Apple Sold More Macs and iDevices Than All Windows PCs Sold in Holiday Quarter

[tdale]

I think it shows that people now own multiple devices more than they did a few years ago. Most had some type of pc whether it was a notebook or desktop. Then came the smartphone which people added to their existing computers. Then the iPad and tablet came and people added this too. IMO, people don't upgrade their pc as frequently as they do their phone or tablet. I personally don't know anyone who ditched their latop/desktop for a phone or a tablet although I'm sure some have. Personally I see tablets as a supplementary device and the phone has become a necessity.

My thoughts 100%. Smartphones and tablets are a new spend, causing PC spend to decline, nit everyone can buy everything they want. Compounding that is some upgrade the smartphone or tablet every year like me, or every two years, while a PC is not a lot less relevant for most, that new device money causes PC sales to be delayed, or upgrades to take place.

Is PC Sales including upgrades and components???

A graph on PC sales (declining) and a graph on PC's in use would tell the tale

----------

Am I the only one who finds this comparison interesting? With all the bad press Windows gets, it still took Apple's entire computing lineup (beyond the Mac) to beat Windows PCs.

Are you serious? Interesting? OMG

Windows is bigger than Mac by about 10 to 1, everyone knows that. So why make a false stat by adding all manner of devices just to get a win? Stupid to the extreme.

 

[AppleScruff1]

My thoughts 100%. Smartphones and tablets are a new spend, causing PC spend to decline, nit everyone can buy everything they want. Compounding that is some upgrade the smartphone or tablet every year like me, or every two years, while a PC is not a lot less relevant for most, that new device money causes PC sales to be delayed, or upgrades to take place.

Is PC Sales including upgrades and components???

A graph on PC sales (declining) and a graph on PC's in use would tell the tale

I think a lot of people upgrade their phones every 2 years and I have no doubt that many do it every year too. PC improvements, and I include Macs, have been slower and more minor. It is a very mature industry while tablets are still new. Even the smartphone innovation has slowed down considerably as the tech matures. If you could buy an iPad with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage for $499, people would upgrade these less frequently too. The Retina display is here, anything higher is probably going to bring marginal improvements on a small screen and it would tax the resources more. iOS 7 on the iPad has enough problems crashing and Safari reloading tabs constantly.

----------

Its a nice graph but all Windows users will say, "no, it did't happen". Just wait 1 more quarter and say Apple sold more devices than all microsoft devices put together.

I'll be willing to bet if the comparison was done the other way around most here would be claiming foul because it included all devices and not just pc's.

 

[tdale]

No they shouldn't include Android phones because the comparison is between Apple and Windows. Android phones do not run windows.

Why not? Its the same basis, the same silly statistic comparing a range of devices such a traditional computer, phones, tablets, and even iPod Touch to a Windows traditional computer.

Apple and Windows are two different topics.

----------

Wait until the iPad pro is released. With flash drives becoming more common I do not think it will be long before Apple release an iPad running the full Mac OS.

I agree, although thats just been raised, and declined. great idea though. Apple probably will prefer you to buy a MBA and an iPad rather than one device

 

[PROF FAART]

I think a lot of people upgrade their phones every 2 years and I have no doubt that many do it every year too. PC improvements, and I include Macs, have been slower and more minor. It is a very mature industry while tablets are still new. Even the smartphone innovation has slowed down considerably as the tech matures. If you could buy an iPad with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage for $499, people would upgrade these less frequently too. The Retina display is here, anything higher is probably going to bring marginal improvements on a small screen and it would tax the resources more. iOS 7 on the iPad has enough problems crashing and Safari reloading tabs constantly.

----------



I'll be willing to bet if the comparison was done the other way around most here would be claiming foul because it included all devices and not just pc's.

Good point.

 

[tdale]

Exactly. My custom built rig uses well known name brand parts are can double as a hackintosh build but I still use Windows 7 because it works. And that Windows 7 license was part of multiple upgrades. And if I wanted to turn my computer into a gaming rig I just have to buy a video card. I already have a i5 processor that can be overclocked if more speed is needed. I don't have to dump my entire rig.
Apple computers are made to be expensive to upgrade/non-upgradable so that you have to buy another one. I see people posting about new Macs just for the cpu speed bump. I just have to wait for intel to release their chip which will be months before Apple fans can get on the action.
Its funny to see that everyone got excited that a $3000 plus mac has a user replaceable cpu. What progress!

Hee, ok, ok. You like a PC and you criticise a Mac. I am a long time diehard PC user, a builder like you, gaming rig like you. I have just ordered a rMBP, and I am migrating everything I do on my laptop to OSX. But that doesnt turn me into an Apple fanboy, a Mac for me is a great idea, my Win 7 rig will always be there as that is also a great idea. Im going to be one of those that uses both, likes both. They are VERY similar, and they also have some differences that make some users prefer one over the other, thats how I see it.

 

[tongxinshe]

Meaningless. OS X devices sales need to compare with Windows devices sales, iOS devices sales need to compare with Android devices sales.

 

[tdale]

As I replace my phone / tablet every 2 years and my main laptop/desktop every 5 years I can't say I am really surprised. All this really shows is we replace our phones more often! It might get to a point where smartphones also go on for several years.

Yep. I have an iPad Air, I am at the point where it has matured, so my iPad life (1,2,3,Air) will now slow. I have an iPhone 5S, same point, my iPhone life (4,4S,5, 5S) will slow when the larger 6 is out. Just ordered my first Mac, rMBP, that will last me for ages, time soon to upgrade my already good Win 7 gaming rig. Like many, I have helped cause the smartphone/tablet revolution, its now maturing, they will slow, as like PCs have been for years, everyone will have one. Then do that stats, dont give me stats now that are comparing unrelated or overlapping tech

----------

This! I upgrade my phone every year not even knowing which phone I'm upgrading to (I'm using Android so I have more selection). I tell my wife that the only thing I ever want for my birthday and Christmas is a new phone. 10 years ago I use to always pour money into my custom built PC on a yearly basis. My i5 2500k cpu is 2 years old and it still works just as fast; I don't need or want to upgrade. But this year I might try iPhone 6 which brings a totally different experience from my Note 3. But I do know I'm upgrading.

Exactly, just like me. These devices are not competing devices in the tech sense, none are replacing each other, they are new spends. Like PC's were in the 80's, until everyone got one.

----------

How so? I think it's a pretty apples-to-apples comparison: Mac + iDevice sales vs. PC + Win Phone sales.

Are you just upset because Android wasn't mentioned?

Huh?

How about
Macs vs PC
iPhone vs Android phone vs Windows Phone
iPad vs Android tablet vs Windows tablet
iPod Touch vs Android equivalent vs Windows equivalent

That is a fair and equal read

Also
Tablet owners who now don't USE a PC at all vs tablet owners who also use a PC (PC being Apple or Windows, desktop or laptop)

----------

It tells us that the mobile market is an extremely fast growing market that will change the scale of the industry. That is a very relevant observation, because it's what all the naysayers in this thread completely misunderstand.

Off course it is new, these are additional devices. It is one thing that they replace some functions on the PC, but will they replace the PC, off course not. Comparing a new market of a different sector of IT hardware to a long existing and saturated market is ridiculous. Should the vast majority of traditional PC's disappear in favour of phones and tablets, then yes I agree.

----------

Look at the chart again. To get the Apple number higher, validating his premise, the author subtracted the WinPhone numbers. When the WP numbers are included, that aggregate total is higher than the Apple numbers. His chart works because he selectively chose data that would make his point seem valid.

Mobile outsold PC. Everyone knows that. Samsung outsold them both, which is another irrelevant point. Android outsold them both combined. I only used them to highlight the click bait nature of the guy's research.

Like I said, Apple is successful in it's own right. It doesn't need crap like this for validation.

Yep, in fact is he trying to validate Apple, or invalidate Windows? And in this context Windows = a Windows based PC. Fortunately Windows Phone and Windows tablet are too new, too small, to affect his stat

----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kilamite
This is a really stupid article..

Let's compare the total sales of computers, phones, tablets and mp3 players by one company to the total of just computers sold by the rest of the industry.

Reply
how should we compare microsoft to apple?

Kilamites post is that the stat is comparing Apple devices of all shapes and sizes to computers running Windows. This was not a Microsoft vs Apple stat

 

[osofast240sx]

I would of thought PC component sellers are shifting Cases, graphics cards, motherboards, cpu's, memory chips etc etc by the tens of thousands daily around the world.

Personal real life experience................ The only people I used to know who actually BOUGHT A PC from a shop were some women and old folks who knew nothing about computers at all and ended up with some Packard Bell junk.

Everyone else I knew bought "Parts" and either put them together, got friends to, or changed bits around.......

The numbers, well I don't know.

It's hard to work out when a PC is a new PC when you put a new motherboard in the old case, or a new CPU and GPU in your current machine.

I guess this concept it probably totally alien to most apple users who treat their computer like a microwave, fridge or toaster you just buy and use from the store.

As I say there must be tens of thousands / millions? of pc components being sold around the world daily to people ungrading/changing/building PC's and it just stupid to pretend not of this exists.

I don't think anyone on this thread thanks it does not exist I think the point to emphasize is is it a really relevant number

 

[kilcher]

I don't really see how comparing one company's entire product line sales to different computer manufacturers is relevant to anything.

It is and it isn't. I just see it as an indication of trends, nothing more. The main thing this points out is what we already know, people are buying/using mobile (in this instance iOS specifically) devices vs. (Windows) PC's. As has been stated, over 5 years people will probably buy 2-3 phones vs. 1 computer. Take into account most households have 2-3 members and you're looking at 4-9 phones vs. 1 computer. However, I do agree that for this to be fair it needs to take into account Windows phones and tablets (though that may not make much difference).

 

[gotluck]

yea I threw new parts in my '07 PC, so I haven't bought any new PCs for quite some time. Laptop is an upgraded hand me down too. Not sure how many of us there really are, indeed.

 

[tdale]

it's an odd comparison but plenty valid considering most phones/tablets sold by the pc makers are lost leaders or R&D costs vs sales means zero profit. I think samsung is the only company making big profits right now and even they have years of R&D etc only offset by being the maker of so many other phone bits for everyone else, they pretty much make a product for any electrical item in existence too.

In the Tech world real profits are slim pickin's but apple are making serious money on every single device, that's impressive for any brand it's a shame that they have so much hate from everyone and are assumed to be in trouble.

Apple doesn't have hate from everyone, just from non Apple users. Most Apple users buy one, enjoy it, use it, they don't waste time criticising non Apple users. Just like as I drive a Honda I don't have a need to criticise other car manufacturers. I think the word hate can be replaced by another word, but this is off topic

 

[LordVic]

Apple doesn't have hate from everyone, just from non Apple users. Most Apple users buy one, enjoy it, use it, they don't waste time criticising non Apple users. Just like as I drive a Honda I don't have a need to criticise other car manufacturers. I think the word hate can be replaced by another word, but this is off topic

ewww a honda? Toyota's obviously the best. If you're driving a honda, it's cause you want a cheap knockoff device thats cheap plastic and made by a copycat competitor.

(please note this is all sarcasm to poke fun at a certain train of thought prevalent on this board)

 

[gotluck]

Apple doesn't have hate from everyone, just from non Apple users. Most Apple users buy one, enjoy it, use it, they don't waste time criticising non Apple users. Just like as I drive a Honda I don't have a need to criticise other car manufacturers. I think the word hate can be replaced by another word, but this is off topic

Really? around here there is plenty of android and windows hate

 

[tbrinkma]

In what way Android devices are related to Windows PCs ecosystem ?

Why people feel the need to put Android in every single thread on this forum ???

I disagree. Android phone/device numbers would have been a good third metric to include, if actual sales numbers could be obtained. It wouldn't have been included as part of the 'Windows' universe or 'OS X/iOS' universe. Rather, it would have been a whole extra set of numbers (either bars or an extra line) on the chart.

 

[tdale]

It's not so much "in trouble" as without RockStar Steve, its a countdown till they "turn evil" trying to keep the money train going and missing new products and screwing up releases. That's what happened the last time Steve left... It's been a crazy 10 year run from iPods to iPads and the stats for the train staying on the tracks shrink every day.

Hmm, ok. I have used Apple gear since the iPhone 4, and I don't see anything different now till then. Apple is a brand, so they end up having the tall poppy syndrome. Times before SJ are different to now, I expect if he was still here iOS and the devices would not push forward as they will do this year. But IMO that tall poppy and doom and gloom is a compliment, they are worth talking about, by the likers and the others.

 

[tbrinkma]

So why does Apple sale a $3000 plus computer if all you have to do is buy a $500 tablet? There must be a line drawn and a statement like that foolish. I'm not saying that the iPad is not a PC. I'm saying that you can't pretend that a iPad can replace every computer around the world. A smartwatch is a PC but it will never replace a Smartphone or an iPad.

Why does Dell sell a $10K+ server when all you have to do is buy a $300 laptop?

Different computers are suitable for different workloads. (Shocking, I know.)

 

[Tech guy]

Not surprising everyone wants one and then another and so on, besides windows 8 is crap

 

[tdale]

I have to disagree with you on this one, Scruff. The guy you're replying to is a prime example as to why mobile is selling so well, and why we'll see traditional laptop and desktop sells decline into a (admittedly still profitable) niche.

People buy what they need, and smartphones and tablets do an excellent job of covering the lowest common denominator. Only a relatively few people use Office and Excel, even fewer encode video, and while those people will always need a machine capable of providing that functionality, most everyone else will get by just fine with an iPad.

End result: iPads sell more than laptops.

It's not necessarily the end of computers are you know them, but the bottom-middle of the market has changed considerably. For most people, they're in the post-PC era.

I agree, but when you say iPads sell more than laptops, you have to factor in that to all intents and purposes, everyone already has a laptop. Not everyone has an iPad yet, or other tablet. When all these new markets are saturated, as PC has been for many years, then lets check the stats. I am sure you will find very few have a tablet and no PC/laptop. Maybe 8% as was mentioned in an article recently. I type this on my laptop. If I was outside having a beer I'd type it on my iPad, but there is no way I will sit on an iPad for an hour as I have been this morning typing responses.

 

[tbrinkma]

There is a difference between usefulness and productivity. An iPhone is certainly useful, but it can't replace my desktop computer when it comes to work that I need to accomplish to earn a living.

Yep. There's definitely a difference between usefulness and productivity. A $20K workstation is certainly useful, but it can't replace the smartphone used to communicate on the road.

Heck, I'd rather try to replace the workstation with an iPhone for the heavy lifting than try to replace the iPhone with a workstation for the more mobile uses.

 

[tdale]

You can't fire me, I'm tenured.

Though you're right there, and that's why most offices will continue using laptops and desktops for the foreseeable future. At least until tablets become just as flexible and easy to use for certain tasks as traditional PCs currently are, which we're still a little ways away from that.

To sum up the whole argument in one short statement: PCs aren't dying, but they're no longer the hot seller item.

Correct, as everyone already has a PC, so sales must level off. Not everyone has a cool smartphone or tablet yet, and as those markets are still maturing, one day the phone and tablet will stabilise in terms of onboard tech, and everyone will have one. I expect the vast majority will also still have a PC.

If tablets do take over PCs, as the screens get bigger to make using them nicer, and we add a keyboard as thats more useful than pumping away on a touchscreen, and we may invent a mouse as that can be quite useful too. Then we have a 13" iPad running OSX and a 13" Surface Pro running Windows. Are these tablets????? Just throwing that out there!!

To me a tablet is a tablet, small and mobile.

 

[LordVic]

There's also the missing factor to the PC declining sales of traditional "computers" (both laptosp and desktops).

We've hit a point of diminishing returns with the standard computer. for a large majority of computer users, They will not tell the difference between a 2 core at 1.6ghz and a Hexacore at 15Ghz..

Why?

Because the standard computer user (not power users who need power), doing mostly basic Office work. Internet via email or browser is not going to benefit anymore from the constantly increasing power. We've hit the power envelope where they are served well, and more than well enough by the bare minimum.

People with 5 year old Computers doing the basic computing don't need to ugprade or replace either. Their stuff still works, still works excellently, and just doesn't need to be replaced.

the Traditional Computer market is heavily saturated and it's at the point where I would claim the vast majority of users are using hardware as is that is well beyond what they ever require.

This all leads to lower PC sales.

However, Tablets, are not replacements for PC's. YES, for some people they are. But they are a companion product. and a relativel new companion product that hasn't hit the same Diminishing returns on performance. In fact, the mobile market is still maturing and we've seen leaps and bounds in performance.

Its because of this, That I have a hard time with the chart. You're comparing two completely seperate markets, combining them as one, and coming to a very unreasonable assertion.

The assertion in this thread is that Apple Computer sales outpaced and passed Windows PC sales.

This is not true. Apple Computer sales were flat. There was little to no change in sales of Mac PC's over the holidays. Apple's MAC platform has failed over and over again to gain siginificant penetration on Windows based computers in the world.

All of a sudden throwing iPad sales into the mix, a relatively new market, that sees a high volume of sales to fill the void that a new Market generates is a red herring.

Apple's PC sales did not increase.

Apples iPad sales are absolutely fantastic.

That is all you can come up to with these stats.

 

[tbrinkma]

But Android runs millions of smart phones and tablets, which are not included, while Apple's iPhones and iPads are. The article's premise is flawed, and it's conclusion is meaningless in that context.

Do the posts below shed any more light on it for you? Not sure how else to make it any clearer.

Let me clear something up for you.

Android didn't need to be included to make the point the author of the chart was making. That point being that the one-time behemoth that was the Windows PC market has, in an astoundingly short period of time, become a small fraction of the market it used to serve.

Adding Android to the numbers would simply show that the share of Personal (and business) Computing 'dominated' by Windows is *less* than half of the actual market, not the 90%+ that people assume based on facts and 'truths' that have changed *drastically* in the last 5 years or so.

 

[tdale]

All this post tells me is the death of the PC has been GREATLY exaggerated.

And despite my iDevices, almost everything I do that actually matters, or is any way creative, is done on a PC.

I agree, although can I alter my agreement? I don't feel that its about what really matters as such. I dont see running Handbrake or photoshop on my laptop any more "matters" than checking urgent emails outside while having a beer in the sun. Some things are better on a smartphone due to mobility, some things are better on a tablet due to less mobility but bigger screen, others are better done on a laptop, less mobile, bigger screen, keyboard, trackpad, mouse. Which is what you are saying, pretty much.

None of these SEPERATE devices, that do OVERLAP, will replace each other or the PC. They just allow some useful overlap.

 

[ericinboston]

A bit like comparing Apples and oranges...

So true...and not only that, they are comparing LOTS of different things to lots of different things. Sheeez.

Comparing all iOS devices AND Macs to all Windows-based PCs (no MS-based phones or tablets included in this crazy comparison oddly) is just stupid. Pure stupidity.

Next up, let's compare all Sony hardware sales (game systems, video cameras, blurays, dvd players, digital cameras, etc.) to, um, Nikon DSLR cameras.

The other problem is that even if the Apple vs. MS comparison were somehow aligned correctly for a fair playing field, a major issue is the DEMAND for said Windows-based computers...the average PC (Mac and PC) end user does NOT buy/upgrade a new PC every 2-3 years...probably not even every 4-5 years....especially since roughly the year 2000.

I've got plenty of money and time to go buy a new PC....but I have no NEED...my 6+ year old Windows XP Dell desktop with plenty of power works extremely well for non-gaming activities. It's got 3GB RAM, a few internal drives, a dvd burner, bluray burner (I added for $50 myself 2 years ago) and USB 3.0 (I added last year for $30 myself). The system cost me $599 before the $80 in upgrades last year. My 2007 Mac Mini still chugs along for doing the same thing it did in 2007.


Anyway....the comparison this article makes is just crazy. And unprofessional.

 

[tdale]

Meaningless. OS X devices sales need to compare with Windows devices sales, iOS devices sales need to compare with Android devices sales.

You need also to include Windows Mobile OS devices, but that would then make a sensible statistic, which is not the point of this thread!!!

In many ways the key stat to end all stats is tablet owners that ditched the desktop/laptop

----------

ewww a honda? Toyota's obviously the best. If you're driving a honda, it's cause you want a cheap knockoff device thats cheap plastic and made by a copycat competitor.

(please note this is all sarcasm to poke fun at a certain train of thought prevalent on this board)

LOL, well put, and taken!

I'm new to this board, what is the train of thought prevalent here? Anti Apple? if so, thats ok I use both extensively, and I know the pros and cons of both.

----------

Why does Dell sell a $10K+ server when all you have to do is buy a $300 laptop?

Different computers are suitable for different workloads. (Shocking, I know.)

Your concluding statement pretty much covers this thread