Apple Sees U.S. Mac Shipments Drop 2.5% in 2Q15 Amid Larger Worldwide PC Shipment Decline

[bladerunner2000]

These sorts of comments crack me up. Apple is doing better than most in a shrinking market. In other words, people are more likely to buy a Mac vs a PC than ever before. Obviously, your comments are irrelevant to the facts at hand.

Why do they crack you up? Do you deny the facts that Apple sells gimped computers at inflated prices?

Explain to me then:

-why do they put in mobile GPUs in desktops?
-why do they sell a 4790k cpu when it cant be overclocked?
-why is the 4790k cpu sold when its downclocked anyway due to poor cooling?
-why charge about $1,000 more for a 4790k based computer than it's PC counterpart with higher end components?

Apple's decline in Mac sales can be attributed to a few things (examples like I state above), but mostly because Tim Cook and company have had their heads up their ass and completely spat in the face of anyone who works on a desktop. The limitations of these new systems have essentially made their Macs DISPOSABLE computers; no upgrade path at all thus a complete insult to the consumer.

 

[moderately]

Why do they crack you up? Do you deny the facts that Apple sells gimped computers at inflated prices?

Explain to me then:

-why do they put in mobile GPUs in desktops?
-why do they sell a 4790k cpu when it cant be overclocked?
-why is the 4790k cpu sold when its downclocked anyway due to poor cooling?
-why charge about $1,000 more for a 4790k based computer than it's PC counterpart with higher end components?

Apple's decline in Mac sales can be attributed to a few things (examples like I state above), but mostly because Tim Cook and company have had their heads up their ass and completely spat in the face of anyone who works on a desktop. The limitations of these new systems have essentially made their Macs DISPOSABLE computers; no upgrade path at all thus a complete insult to the consumer.

You can hate on the current Mac configurations. You can argue that they are inferior machines. The points have been raised by many. Whether I agree or not is also irrelevant to this thread. Mac's increase in market share does not support the contention that these choices are hurting Apple. I am sure there are other threads where your apoplexy will have a more relevant hook.

 

[Mums]

Apple did themselves no favours launching the 12" MacBook.

That is a worrying sign for the direction of the Mac. When form takes precedence over function, as it does with the ridiculously compromised MacBook, you might as well stop making computers.

Apple are becoming a fashion-driven company, and are doing their best to destroy the hard-earned reputation for stellar hardware which Steve Jobs built up over many years. It's sad to see this once-great company turn into a political blancmange obsessed with race and sexuality at the expense of a laser-focus on their products.

Excellent comment. I'm beginning to lose hope for Apple. I suspect some new companies are going to come along at some point with clean, new, innovative, useful products.

 

[617arg]

Why do they crack you up? Do you deny the facts that Apple sells gimped computers at inflated prices?

Explain to me then:

-why do they put in mobile GPUs in desktops?
-why do they sell a 4790k cpu when it cant be overclocked?
-why is the 4790k cpu sold when its downclocked anyway due to poor cooling?
-why charge about $1,000 more for a 4790k based computer than it's PC counterpart with higher end components?

Apple's decline in Mac sales can be attributed to a few things (examples like I state above), but mostly because Tim Cook and company have had their heads up their ass and completely spat in the face of anyone who works on a desktop. The limitations of these new systems have essentially made their Macs DISPOSABLE computers; no upgrade path at all thus a complete insult to the consumer.

Agreed! If Apple chose to innovate in the PC market they could easily reverse this trend. Instead it seems like each generation of PC's from them offer less customization and upgradeability. Heck, they don't even offer server hardware anymore! What about a Pro machine for users who prefer something other than two graphics cards? It just seems like they've stopped trying to push the limits in the PC space.......

 

[Tubamajuba]

You can hate on the current Mac configurations. You can argue that they are inferior machines. The points have been raised by many. Whether I agree or not is also irrelevant to this thread. Mac's increase in market share does not support the contention that these choices are hurting Apple. I am sure there are other threads where your apoplexy will have a more relevant hook.

Increased market share is irrelevant. Some people in this thread think that Apple is heading down the wrong path (or DOOMED!) because Apple isn't making the machines that they personally want. They don't recognize that the current lineup of Macs fits the needs of most people willing to pay the price. And of course you have the mini-tirades about race and sexuality being the cause of Apple's "failure"...

I really wish people would just put their money where their mouth is and buy the computers that actually meet their needs, even if those computers are Windows computers. Build your own Windows desktop and have exactly the computer you want, instead of waiting for Apple to build it for you.

 

[Tech198]

If Apple had top end hardware over PC in their products we've be paying allot more then $1,000 for our Mac's. Look at the circular Mac Pro.

Apple's a premium company, they make their money on hardware alone.

Just like how Google offers free services but makes it all up in advertising...

I would have also though Dell would be the leader here, not HP....

oh well. Maybe i'm on the wrong side on the world again.

 

[pat500000]

I thought he was saying it was a mistake to make it round .

And to other recent words in here: With MS shipping the new Office apps first on iOS and now first on OS X, really the only thing still blatantly missing is a touchscreen Mac. A Surface like because that product is amazing, as is its OS ... or was, the new one doesn't look so great, and a return to Mac wouldn't be a bad thing except for the touch factor. The new MacBook is fascinating for that connector; if they had -just- put one on each side, and made it slightly more powerful, and made it touch. Maybe next time?

For the actual subject I just can't find any surprise in me. The Mac offerings have started to get more expensive again, so that the laptop one wants is always ~$NZ4,500. I got a Surface Pro 2 instead for less than $NZ1,000 ... but would get a Mac equivalent, especially with boot camp in the mix, if they would just come up with one; iOS is not an option.

lol didn't thought of that..

 

[AndrewClarke]

[...]

I really wish people would just put their money where their mouth is and buy the computers that actually meet their needs, even if those computers are Windows computers. Build your own Windows desktop and have exactly the computer you want, instead of waiting for Apple to build it for you.

The answer here should be obvious. I don't want to run Windows. I want to run UNIX. Linux would be fine too, but OS X has far better software support which makes my job, and my life at home, easier. Running Windows would make my job a huge pain and I'd basically have to run Linux in a VM to do it.

In the end I'd rather deal with whatever is the best of a bad (or at least overpriced) lot in terms of hardware, as long as OS X is by far the best software development platform for me to actually be productive.

 

[jinnj]

See what happens when you gut the Mac Mini?

They didn't gut it! More like applied epoxy after configuring it!

 

[jinnj]

Intel is going to take their sweet ass time. They've got no real competition in the PC industry.

Unless Apple is secretly been leading a double life with ARM, but I don't think they've ARM has anything to run with the CPU's in the higher end MBP and MP's.

If Apple were to switch to ARM then I would bow out and go full Linux. Also Intel and Apple share patents via the CPU deal so they can't drop them for AMD. But might reduce their Intel line further and increase the iOS Pro (that would suck) line.

 

[unplugme71]

I hope the Macbook gets refreshed soon with 200% cpu increase a 2x more battery life, then I will pay the $1299 price tag. Right now its just 5-7 years behind in technology in a modern edgy enclosure.

 

[unplugme71]

I honestly can't see anyone needing to upgrade their mac lineup if they recently purchased one 2-3 years ago. There's just not that much out there to utilize those specs. Not unless you are playing the latest game or 4K video editor.

For 95% of users, Core 2 Duo is still quick enough - especially with a SSD.

 

[bladerunner2000]

You can hate on the current Mac configurations. You can argue that they are inferior machines. The points have been raised by many. Whether I agree or not is also irrelevant to this thread. Mac's increase in market share does not support the contention that these choices are hurting Apple. I am sure there are other threads where your apoplexy will have a more relevant hook.

Agreed! If Apple chose to innovate in the PC market they could easily reverse this trend. Instead it seems like each generation of PC's from them offer less customization and upgradeability. Heck, they don't even offer server hardware anymore! What about a Pro machine for users who prefer something other than two graphics cards? It just seems like they've stopped trying to push the limits in the PC space.......

I wish I knew why, but for the longest while they've treated prosumers, people that do actual real work on computers, with such disgust. And you're right, every new release of their desktop computers has been more and more limiting than it's predecessor. I was pretty excited to hear about the new Mac Pro back in 2013 until I found out that it uses proprietary PCI slots for the GPUs; goodbye upgradeability!

I've had the pleasure of owning a Dual G4 PowerMac MDD, a Mac Pro 1,1 and Mac Pro 3,1. All of these we're great for upgrades until the 3,1 Mac Pro couldn't handle a GTX 960 I threw into it (CPUs were the bottleneck). The 2010 and 2012 Mac Pro's wouldn't help much either, I checked the benchmarks and had to make a decision. No way in hell would I bother with an iMac, those things are garbage for gaming.

So I recently put my Mac Pro for sale and did some research on parts and compatibility on building a Hackintosh rig;

Fractal Design Define R4 Arctic White w/ Window Side Panel
Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK
Intel Core i7 4790k
Phanteks TC14PE Cooler
32GB RAM, Kingston HyperX Fury White, 1866mhz (4 sticks @ 8gb)
Seasonic X650 Power Supply
Asus GTX 960 Strix 4GB
1TB WD Blue HD
120GB Intel 320 SSD
TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 Wifi Card

Total Cost:
$1,800 (approx)

I get a geekbench score of 18,041 in 64-bit Multi-Core without even overclocking. The closest competitor is a 2009 Mac Pro at 8 cores, but that costs a ton and gaming on it wouldn't be as good as the old Mac Pros are NOT good for gaming; not all cores from both processors are utilized creating a bottleneck. I noticed this to be TRUE when I tried upgrading from the GT 120 to the GTX 660 OC and then to a GTX 960. The difference between the 660 and the 960 was about 5% in frame rates; awful.

Sure I could have opted for a 2010 Mac Pro, but what about more bottlenecks?

The crazy thing about my Hackintosh build is that it's way quieter than any Mac Pro I've owned, including my 2012 MacBook Pro, even at full load. At idle, it's whisper quiet, about as quiet as the new trash can Mac Pro.

So yeah, now I have a real upgrade path, I can swap parts at will, install any size hard drive I like including M.2 drives, etc. for significantly less.

If I had gone with an iMac, this would cost me about $3,769 (4790k + 32gb RAM) for similar performance (but again, the poor cooling throttles the CPU down by about 5-15%). Yes, I know it's 5k display, but thats moot considering I still have a $2,000 which I've already got a GTX 960 4GB in it.

Comparing it to a Mac Pro, the closest one is a 6 core system and the starting price for that is $4,099 with only 12gb RAM.

How can ANYONE justify those prices?!

 

[lhammer610]

"Overall PC growth in the United States during the quarter was down 5.8 percent"

Odd wording. Wouldn't "Overall PC shipments in the United States declined during the quarter by 5.8 percent" be better? The title is worded that way.
But I guess that goes with the title of the column, which is labelled growth.

 

[Larry-K]

See what happens when you gut the Mac Mini?

Especially when they don't have a mid-range headless desktop

Agreed! If Apple chose to innovate in the PC market they could easily reverse this trend. Instead it seems like each generation of PC's from them offer less customization and upgradeability. Heck, they don't even offer server hardware anymore! What about a Pro machine for users who prefer something other than two graphics cards? It just seems like they've stopped trying to push the limits in the PC space.......

Yes, if they were that concerned about hardware sales they could easily augment their lineup with something attractive to a wider demographic, but they're a watch company now, so why bother?

 

[bladerunner2000]

Especially when they don't have a mid-range headless desktop
Yes, if they were that concerned about hardware sales they could easily augment their lineup with something attractive to a wider demographic, but they're a watch company now, so why bother?

LOL! You gotta 'love' what Apple has become.

 

[Macboy Pro]

You can hate on the current Mac configurations. You can argue that they are inferior machines. The points have been raised by many. Whether I agree or not is also irrelevant to this thread. Mac's increase in market share does not support the contention that these choices are hurting Apple. I am sure there are other threads where your apoplexy will have a more relevant hook.

Here is why they are hurting Apple. Their new products are less functional (Mac Mini for example) and MANY folks are not going to upgrade to a less functional product just because it is NEW and "thinner" They sold more 2012 Mac Minis in late 2014 than they could dream of selling in the 2014 model. No one wanted it, and to this day I believe they only want it because there are no 2012 models left.

Apple's Mac business is going downhill FAST. At this point, all of their products are disposable and are forced obsolete in a few year. They are VERY expensive and their competitors are putting out better hardware. The only thing Macs have that the others do not is the MAC OS. And in my opinion, its becoming bloated. Windows 10 looks VERY VERY GOOD so I think Apple's Mac business is in trouble of the next few years.

Bottom line is that Apple because HUGELY successful because of the iPhone. Some say the iPod started it, but the reality is that Apple was not much of a player until the iPhone blew up in the late 2007/8 timeframe. Mac lineups picked up sales because they were more compatible than anytime previous and people associated the iPhone with a Mac. Now the Mac is pretty much a disposable devices with little innovation recently other than making them smaller and removing function.

Apple's competitors have caught them (and passed them in many cases) with respect to innovation.


On a side note: I remember the days when there was so much excitement for weeks leading up to an Apple announcement. I use to plan my day to watch it. This past announcement, I forgot it was on and had to hear on the news later what was announced. Its the same old same old. Rolling out old dudes who shoot off the same cliché's. Its boring and their Mac lineup is not worth the upgrade anymore.

 

[Larry-K]

Here is why they are hurting Apple. Their new products are less functional (Mac Mini for example) and MANY folks are not going to upgrade to a less functional product just because it is NEW and "thinner" They sold more 2012 Mac Minis in late 2014 than they could dream of selling in the 2014 model. No one wanted it, and to this day I believe they only want it because there are no 2012 models left.

Apple's Mac business is going downhill FAST. At this point, all of their products are disposable and are forced obsolete in a few year. They are VERY expensive and their competitors are putting out better hardware. The only thing Macs have that the others do not is the MAC OS. And in my opinion, its becoming bloated. Windows 10 looks VERY VERY GOOD so I think Apple's Mac business is in trouble of the next few years.

Bottom line is that Apple because HUGELY successful because of the iPhone. Some say the iPod started it, but the reality is that Apple was not much of a player until the iPhone blew up in the late 2007/8 timeframe. Mac lineups picked up sales because they were more compatible than anytime previous and people associated the iPhone with a Mac. Now the Mac is pretty much a disposable devices with little innovation recently other than making them smaller and removing function.

Apple's competitors have caught them (and passed them in many cases) with respect to innovation.


On a side note: I remember the days when there was so much excitement for weeks leading up to an Apple announcement. I use to plan my day to watch it. This past announcement, I forgot it was on and had to hear on the news later what was announced. Its the same old same old. Rolling out old dudes who shoot off the same cliché's. Its boring and their Mac lineup is not worth the upgrade anymore.

If they brought back old form factors, with updated guts, like the 2012 Mini, the oMp and the 17Mbp, I'd be lined up in front of the store again.

Maybe a Retro Division? (Old Navy, Old Apple).

I've already got a watch.

 

[wizard]

Heres an idea, why not wait until Apple releases its actual figures!

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Sales dropped eh? And people say that everyone loves Yosemite.....

 

[Rogifan]

Sales dropped eh? And people say that everyone loves Yosemite.....

I guess you didn't read past the headline as there's no sales drop per IDC.

 

[melendezest]

Increased market share is irrelevant. Some people in this thread think that Apple is heading down the wrong path (or DOOMED!) because Apple isn't making the machines that they personally want. They don't recognize that the current lineup of Macs fits the needs of most people willing to pay the price. And of course you have the mini-tirades about race and sexuality being the cause of Apple's "failure"...

I really wish people would just put their money where their mouth is and buy the computers that actually meet their needs, even if those computers are Windows computers. Build your own Windows desktop and have exactly the computer you want, instead of waiting for Apple to build it for you.

The problem is that we (those of us complaining--albeit futilely) actually want Apple computers.

But I mean computers, not appliances.

Windows is not a replacement (at the moment) and Linux is not quite there yet.

But you're right: Apple is aiming for the middle. I hope that a sharp downward-sales trend happens so that they stop with this BS and at least give us computers along with the appliances again.

Until then, I'm riding my 2011 17" and 2012 15" until they die.

Apple better hope that Win X falls on it's face, 'cause if it doesn't PC sales might recover. The chart shows a downward slide across the board (except for Lenovo--the Yoga is quite nice), but PCs are still selling a LOT more than Macs.

Meaning, people that are buying are still choosing a LOT more PCs than Macs.

 

[melendezest]

Here is why they are hurting Apple. Their new products are less functional (Mac Mini for example) and MANY folks are not going to upgrade to a less functional product just because it is NEW and "thinner" They sold more 2012 Mac Minis in late 2014 than they could dream of selling in the 2014 model. No one wanted it, and to this day I believe they only want it because there are no 2012 models left.

Apple's Mac business is going downhill FAST. At this point, all of their products are disposable and are forced obsolete in a few year. They are VERY expensive and their competitors are putting out better hardware. The only thing Macs have that the others do not is the MAC OS. And in my opinion, its becoming bloated. Windows 10 looks VERY VERY GOOD so I think Apple's Mac business is in trouble of the next few years.

Bottom line is that Apple because HUGELY successful because of the iPhone. Some say the iPod started it, but the reality is that Apple was not much of a player until the iPhone blew up in the late 2007/8 timeframe. Mac lineups picked up sales because they were more compatible than anytime previous and people associated the iPhone with a Mac. Now the Mac is pretty much a disposable devices with little innovation recently other than making them smaller and removing function.

Apple's competitors have caught them (and passed them in many cases) with respect to innovation.


On a side note: I remember the days when there was so much excitement for weeks leading up to an Apple announcement. I use to plan my day to watch it. This past announcement, I forgot it was on and had to hear on the news later what was announced. Its the same old same old. Rolling out old dudes who shoot off the same cliché's. Its boring and their Mac lineup is not worth the upgrade anymore.

EXACTLY.

We're here because we love(d?) Apple. But I want NOTHING NEW they're making. If Win X rocks, the Mac might be hurting.

We won't know until it happens, but the crowd is fickle. Fans keep Apple humming. And right now I'm NOT a fan anymore. I'm actually looking for alternatives. Which saddens me a bit, after all these years.

We lost Steve too soon. Too soon.

 

[aront]

Continue to fall?

Worldwide Mac Sales in the July Quarter:

July 2010 - 3.5 million Macs
July 2011 - 3.9 million Macs
July 2012 - 4.0 million Macs
July 2013 - 3.8 million Macs
July 2014 - 4.4 million Macs
July 2015 - 5.1 million Macs (IDC prediction)

I'm not seeing the pattern "continue to fall"

Yes... they had a small dip in 2013... but they certainly recovered in 2014.

If these analysts are anywhere close with their prediction... July 2015 will be a great quarter for the Mac.

When you respond within minutes to a post criticizing Apple, ignore counterpoints, use heavy apologetics, use every reply as an opportunity to praise Apple, and actually defend completely irrational decisions, such as Tim Cook's soldered RAM agenda, you have exposed the fact that you are an employee of Apple's PR/marketing department.

No one, other than a biased Apple PR/marketing employee, would actually defend and try and justify the nonsensical policy of incorporating soldered RAM in all Apple computers.

 

[Michael Scrip]

When you respond within minutes to a post criticizing Apple, ignore counterpoints, use heavy apologetics, use every reply as an opportunity to praise Apple, and actually defend completely irrational decisions, such as Tim Cook's soldered RAM agenda, you have exposed the fact that you are an employee of Apple's PR/marketing department.

No one, other than a biased Apple PR/marketing employee, would actually defend and try and justify the nonsensical policy of incorporating soldered RAM in all Apple computers.

You said Mac sales "continue to fall"

I showed you they aren't.

Apple publishes their sales figures on the public internet. You could have looked yourself. Lately... Macs sales have been up YOY.

That's the opposite of falling.

I don't work for Apple. But even if I did... that's not exactly an insult.