amused by those in here that upgrade macs every year - the rest of us have other things to spend money on.
I am looking to replace my main laptop, 2014 MacBook, but I know from the switch from Motorola to Intel to avoid the first iteration machines (ie M1s). Unfortunately the M2s don’t seem to be that much of an upgrade over the M1s, so waiting to see what the M3 (hopefully at 3nm) is like.

 

[oldoneeye]

I was looking to buy a M2 mini, but the price of NAND and DRAM upgrades are shocking. Good value base machine at £649, However that comes with 8G of RAM and 256GB (really) SSD. This makes good headline prices, but really you'd want at least 16G of RAM and at minimum of 1TB SSD for any sort of longevity ..... and that almost doubles the cost. With memory prices in the tank, Apple are fleecing us.

A 2TB SSD is charged at £800 - you can buy a crucial 2TB external SSD for £100 - and that uses Micron NAND, so is not in anyway inferior.

 

[Dredd67]

I'm looking for a big laptop to replace an old iMac. the base 16-inch Macbook Pro with 1TB of storage looks to fit my criteria. In France, I will have to pay 3229 euros for this configuration.
3229 euros. Let that sink in.

For this same price I could (just an example) configure a Surface Laptop 5 15" with 32GB of RAM and 1TB. You'll say yes but the MacBook is better at managing RAM and more powerful AND I WOULD AGREE. But for this price I also get 4 years of premium support (equivalent to Apple Care) and 15 months of Office for the whole family.

This will not make me switch, but it's still very tough to swallow considering the whole package and context. I can understand why many people are holding off their purchase or simply buying elsewhere.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Correction: more people are buying M1 MBA because it's better value given how Apple tried to mess up M2 Air and go stingy on storage quality.

 

[GuilleA]

Well, a lot of people already upgraded to M1s and M1 Pros. No reason to keep buying for at least a few years.

 

[ry-guy]

1. Slowing down HD speeds “forcing” people to a higher tier will keep some from purchasing, maybe just offer a decent whole package to start.
2. I understand the dollar compared to the rest of the world, but raising your prices on what is already a premium price in the rest of the world, it’s obviously going to affect your sales.
3. If the whole market is slowing down, and you are priced at the highest end of that market, then yes, your sales will suck.
4. As others have said, with layoffs and shrinking personal budgets, people will look for value and cutting expenses.

But I’m sure in their millionaire minds, prices aren’t even a factor.

 

[jonnysods]

I'm assuming they don't mean the MacBook Air? I bet the 13" MBP isn't selling well.

 

[steve09090]

There was no incentive to upgrade from M1 to M2 for the majority of people (everyone?) so this isn't surprising. If the CPU upgrade isn't going to be significant, the products need something, anything new to entice those M1 buyers. Otherwise you're only targeting people with pre-M1 machines.

I say that as someone with several M1 products.

This is true. I have the 2020 MacBook Air M1 and my wife had the 2020 MacBook Air i3. She just upgraded to the M2 and couldn’t be happier. Whilst I would love the upgraded MacBook Air (Speaker, screen, form factor and CPU) I don’t feel I can justify it.

The M3 is also just a meh upgrade for me. Too many benchmark junkies out there. Wooo. 3nm…. 🤔

 

[one more]

The overall decline in any computer sales is normal, IMO, as nowadays they can easily serve people for 5-7 years and there have not been any big breakthroughs hardware-wise lately to justify a faster upgrade for many people.

“iPad revenue was up 30 percent thanks to the launch of new M2 ‌iPad‌ models…”

Now this is quite surprising, as there is no massive difference with M1 iPads either, IMO.