The "faithful" is still a pretty large number of people! You may be right about converting users, but just anecdotally whenever I go into a coffee shop or whatever where I live, it's like a 70/30 split of Mac laptops to other kinds. I also live in an expensive city so that's probably skewed by that factor.
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Apple Sold Fewest Macs in Any Quarter Since 2010 as Nearly Entire Lineup Was Outdated
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The "faithful" is still a pretty large number of people! You may be right about converting users, but just anecdotally whenever I go into a coffee shop or whatever where I live, it's like a 70/30 split of Mac laptops to other kinds. I also live in an expensive city so that's probably skewed by that factor.
I have to agree. It's really just convenience. I'm on a Lenovo X1 Yoga right now and it's nice to switch to tablet from time to time but if I'm not using it in laptop mode (like now) it's because it's folded backwards and being used as a third screen. But hey I get that's just me.
Which is exactly what Apple did to the Apple II after the Mac gained momentum. This shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Personally I use a lot less software from outside the App Store than I ever have. But I don't think they'll block signed third party developers anytime soon. I think Marzipan is a transition to this. It will likely be ARM-based so even Windows should be able to run on it in some form. The T2 chip is currently buggy but probably because they're having to fuse x86 with ARM and that's a bit complicated. I don't give much of a crap about the Touchbar but I think it's good to have that for authentication and it also helps speed up disk encryption and take that load off the main CPU.
As for the laws of physics, more cores seems to be a temporary way around that. You say it's not very useful, but the first generation dual core chips were viewed that way. Now anything less than quad core is considered under-powered. Apps and OSes have been slowly becoming better at utilizing more cores and I only expect this trend to accelerate. Look at the direction Intel and AMD are going now with their core wars (holy crap the Ryzen Threadripper 32 cores 64 threads) and you can see why an ARM chip would be well suited to compete. They're heading this way because that's what gets them around some of these laws. The problem is eventually they won't be able to miniaturize and the cores will start taking up more and more space as they expand. I think they're hoping that this will be a bridge to the future, however, I feel like something along the lines of graphene will be the next step between silicon and quantum computing. Quantum has a long ways to go, but a significant breakthrough could change that quickly like computing did going from vacuum tubes to transistors.
There are many, many examples in history of superior technology being abandoned in favor of whatever brings in more sales.
And PC sales were up 6% YOY. Not surprising at all. PC's have come a long way and you have lots and lots of options at all levels.
You want thin and light, go Lenovo Yogo 920 or Dell XPS 13/15. Both have more hardware and a lower price than Macbook Pro's with less RAM and SSD and no touch screen.
You want a powerful laptop that you could be used as a serious Premiere Pro mobile workstation you have lots of options, ports etc, on the PC side and NONE of them will throttle. On the Apple side you have ZERO options.
I don't blame Apple. They never could compete on the computer side of things. They never got enough markets share to make them as crazy rich as they are now. Mac business for them is only 10%. The iPod, iPhone and all other devices running iOS (pad, watch, tv, homepod) combined with their services makes them a ton of money and it is their future.
If Xcode ever comes out for either Windows or the iPad Pro....the Mac....x86 versions are dead overnight.
I predict a future Macbook with touch screen, running iOS and a custom ARM CPU/GPU that can be actively cooled so it can be more powerful than a iPad Pro on its best day. This is the future of the Mac and the last iOS device to join the family. They can blow off Intel and AMD once and for all. Loyal Apple fans's that hardly use a computer/Mac can easily move to this kind of device. They could probably be fine with a iPad Pro today.
You want thin and light, go Lenovo Yogo 920 or Dell XPS 13/15. Both have more hardware and a lower price than Macbook Pro's with less RAM and SSD and no touch screen.
You want a powerful laptop that you could be used as a serious Premiere Pro mobile workstation you have lots of options, ports etc, on the PC side and NONE of them will throttle. On the Apple side you have ZERO options.
I don't blame Apple. They never could compete on the computer side of things. They never got enough markets share to make them as crazy rich as they are now. Mac business for them is only 10%. The iPod, iPhone and all other devices running iOS (pad, watch, tv, homepod) combined with their services makes them a ton of money and it is their future.
If Xcode ever comes out for either Windows or the iPad Pro....the Mac....x86 versions are dead overnight.
I predict a future Macbook with touch screen, running iOS and a custom ARM CPU/GPU that can be actively cooled so it can be more powerful than a iPad Pro on its best day. This is the future of the Mac and the last iOS device to join the family. They can blow off Intel and AMD once and for all. Loyal Apple fans's that hardly use a computer/Mac can easily move to this kind of device. They could probably be fine with a iPad Pro today.
Yes, we did, just pretty late in getting here. The next Intel chips were delayed into 2019 as well. I get your point, but I still feel Apple would be better off having full control when it comes to their processors.
Their "reaching a new all-time high" song is getting really silly. Everyone knows that they do give a crap about the whole Mac lineup and keep it alive just because of increasing outrage. They just care about what brings the most $ in and completely ignore their most loyal customer's wishes. They are just in race for trillion capital, nothing else, they should rather invest a tiny portion of those $ to make their customers happy again. Even the newest MBP is just a disappointment for me as it is nothing than a quality, powerful, but annoyingly limited notebook - if any other laptop would run MacOS (like XPS 15" etc.) I'm gone for good. The prices are getting ridiculous too - especially outside the US where the final price is increased by at least 20-30%. Almost USD5200 for the base i7, 32G of RAM and 1T SSD? I really don't find this price reasonable regardless the built quality. Furthermore you are forced to buy another dongles/docking station crap just to be able to use a basic accessories. Many accessories are still being sold as USB-A (3.1) only without USB-C possibility, but they are talking that "ready for future" BS since 2016. Why not to add 1 USB-A? Lack of SD card reader, especially nowadays, where many products use it and speed and capacities are increasing a lot is just unacceptable. I don't get missing cellular network connectivity option in 2018 too as well as pretty wide bezels. They just don't want to do it so we have to suffer. So many are missing amazing Magsafe, but do you think they give a crap? I literally hate Cook and how he is leading this company concerning Macs, though still don't want to accept switching to Windows :-/ They just completely lost contact with their customers.
"We should be at 10nm"? Where did you get this? Why not 7nm or 3nm? Intel CPUs have the best per-watt performance. Apple is free to switch to AMD or whatever they want any day. There is a reason they don't. Apple should design their computers for available CPUs not for the CPUs they wish they had.
I am not sure why you would assume that. I expect a similar release schedule to their A series chips when they make the switch.
Large yes, but a drop in the bucket compared to iOS users. I don’t think Apple is going to drop the Mac anytime soon, but it’s pretty clear to me that they are moving us towards iOS. I have no doubt that we’ll see A-series based computers from Apple one day, but they won’t be Macs. It’s interesting that Adobe is working on a full version of Photoshop for iOS. Once “Pro” apps are available without compromise on iOS, there’s even less reason to buy a Mac. I think the Mac has another 10 years left at most.
Like in PowerPC days? this did not work too well.
So having the option really is a bad thing? Using a laptop without using the trackpad is a use case I’m unfamiliar with, well since trackpads were created.
Price does not matter to me, but value, ports, upgradability, etc. do. All of which are things Apple has discarded.
I think one can also argue that iOS is superior. This is no different than the Apple II days. Some people saw the IIGS as the path forward. For others it was the Mac. I don’t think many people today would argue that the GS OS was superior.
Funny I find myself occasionally reaching up to move a document around nowadays which of course doesnt work.
The reason Apple is selling less is because they are selling outdated overpriced hardware.
The increase on revenue per unit proves my point, that they are selling less, overpriced machines.
That does not help Apple. Neither their customers.
Because if Apple starts using proprietary CPUs they won't be competing directly with PCs. Today at least they can be shamed by consumers for using CPU models that are a generation or two older than what their PC counterparts use. With their own CPU they might start using the marketing BS (like "retina display") to convince people why their CPUs are the best.
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Maybe he never used a tablet or a smartphone?
As a (very minor) shareholder, I love that Tim Cook has driven share prices so high.
As a (very long time) Mac user, I hate that Tim Cook couldn't give a rat's a$$ about the Mac.
As a (very long time) Mac user, I hate that Tim Cook couldn't give a rat's a$$ about the Mac.
Obviously not, but what I'm saying is it's much, much faster to keep your hands on the keyboard. Of course I use the trackpad or mouse when necessary, but it's pretty kludgy ergonomics to reach up to touch things repeatedly on a screen perpendicular to your face. And no, the option isn't a bad thing, but as many have pointed out before me, a touch UI and a mouse-and-keyboard driven UI are not the same thing at all.
You must be looking at a different Intel than I am. Regardless I think we can all agree Intel has made significant improvements in their processors since the last update to the Mac Mini and Mac Pro. Furthermore it's not only about processors, other things have improved too.
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Not the "We're still on the 14nm process technology" nonsense again. Maybe Apple is so dependent on a process change because they continue to make their products unnecessarily thin. But that's on Apple, not Intel. The facts are the Mac Mini and Mac Pro are using technology which has long been replaced. That's on Apple, not Intel.
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The sad thing is any Mac that is released going forward will probably be more expensive to jack up the profits, and that you’ll have spend more than the base to get a decent Mac (the latter of which has been true for awhile).
Apple on Tuesday reported that it sold 3.72 million Macs in its third quarter, which spanned April 1 through June 30, the fewest in any single quarter since it sold 3.47 million in the third quarter of 2010.
It's also the first time Apple has sold fewer than four million Macs in a quarter since the third quarter of 2013, a span of five years.
Apple reported sales of 4.29 million Macs in the same quarter a year ago, so this is a pretty significant 13 percent decline on a year-over-year basis. Mac revenue also dropped five percent over the year-ago quarter.
There are a number of possible explanations for the decline, including consumers increasingly shifting towards the iPhone and iPad. Together, those devices accounted for 65 percent of Apple's revenue last quarter, compared to just 10 percent for the Mac. Apple even markets the iPad as a computer replacement.
The bigger reason, however, may have been that nearly the entire Mac lineup was outdated last quarter. Beyond the iMac Pro, released four months before the quarter began, no other Mac had been updated since 2017 or earlier.
Apple hasn't updated its 12-inch MacBook and iMac lines since June 2017, while the MacBook Air has gone unchanged since March 2015, except for a minor increase in clock speed on the base model last year. Worse, the Mac mini hasn't been refreshed since October 2014, and the Mac Pro has gone unchanged since December 2013 while Apple works on a new modular version for 2019.
While the MacBook Pro was recently updated, the new models didn't launch until 12 days after the third quarter ended. Last year, new MacBook Pro models launched at WWDC in early June, well within the third quarter.
Apple's financial chief Luca Maestri highlighted this "difficult launch comparison" in the company's earnings call on Tuesday:The month-later MacBook Pro refresh isn't enough to justify Apple's fewest Mac sales in any quarter since 2010, however, as the notebook has been updated at various times over the years. 2016 models were released in October of that year, for example, while 2013 models launched in February of that year.
Apple said it still recorded double-digit year-over-year growth in its active installed base of Macs last quarter, reaching a new all-time high, with nearly 60 percent of purchases coming from customers who are new to the Mac.
Fortunately, updates to the rest of the Mac lineup should be on the horizon. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects the 12-inch MacBook, Mac mini, and iMac to be refreshed later this year, while a new entry-level notebook could replace the MacBook Air. And, as mentioned, Apple says a new Mac Pro is coming in 2019.
Article Link: Apple Sold Fewest Macs in Any Quarter Since 2010 as Nearly Entire Lineup Was Outdated
It’s interesting because I literally bought my iMac during Q3.