Apple Halting Mac Component Orders Due to Overestimated Demand?

[Colpeas]

The biggest reason is that there's no real upgrades for people who want to replace their 3-4 year old machines. I'm currently running a 13'' MBP mid 2010, C2D 2.4 GHz, 128 GB SSD, 500 GB HDD, 16 GB of RAM and i can't see a clear upgrade.

MBP 13''? Why? Same screen, a little more processing power and SATA 3 for the SSD.

rMBP 13''? Again, why? Ok, much better screen, a little more processing power, but no 500 GB HDD and no 16 GB, 8 GB is the maximum.

This is fine for now. And will probably be for a few more years because it is not a numbercrunching machine.

And that is hurting Apple, and not just Apple but the whole PC industry. My desktop is a Hackintosh, i7-920, X58 motherboard, 24 GB of ram, all that, aside from RAM is from more than 4 years ago. Again, why upgrade? If it continues to function, I have no reason to upgrade for another 4 years.

a) how did get 16GB RAM to work with Mid-2010 Penryn MBP?
b) current 13" MBP has more than twice your MacBook's processing power. However, if it's enough for you, there's obviously no reason to upgrade, but still it is not "little more processing power"

Even though people may not NEED to upgrade they computers they do, because they WANT to.

 

[3282868]

The scary thing is that my desktop lacks an optical drive but I find it much more useful in my notebook. I picked up a lot of TV series on DVD from the library. I can watch them on the big screen in the TV room or I can sit in my bed with my MacBook.

I hate to admit it, but I use my Blu-Ray drive in my Mac Pro more and more. For film projects to burning movies/shows for friends. Since third party app's have allowed OS X to play Blu-Ray movies for a while now, I've connected the DVI port in my 5780 to my office flat screen and AVR, dropped a Blu-Ray in, and kick back.

Optical media will eventually fade out, however I would rather have USB 3.0 and SATA III in a $2400 system, as well as more than one size LED LCD Cinema Display. Apple seemed better when they offered a solid display line and advanced tech ("Light Peak", aka "Thunderbolt", not withstanding). They adopted the Wireless N standard before most, with ac out they're well behind the curve. As AAPL drops, some people are realizing there is only so much commercial market to tap into. The neglect of their pro-market has resulted in many moving on to other platforms. I fear many were wrong regarding the pro-market being "niche". Things are changing, but pro's still need systems for heaving lifting. AAPL is feeling some bite.

 

[macman34]

Cook is just a parrot and does the (what would Steve do) more than likely. Need someone else in there that changes the culture, IMO. Someone that has the balls to say "Look, Steve is not here anymore!"

It's not knocking Jobs, but his strategy only works if he is running it. Not if it's being emulated.

This!!!

 

[3282868]

Cook is just a parrot and does the (what would Steve do) more than likely. Need someone else in there that changes the culture, IMO. Someone that has the balls to say "Look, Steve is not here anymore!"

It's not knocking Jobs, but his strategy only works if he is running it. Not if it's being emulated.

As with someone else, I agree. I wrote this in another thread:

This was Jobs' philosophy, or one of his points. The customer doesn't know what they want, Jobs worked off that to think outside the box and push his company and idea's to their limits. Since Jobs' passing, there's a crucial component missing at Apple, like a clock without a gear, a man without heart. A lot of high level exec's have been shuffled around, come and gone, there is a lack of focus and stability. Sadly, it may never hit that level of creativity, risk and reward that gained Apple such recognition under Jobs. Tim Cook is a good CEO, but he's not the hard hitting extremist Jobs was in pushing the limits.

 

[LoggerMN]

Because optical drives are no longer a necessity and if you do need to use an optical drive then plug in it when you need to use it and unplug it when you don't. As for an external hard disk - it takes up less than two inches standing up right.

How about. I want to use the DVD on a plane? Or I want to edit movies (large cheap internal HDD) at my hotel? The storage limitations on the MBPr will probably be resolved 5 years from now, but right now the no HDD option was too soon.

Apple seems to think the only thing people do with their computers is stream movies. Well, if that was the only thing I did, I'd only own an iPad. If iPads are cannibalizing MBP sales, maybe it's because they've stripped too many features out of the MBPs and there isn't enough differentiation anymore.

 

[macman34]

@bedifferent

I used to side with that view too. But right now I think Cook might not be all that good a CEO either.

I don't know what's so great about a CEO who overprices and underspecs devices, then does a u turn and drops prices and provides options (retina macbook pros and imacs respectively), or about a CEO that after some 3 years comes out with a new "pro" computer with 2 year old components. It's just a box with other people's hardware in the mac pro, a mom and pop store can put one together.

Or what's so good about a CEO that can't ensure his flagship application in his flagship os (maps in os) doesn't show major world monuments overshadowed by clouds or artifacts, and starts hiring map experts, not just after the debacle, but months and months after the debacle. And who hires as head of retail a guy who's run on of the most lamentable electronics chain in the world. That under his reign ios has come to look like the stalest mobile os around, and in os x they released arguably the two worst versions of it ever.

Maybe Cook is just another case of a high executive that was at the right place in the right time, but other than that he's very unspectacular.

 

[SmileyBlast!]

Being first to market with an excellent product always makes for success.
That's what the iPhone was in 2007.

Secrecy was important to Steve's way of doing things as well.

When all of the details about the new product leak (on sites like this); When releases a product with an official announcement, the Press just yawns.

A little surprise goes a long way.

Also in terms of Mac sales, all most people would need is a Mac Book Air.
Simply the best notebook you can even code for iOS on it.
I don't know why anyone would want an iMac. I know people with both and they only use the Air.

 

[Macboy Pro]

Have you shopped lately? The Retina MacBooks are pretty clearly cutting edge.

Really, the screen, it's thin? What else is cutting edge? It is on par with other laptops, other then it's thin, it has a retina screen, it's not user serviceable, and its twice the price of its competitors. This leads to smaller market share vs PC because of the lack of business interest in proprietary, non-serviceable, and overpriced systems. Smaller market leads to less outside development and support, etc.

 

[435713]

As with someone else, I agree. I wrote this in another thread:

This was Jobs' philosophy, or one of his points. The customer doesn't know what they want, Jobs worked off that to think outside the box and push his company and idea's to their limits. Since Jobs' passing, there's a crucial component missing at Apple, like a clock without a gear, a man without heart. A lot of high level exec's have been shuffled around, come and gone, there is a lack of focus and stability. Sadly, it may never hit that level of creativity, risk and reward that gained Apple such recognition under Jobs. Tim Cook is a good CEO, but he's not the hard hitting extremist Jobs was in pushing the limits.

you said it far more eloquently than myself. Well written.

I think Cook is okay and does a good job but he isn't "outside the box" as you say. Apple works better if it's outside the normality stuff. Bad thing for myself is I don't wanna Hackintosh at all and tried and tried Win8 and just can't stand it. So I guess I am still taking it from Apple for a while. Hopefully things get better with hardware on a lot of fronts.

One thing I would try is changing the mini to the size of an Alienware x51 so I could stuff better hardware in there. Also gaming. I believe gaming makes more than DVD's and music combined, (correct if I am wrong) but it is lucrative and Apple can sell a decent console at $499 and put iTunes under a lot more TV's. A lot are fed up with MS for various reason with the XBOX, and Sony isn't much to tackle.

Also think starting points for the Macbook 13 should be $799 (bring back the polycarbonite) and make the 13" MBP more worth it and hopefully get it at $999. Basically I am suggesting losing a little profit margin, but sell a lot more and I believe it would make up for it and then some.

Personal opinion of my own.

Also: Thanks Macman34!!!

 

[macman34]

Apple seems to think the only thing people do with their computers is stream movies. Well, if that was the only thing I did, I'd only own an iPad. If iPads are cannibalizing MBP sales, maybe it's because they've stripped too many features out of the MBPs and there isn't enough differentiation anymore.

It was extremely shortsighted and greedy of them to drop the hd on the macbook pro. And they did it for one reason only, money: to control storage so that people, a. buy their storage from them, and b. don't have alternatives for more storage in their devices. They effectively pulled an ipod on a super expensive pro machine. And the machine ain't selling. Is anyone surprised.

Now one would have imagined a while back that they 'd drop the odd AND drop the hard drive at the same time. The rmbp could have been a real pro machine with a storage power house, a fusion drive with a 1tb or so hard drive and flash storage (even apple's custom flash wouldn't have hurt so bad.) Right now, at the price most people can afford, it's gone back to pre 2005 storage levels. A 15" pro machine starting at 256gb, in 2013, and one sooo pricey, seriously apple? As if it were some sort of ultrabook.

And they are trying to pass it off as being future oriented. Ok then, since in the future we might have alternative power supplies and all sorts of 3d virtual environments, how about taking the power cord out of the imac too, so we can all sit there and imagine the future looking at it. Cause that's what they are saying essentially with the retina macbook pros: 128gb and 256gbs of storage in pro machines? Boy, that blows. Apple: Yeah, but IN THE FUTURE you shall have more space. I guess then that since in the future most people will be able to afford the storage they had 10 years ago in their devices, we should all be happy.

 

[Geekbabe]

Haven't most all PC makers ( with the exception of Lenovo ) been facing sluggish sales? I think the economy in many places is poor but think there is possibly another reason. Many people give & get new PC's around the holidays, old PC's get passed down. Many are also tech saturated, your PC might be over 2 years old but since you got a new phone & a shiny new tablet you aren't feeling the urgent need to upgrade that you might if that PC was your only device.

Putting a halt to ordering parts that might not be needed seems to me to be a wiser move than having warehouses full of stuff that you are going to have to dump on the secondary market at a loss.

Currently running a 2011 MBA that is 18 months old, I'd like USB 3, more memory & a bigger HD but the system runs well enough that I can wait for Haswell before deciding upon my next system.

 

[xVeinx]

It was extremely shortsighted and greedy of them to drop the hd on the macbook pro. And they did it for one reason only, money: to control storage so that people, a. buy their storage from them, and b. don't have alternatives for more storage in their devices. They effectively pulled an ipod on a super expensive pro machine. And the machine ain't selling. Is anyone surprised.

Now one would have imagined a while back that they 'd drop the odd AND drop the hard drive at the same time. The rmbp could have been a real pro machine with a storage power house, a fusion drive with a 1tb or so hard drive and flash storage (even apple's custom flash wouldn't have hurt so bad.) Right now, at the price most people can afford, it's gone back to pre 2005 storage levels. A 15" pro machine starting at 256gb, in 2013, and one sooo pricey, seriously apple? As if it were some sort of ultrabook.

And they are trying to pass it off as being future oriented. Ok then, since in the future we might have alternative power supplies and all sorts of 3d virtual environments, how about taking the power cord out of the imac too, so we can all sit there and imagine the future looking at it. Cause that's what they are saying essentially with the retina macbook pros: 128gb and 256gbs of storage in pro machines? Boy, that blows. Apple: Yeah, but IN THE FUTURE you shall have more space. I guess then that since in the future most people will be able to afford the storage they had 10 years ago in their devices, we should all be happy.

Expense aside, the interconnects (such as USB) made external storage much more prohibitive in the past. Firewire helped for sure, but USB3 and Thunderbolt now make external drive access reasonable. I imagine in Apple's mind, they believed that they could reasonably drop the HD and ODD for flash which ought to be more durable, reliable, and drop the weight of the laptop. Thin is one thing, but the weight was the biggest determining factor in my opinion. Dropping the weight of the 15 in rMBP was a big deal for people on the go. I understand your point. Having plenty of storage on a laptop is important for professionals (or anyone with lots of stuff on their drive) who take their work with them. Carrying around an extra drive is an annoyance. I'm sure that they've collected usage statistics on people's laptops though. I wouldn't even be surprised if they had the techs log the space used in macs brought in for repair. If a vast majority of people are only using some 50-75 Gb max, then the shift to SSD at 128/256 Gb doesn't seem all that unreasonable. The hard part is when you don't fit in that category of course...

 

[akbarali.ch]

This is bound of happen, they make iMac, they make it so thin that have axe the dvd drive, thats ok, they also take away the ability to upgrade hd and ram. these both components are most upgraded part of any computer. They seal it away.
i bought the imac, cos i was waiting to upgrade from mac mini early 2009, but i must say that it has left a little bad taste. And this machine is something i wouldn't recommend to anyone.

 

[Swift]

So I guess...

This report is obviously meant to excuse CNN's inability to get a story right, but to stay on the air nonetheless.

 

[cmChimera]

Really, the screen, it's thin? What else is cutting edge? It is on par with other laptops, other then it's thin, it has a retina screen, it's not user serviceable, and its twice the price of its competitors. This leads to smaller market share vs PC because of the lack of business interest in proprietary, non-serviceable, and overpriced systems. Smaller market leads to less outside development and support, etc.

What else NEEDS to be cutting edge exactly? You have a manufacturer that is making a device that NO ONE else is making a year down the road (Yes I realize that FINALLY Google did it, and now Toshiba is joining in, but seriously it's like a year later and neither of them have matched the 15 inch resolution yet), and you can actually still have ground to call them stagnant? And it's not just thin, it's impossibly thin and light and has ridiculous battery life, all while powering an unprecedented leap in display tech. Oh it also runs quiet and cool due to asymmetrical fans. Oh and while they were at it, they made the speakers smaller, and better than the previous model. Apple can't help the blind. All they can do is continue being incredibly good at producing brilliant hardware.

 

[cat3600]

Changed to windows 8

I had everything Mac for over 6 years. Changed every thing to windows 8, Dell XPS 27 touch, Microsoft surface pro and Nokia Lumia 920.

Personally I love the windows 8 touch experience, for people who complain about windows 8 probably don't have a touch screen, plus you definitely need an articulating touch PC to enjoy it, which my dell has.

I can see the point where people complain about touch screen when your monitor is static and does not tilt or move up and down for touch ergonomics. I absolutely love the touch aspect in windows 8 and like it or not this is the future, look at any CSI episodes or science fiction movies. Think what touch computers will be when we have flexible OLED screens going main stream!

I have had every apple iPhone since launch and almost every apple products including their 30" Cinema Display, iMacs etc.

Frankly I was so bored with Apple that I needed a change, absolutely nothing new in the past few years. Google and Win 8 phones blow away any crap iPhone 5.

The point is even my whole family still buys or uses every apple product there is and people will continue to do so blindly, like I did too. I took the plunge and I love it, till apple moves their ass and becomes INNOVATIVE again others can stick to their ancient icon style soft ware which they have had from the first generation of iPhone.

With even google glass coming out, I think that google has surpassed apple in being innovative, google are trying something at least with a bunch of stuff.

Will I go back to Apple absolutely, if they come back with something new, I used to try and make everyone around me buy apple products with a passion, now I never bother.

Peace out and sorry for the long post.

 

[Thunderhawks]

The biggest reason is that there's no real upgrades for people who want to replace their 3-4 year old machines. I'm currently running a 13'' MBP mid 2010, C2D 2.4 GHz, 128 GB SSD, 500 GB HDD, 16 GB of RAM and i can't see a clear upgrade.

MBP 13''? Why? Same screen, a little more processing power and SATA 3 for the SSD.

rMBP 13''? Again, why? Ok, much better screen, a little more processing power, but no 500 GB HDD and no 16 GB, 8 GB is the maximum.

This is fine for now. And will probably be for a few more years because it is not a numbercrunching machine.

And that is hurting Apple, and not just Apple but the whole PC industry. My desktop is a Hackintosh, i7-920, X58 motherboard, 24 GB of ram, all that, aside from RAM is from more than 4 years ago. Again, why upgrade? If it continues to function, I have no reason to upgrade for another 4 years.

Feeling the same way.

Bought an 2007 MBP 17" on ebay in 2010 or so , added memory and a bigger HD after a year . That alone makes it last 2 years longer.

Had the motherboard replaced for a flat fee 2 years after I bought it.

Don't consider the changes since 2007 significant enough for what I do and I do not belong to th e "must have the latest" crowd.

So, waiting for what's coming with Haswell larger SSD or maybe a fusion option in the next MBP and I hope they'll still let us have one model to tinker inside with memory and HDs . Already have to swallow that the 17" is gone.

As for desktop, I prefer to hook up my MBP to a 27" monitor and added an external keyboard and trackpad.

Apple's stuff lasts and lasts and is just well built. That makes for slow refresh/rebuy/upgrade cycles and with people watching their money and credit cards more closely buying refurb or waiting is good enough.

 

[vvswarup]

Really, the screen, it's thin? What else is cutting edge? It is on par with other laptops, other then it's thin, it has a retina screen, it's not user serviceable, and its twice the price of its competitors. This leads to smaller market share vs PC because of the lack of business interest in proprietary, non-serviceable, and overpriced systems. Smaller market leads to less outside development and support, etc.

The market for Android has grown by leaps and bounds, which has had developers tripping over their themselves to flock to Android. /S

 

[gnasher729]

It was extremely shortsighted and greedy of them to drop the hd on the macbook pro.

Well, they didn't. They sell two different products: Retina MacBook Pro and MacBook Pro. If you want 2 TB in a MacBook Pro, no problem. If you want 1.25 GB Fusion Drive in a MacBook Pro, no problem. Retina MBP is great for many people, just not for everybody. Do you complain that a Ferrari doesn't have space for a family of four with luggage? Plus a dog? You don't, you buy a car that is better suited. And Apple sells laptops that are better for some than the Retina MBP.

 

[davidcmc]

Perhaps if said Macs were cutting edge in terms of performance and value instead of simply design, demand would not be an issue.

Just sayin'.

I'd "like" this post 9999 times if I could.

Thinner desktop computer is what they think people want.
Who needs performance when you have a thin computer in front of you?

 

[gnasher729]

The market for Android has grown by leaps and bounds, which has had developers tripping over their themselves to flock to Android. /S

Ahem. Are you sure about that? iOS apps still have three times more revenue than Android apps. Most Android phones are used as dumb phones by people who are never going to spend a penny on apps, and developers know that.

----------

I'd "like" this post 9999 times if I could.

Thinner desktop computer is what they think people want.
Who needs performance when you have a thin computer in front of you?

So which laptop beats Retina MBP 15" specs at lower price? It's all very easy making unproven claim, but give us the evidence. When I checked, Dell was more expensive for the same specs (not counting that they didn't dare mentioning battery life, and weight). And while the thinness isn't important when it's on my desk, when you sit on your sofa the difference between 15" and Retina 15" is night and day, same when you are on a cheap flight and would have to pay extra if your luggage is too heavy.

While I don't disagree with you in terms of Apple needing to ramp up innovation, there's been less than lackluster acceptance of touch screen laptops. Unless you're sitting the laptop on your "lap" with the bottom of your forearm resting on your leg, trying to tap the screen under any other condition is cumbersome and tiring. Non-Tablet touch screens just aren't ideal.

Secondly you've got it a bit backwards, it's the rest of the industry who's laptops now resemble Apple's. Many of them have mimicked the Macbook Pro's look and have been designed with one button touchpads to mimic the Macbook.

These touchpads mimic the one of the MacBook in the way they look. There is none that works like the one on the MBP (that is once you go into System Preferences and set it up correctly ). Apart from the ergonomic problems of a laptop with touchscreen (google for "gorilla arm") that make touch screens just an expensive gimmick, the MBP touchpad gives it all the potential advantages that a touch screen might have if humans didn't have dirty fingers and arms that are designed to hang down.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I'd argue Apple's dominance among creatives in the pro market was a huge driver of the overall brand, and thus sales - in every category.

The key point in your comment is the word 'was'... It's still pervasive in the industry, but not as it once was. All I hear is bitching and moaning about how 'Apple is ignoring us'. Some is true... If they do kill the Mac Pro then it's definitive...

----------

That was Atari. They buried roughly 5 million E.T. game cartridges in Arizona, then paved over them to keep people from stealing them. (Although if they had 5 million they couldn't sell, why worry about thieves LOL?)

I hadn't heard that story about Atari. Still, the idea of an E.T. video game makes me queasy... *URP*

 

[iChrist]

.

this is the perfect example of why there is no Mac Pro. The computer market is drying up. Especially the market for big clunky desktops.

 

[gnasher729]

Conspiracy: Apple is secretly doing everything it can to devalue its own stock, allowing it to initiate a less expensive programme to go private and purchase all outstanding shares.

Not again.

Apple cannot possibly buy all outstanding shares.

If Apple bought 999,999,900 of the 1,000,000,000 million outstanding shares, each remaining share would be one percent of Apple and worth $4,000,000,000. If they bought the next 20 shares for four billion each, there would be 80 shares left, each worth $5,000,000,000. The penultimate share would cost $200 billion. And the last share - well, Apple can't buy it, because the guy who owns the last share would be the sole owner of Apple. Next share holder meeting would be in a tiny room between that person and Tim Cook, and he or she would tell Tim Cook exactly what to do.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Everyone waiting for Haswell Macbooks.

Not at all, most people purchasing a laptop don't know what a Haswell is.