Apple Maintains Mac Sales Momentum Amid Overall Worldwide PC Market Decline

[Juicy Box]

A mac is always a good investment, they last for ever. When I get one I always get the top of the line fully optimized, they last 5 years easy. I still have a 12" Powerbook from 2004 up and running. 17" Mac book pro from 2008, A Mac Pro from 2008 and this new one 15" MBP from last year.

I agree. I have a lot of Macs that I have been collecting since the 90's. While they all don't last forever, most over them do.

The ones that no longer work are the Power Mac G5, and the iMac G5.

I have been really impressed with the 2006 Mac Pro 1,1. I had to do the boot loader hack to upgrade it to Mac OS 10.9, but it runs great.

My favorite overall would probably be the iMac G4.

 

[rdlink]

This is surprising news as almost the entire Mac line appears now obsolete.

Not to the people who buy them. They just take them home, open the box and start using them, instead of sitting around diddling themselves while they drool over specs.

 

[ericinboston]

A mac is always a good investment, they last for ever. When I get one I always get the top of the line fully optimized, they last 5 years easy. I still have a 12" Powerbook from 2004 up and running. 17" Mac book pro from 2008, A Mac Pro from 2008 and this new one 15" MBP from last year.

1)I know quite a few people who have 2-3 year old Mac laptops that are broken in a number of ways. Partly this is simply due to laptops, in general, move around a lot and have a lot more risk of somehow breaking. But please don't say they last forever.

2)I agree with you about loading it up...a machine will last very long (from a technology point of view) if you load it up with RAM and a fast CPU and great hard drive and a great GPU and any other options you can add on (such as additional USB ports) at time of purchase. I have a 7 year old Mac Mini that still runs quite well (for what we use it for)...my 8 year old Dell Windows XP $700 desktop still rocks...my mom has the exact same Dell Desktop I have (I bought 2 at the same time) and hers is subjected to pure abuse (power cord yanked out of wall, fans blocked by drapes, dog hair galore, etc.) and still runs like a champ (even I can't believe it).


I would love to buy a very nicely powered iMac but the cost would be $2500 and is not justified (to me). I could get a nice Mac laptop but I'm not starting shopping at $1300 for a 13" machine or $2000 for a 15" machine. Sorry, Apple.

 

[rdlink]

...I agree Macs are sexier and sleeker but there are 39 other reasons why an Executive can't/won't buy a Mac. I have friends high up in numerous 50,000+ employee companies who have found some very, very nice Wintel ultrabook-type machines that are so powerful, thin, light, and functional that people have actually stopped using iPads...which I find astonishing.

That's interesting. I can walk down the hall of my firm and look into the offices of most of our partners who have brand new top of the line Dell Latitudes sitting on their desks. As they ignore them and work on their personal MacBooks...

I have supported "Executive" types for years, and virtually to a person they would much rather work on their Macs than a Windows machine.

 

[elgrecomac]

Yes, the future is Windows XP!

One day, all computers will be running Windows XP!

The really funny thing is that in just pure raw numbers, there are millions and millions more PCs still running XP and Win 7 than the total installed base of Macs worldwide. In case anyone hasn't noticed, a lot more desktop and laptop computers reside outside the borders the of the USA than in.

 

[Juicy Box]

What you mean?

Before they updated once in a year, now they update twice.

But yeah, the Mac Mini needs some serious update. As well as the iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, which still don't feature USB-C ports, still no Thunderbolt 4.0, still no new generation CPU's...

Mac Pro

 

[HenryDJP]

This is surprising news as almost the entire Mac line appears now obsolete.

Probably because most people don't care about the latest and greatest Specs. Because most of us here KNOW that the latest Mac with the latest specs will run your existing applications no faster than the Mac with the previous generation specs.

 

[Juicy Box]

What you mean?

Before they updated once in a year, now they update twice.

But yeah, the Mac Mini needs some serious update. As well as the iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, which still don't feature USB-C ports, still no Thunderbolt 4.0, still no new generation CPU's...

I just checked the Buyer's guide on this site, there has not been any Mac desktops that had 2 updates in the same year since the 2009 Mac Mini. That that was the only recent example.

Before I purchased my Late 2012 iMac, I wanted to get a Mac Pro. But I had no idea when it would come out and my 2006 Mac Pro started to show it's age.

Now, I was thinking of replacing my Late 2012 iMac with a Mac Pro, but again, not sure if one will ever come out, not counting the one from 2013.

 

[countryside]

I went ahead and purchased a 2015 Macabook Pro with full specs... I hope it is worth it. I am starting to get tired of my 2011 MacBook Pro.

 

[Juicy Box]

1)I know quite a few people who have 2-3 year old Mac laptops that are broken in a number of ways. Partly this is simply due to laptops, in general, move around a lot and have a lot more risk of somehow breaking. But please don't say they last forever.

I don't think he meant "forever" literally.

My previous job was working for the U.S. Military in a joint branch unit, the mission was to inventory and photograph the personal effects of deceased and wounded service members.

One of the tasks was to access the electronics, such as computers, phones, hard drives and search for classified information and what was deemed inappropriate, such as porn.

Laptops were over 95% of all computers among the personal effects. Apple made up about 10-15% of all laptops.

Sometimes the computer did not work, and they had to be taken apart to get to the hard drive to be examined.

Almost all non-Apple computers were physically damaged, and about 20-25% off all of them did not work.

There were only 2 Apple laptops that did not boot.

This was out of thousands of computers.

 

[xmichaelp]

I'm pretty sure Macrumors didn't say that.

As a side note, OSX market share world wide is just over 5%: https://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0. To put that in perspective, there are still more than twice as many users still using windows XP...

Worldwide is irrelevant.

USA USA USA

Seriously though. Their market share doesn't matter one bit. They make the vast majority of the profits. Dell would KILL to have 5 percent share and the profits of Apple. These companies are going to die out if they can't turn it around. Market share means basically nothing. Apple does not care about selling 200 dollar machines and they never will.

Everyone knows that Apple users are the most valuable people to advertise to, and to develop apps for, hence them having the best support and always getting apps first.

 

[elmaco]

Apple targets the high-end market. Their market share could probably double if they would put out something cheaper, but they would probably not be as profitable.

That's interesting. I can walk down the hall of my firm and look into the offices of most of our partners who have brand new top of the line Dell Latitudes sitting on their desks. As they ignore them and work on their personal MacBooks...

I see the same.

People can get an Android phone or Dell laptop from the company, but many people buy their own Macs and iPhones. Some people even bring in iMacs.

 

[RobertMartens]

I thought this company was doomed????

It was,but now it is on a come back. A 20 year long come back.

 

[peterdevries]

This is surprising news as almost the entire Mac line appears now obsolete.

It's pretty clear you are not aware what "obsolete" means.

 

[mistasopz]

Worldwide is irrelevant.

USA USA USA

Seriously though. Their market share doesn't matter one bit. They make the vast majority of the profits. Dell would KILL to have 5 percent share and the profits of Apple. These companies are going to die out if they can't turn it around. Market share means basically nothing. Apple does not care about selling 200 dollar machines and they never will.

Everyone knows that Apple users are the most valuable people to advertise to, and to develop apps for, hence them having the best support and always getting apps first.

I guess that's why am the new games always come out on Mac first... Oh wait, they don't! In my industry of electrical engineering there are so many professional programs that aren't even available on OSX and I'm sure it's the same in a lot of other industries too. This is why user base matters. The software developers look to where they can make money and go there. In not sure why you would care how much apple makes on hardware unless you are a shareholder. As a user I'll use what I need to earn a living in my field and also for leisure at a reasonable price.

 

[igorsky]

This great news will almost certainly trigger a price drop in Apple stock tomorrow, because Apple is doomed regardless of the statistical evidence.

 

[firewood]

This is surprising news as almost the entire Mac line appears now obsolete.

Not surprising at all. A growing number of people prefer slightly "obsolete" but well designed well integrated products to brand-spanking-new top-end high-performance cr*p. The resell values also tell the tale.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I guess that's why am the new games always come out on Mac first... Oh wait, they don't! In my industry of electrical engineering there are so many professional programs that aren't even available on OSX and I'm sure it's the same in a lot of other industries too. This is why user base matters. The software developers look to where they can make money and go there. In not sure why you would care how much apple makes on hardware unless you are a shareholder. As a user I'll use what I need to earn a living in my field and also for leisure at a reasonable price.

Exactly. More Windows users = more Windows programs. Makes sense.

But it's the opposite on the iPhone.

The iPhone was NEVER the dominant platform... yet developers go there first (sometime exclusively)

I think that's the only case of Tiny market share = outstanding developer support.

 

[Juicy Box]

The resell values also tell the tale.

This is true, people that know I use Macs ask me about how much a used Mac cost because they want to give one a try, but don't want to paid the premium price for a new one.

More often than not, they are very surprised about how much the used ones are.

They hold their value pretty well, although not as well as they used to.

 

[Mainsail]

I have only owned my Macbook Air for less than 2 years, but I can say that, so far, it is absolutely the best electronic device I have ever owned.....paid $750 for it at BB.....so it is probably the best value as well.

I use a 2011 MBA at work, and it is almost 5 years old. Hums along like a champ...no problems.

Admittedly, I am biased, but I think Macs are outstanding values if you keep them for their full useful life. Recent OS X upgrades have made my MBA faster and more reliable. Free upgrades to built-in apps like iWorks is also a real plus.

When you look at the total cost of ownership, I think Macs are great deals.

 

[peterdevries]

As someone who is need of updating his Mac lineup, I find myself stopping every time I go to apple.com and look at what is being offered. The stock computers are (let's admit it) lame, and outdated by at least two-years when compared to what is being offered on PCs. I am talking about Flash Storage prices, RAM prices, Intel chip updates, etc. Apple is at least two years' behind their computers, and yet charging outrageous prices for any sort of upgrade (why are they still offering hard-disk drives at 5400 rpm speed?!?!?!).

So Apple is shooting themselves in the foot. They are making money *(too much money)* on the upgrades they are forcing upon the user. If we want a top-notch machine at top-notch speed and performance, Apple is hitting us with (yes) the Apple Penalty….. 1.5x or 2.x the price. They do it with the Macs, they especially do it with their iOS devices and their meager stock-RAM and storage.

Shame on Apple. They should be the leader in all things -- innovative and in competitive pricing.

We have heard this lame story millions of times here. While it is true that Apple's specs do not match with the top of the line of PC's they do seem to be doing alright. Why is that? A number of reasons:

• The general consumer does not care about specs. They look for computers that work, are easy to use and will last them a long time. All of these things Apple does.
• With BYOD increasing in importance, the same people that bought the underspecced but magically better devices take them too work too and have a better time at it.

There are probably several more reasons why Apple is one of the only ones growing, but the most important ones are summed up in bullet number 1. People are prepared to pay more for lower specs because by know most of these people know that their Apple will probably outlast their PC counterparts and would sell for more if they would sell it before it dies.

 

[Zirel]

The really funny thing is that in just pure raw numbers, there are millions and millions more PCs still running XP and Win 7 than the total installed base of Macs worldwide. In case anyone hasn't noticed, a lot more desktop and laptop computers reside outside the borders the of the USA than in.

Yeap.

But those PCs already have their software and their hardware, it's over, they aren't moving the software industry. The industry they might move is the repair industry.

Also, for people who buy PCs for running a browser and VLC, that also doesn't matter, good for the manufacturer that sold them the device.

Where marketshare really matter is for the people that are actually buying a computer to run productivity software.

 

[KnighsTalker]

I guess Microsoft is among the "Others".... Not that I care.

 

[Piggie]

This of course does not take into account.

PC's put together by people themselves.
PC components purchased to update/improve/upgrade existing machines.
The fact that due to the about a PC can last way longer and still perform up to date far longer than a Mac.

I don't mind surveys but they almost always distort.

If PC's were glued shut and when they got slow you bought a new one, then PC sales might rise.
If Macs could have new CPU's, Graphics Cards, More memory and drives fitted by the user, then more people may hold onto them longer without needing to buy a whole new machine.

 

[ricci]

I'm am surprised by The increase in Mac sales with Mac using older processors! But Apple is unfortunately reliant on Intel and their delays! My Production Music studio utilized the Mac Pro since the G5 and will upgrade when and only when Skylake or better is installed! Skylake is now available and hope Apple can get it to market ASAP! Then and only then I will purchase a MBP as well as Desktop ( MP not iMac)for personal use! Again,I will only upgrade with nothing less than Skylake!