Apple's Mac Sales Stagnant in Q2 2017 Amid Continuing Worldwide PC Market Decline

[Neepman]

"Worldwide Chromebook shipments grew 38 percent in 2016, while the overall PC market declined 6 percent. "

It is Google again. How in the world are they able to growth sales by 38% at the same time Mac declined?

I did see

"At Apple CEO Tim Cook’s old high school, they are selling their MacBooks to buy Chromebooks"

Also saw

"For the first time, Google beat Apple in PC sales — and that's really bad news for Microsoft"

Part of the issue was that Windows is so horrible so you chose a Mac. But now with another choice that is really good and really secure it is taking sales.

My wife never had anything but Apple hardware her entire life. But last v-day I replaced the iPad she locked herself out of with a Chromebook. The CB was $450 and $100 more than the lower end iPad but she loves it. Having the ability to use your favorite mobile apps with a keyboard is huge for her.

Apple needs to do a 2 in 1/convertible. I would most like have given her Apple hardware if they had something. They also need to put iOS apps and have OS X on such a device. Google doing this is just rather genius. With 38% growth while everyone else declines and then adding this ability is going to be touch to compete with.

Even our school replaced the last Macs with Chromebooks that they used for AP CS 1 and 2. They use this thing called Crouton on the CBs and they are basically Linux desktops. Was at conferences and they were showing the kids able to use Eclipse. I was shocked and had thought Chromebooks was a web browser.

Absolutely. If you are not needing to generate serious work product on your laptop device, a chromebook is a much better choice and a thousand dollars cheaper.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Can you give me a source for the previous ones throttling to 50%? That seems...Not right. I have a 2015 15 inch. On a CPU load, the CPU will happily boost clock all day. On a 100% GPU AND CPU load, the CPU will stay at base clocks, which is all intel promises, no dips below it ever, and occasional boosts above it.

I agree the 2016 will allow even more boost, but I have no incling where 50% comes from. Of boost clock? Of base clock? I've never seen it either way.

But, it's more because the power use of the major chips fell, the redesigned cooling system seems to be for thinness with the reduced wattage, as in, the new chips would be even cooler in the 2015 chassis.

Well, of COURSE I can't find the review that mentioned the nearly 50% reduction in clock speed due to thermal throttling on the 2015 MBP, but here is a comparison of video editing throughput that does show the difference between the 2015 and 2016 MBPs:

 

[GQB]

Um, might not 'holds steady amidst general market decline' be just as (or more) accurate?

 

[oldwatery]

Wow...what a surprise! Trying to sell 2-5 year old computers has nothing to do with this stat? But unfortunately TC and his band of self absorbed managers will use this data to end Apple computers not revitalize them. He is the great destroyer of a once great company...unless all you care about is share price. Which it seems so many here are :-(

 

[itguy06]

"Dell is utter garbage."
If my math is correct, I'll reluctantly admit I've been at this a bit longer than you. But I think maybe some of your biases are "20+ years" old. My current employer is all Lenovo, and they're brittle, plastic and not the Thinkpads of yesteryear. Still, they're pretty cost-effective, and reliably delivered and I gratefully don't have to use one.
When I look at the referenced sales chart, I wonder if Dell and HP's modest gains weren't at the expense of Lenovo and possibly a result of some of their flagship devices (XPS and Spectre). It might be that buyers are attracted to more premium devices.

I dono. My employer provides a Dell, about 2 or 3 years old and it's still a POS. Can't comment on the new Thnkpads but before I got the HP I did 2 weeks with a Yoga and it was a solidly built machine. Looking at the TP's @ BB they seem to be still built like tanks.

 

[SeattleMoose]

If I were a hacker, there is no way I would waste time on Apple. Still too small a segment.....

 

[Bacillus]

If I were a hacker, there is no way I would waste time on Apple. Still too small a segment.....

Indeed, targeted at those Pro's who reside in capucchino-bars, lack budget for their own house or car (let alone an office), are selfmade (but freelance) workers that have to react in 5 millisecs to get an Uber to bring them to their next interim-job with 500 other flexers competing.
Whose indispensible life-line is the fastest MacBook...in the Cookette vision of the "Business Market"...

 

[nt5672]

Lots of comments about pricing. Are you surprised? Apple’s head is firmly in the clouds when it comes to pricing. They see people buying their products as a justification of their prices, but actually it’s because they built a monopoly, which is slowly but surely crumbling. They will see a lessening willingness to pay their prices, I’m sure of it. There will come a breaking point when Apple have got to realise their prices are unrealistic and people feel ripped off. The problem is, Apple used to deliver major value for money...now, not so much. Consumers aren’t dumb. They know when something is a rip off.

Aside from that, more generally about the PC market. Would it be fear to say there hasn’t been a decline in the PC market from a professional/corporate viewpoint, but that people generally aren’t buying PCs for their homes anymore? Surely companies will always require desktop PCs?

Apple was able to build a monopoly because most of their products WERE at or near enough to the top technology to not make any difference. People like to buy the best and don't mind paying for it. Apple has mistakingly thought people bought because of the Apple brand and let the technology slip to also ran. Apple is no longer run by someone who understands technology, but rather by an accountant.
[doublepost=1499983442][/doublepost]

I've been ready to buy a new Mac for the last few years (to replace my 2013 MacBook Pro) but it seems to me that Apple don't know what direction they want to move in, and I'm not going to make the jump if there's a danger they're going to change things just after I buy.

For example, they told us that the 3.5mm jack was dead and removed it from the iPhone, but kept it on the Mac.

Some Macs have SD card slots, some don't. Some have USB-A, some have USB-C, the iPhone has Lightning.

Some have a touchbar, some don't (does that mean they'll continue with the touchbar or ditch it in favour of something else?).

Plus Windows seems to be getting better.

Once they work out what they're doing, then I'll make a decision. Until then I'm with the millions of others who are just waiting.

Its almost like Cook just says, "Its ok team, do what you want as long as its cheaper to build than last time and thinner, I've got another magazine interview to attend.".

 

[DVD9]

Give us a touchscreen. Give us a super thin MacBook Pro 17". Give us back the USB jacks, SD card slot, and the magsafe power cord, I'm sick of carrying a bag of dongles! The touch bar is silly compromise for a touch screen.

Yes, a seventeen inch MacBook Pro. That is what I want.

A 17"version of the current design would weigh less than the 15" 2011 Macbook Pro.

 

[tubular]

There are many people that don't have a standard computer and just use their phone. There are also many people that use an iPad as their main computer.

What a computer is to you is not the same as a computer to another person.

No, but to a heck of a heck of a lot of people, a computer is what it is to me: a desktop, keyboard-based, sometimes computationally intensive way of making a living. And these are the people Apple is catastrophically underserving and catastrophically overcharging.

 

[dadouney]

Touch Bar can be an advantage in some applications. Almost to the point that you appreciate it when you don't have Touch Bar if you have experience with it.

just nonsense ! this gadget is definitely not what is needed !

 

[KPandian1]

just nonsense ! this gadget is definitely not what is needed !

I wouldn't call it a gadget - it is a gimmick! Even with its Macro possibilities, the real keyboard user, the typist, will not need it.

It is not a touch interface; just buttons that can be differently assigned.

Give us, those who need it, the touch interface on the screen - Apple already is a master at that on all the iOS devices!

 

[developer13245]

Now we know what percentage of Mac Sales are the Mac Pro.

 

[CWallace]

Now we know what percentage of Mac Sales are the Mac Pro.

I'm guessing around 1-3% of desktop sales based on them saying it was in the "low single digits".

 

[alias99]

ehhhh, if these devices were being built, manufactured and paid for in USD and then shipped internationally, I'd understand this... But that's not reality

The only reason Companies peg against the USD is because they report in USD to the USD exchanges. And they need to preserve the USD profit margins on paper to sell to wall street investors.

Instead of treating each international division independantly, and running on local exchanges, Apple is trying to peg everything purely on accounting to USD only.

now you can argue the merit to this, but it doesn't change the fact that, buying IN Canada, paying 40% more for the same device doesn't make sense when no part of the transactions actually go to the US. Canadian money pays canadian departments of Apple, who in turn received their parts and orders from manufacturing in China, and the CAD collected by purchasing never goes back into the US to be stored as USD..


on top of that, Charging Canadian 40% more, doesn't mean we earn 40% more to be able to afford it.

The MacBook is $1600.... before tax. Canadians can't drop $1600 on laptops every year

Where do you get 40% from??!!

Macbook in the US is USD 1,300 (before tax)

Macbook in Canada is USD 1,356.70 (before tax)

Pretty sure that isn't 40%. You can't compare USD to CAD and work out the percentage.

 

[micaelleal]

I got my first PC back in 2000, which costed 1000€ back then and as a 13year old, I saved all money to buy it.

Since then, I bought 1 DIY PC (470GTX etc) for 1300€, which lasted 3 years and sold it to a friend for 500€.
I bought 2 laptops (since start of university, 2010-2015) again 2 Windows OS based laptops.
One was a Packard Bell, which broke appart during a trip (400€). Bought then an ASUS for 900€, which I still keep as backup laptop (12GB RAM, 256GB SSD).

I started as a CS Teacher in September 2015. Started working more and more with VM, Programming Tools... In our school, we have lots of Apple TV's to project kids work, our projectors are really old, VGA...

So I decided to do a 100% switch from Windows to Mac. Even I was considering taking a Surface Pro 4 due to the touch features and taking notes is way faster.

After 6 months of waiting and deciding, I finally took the MBP in October 2016.

The Cons:
- USB C Adapters
- 2700€ + Dongles (+-3000€)
- Limited software under Mac (pay every single good software)
- Touch Bar... (Pay for gimmick)
- Can't connect my standard external USB Drive without a dongle
- Need a dongle for an external display

The Pros:
- Everything works fluid so far
- Battery lasts me a full day
- I can share fast my work to friends
- Didn't have any software glitches so far
- Boot and start working is fast
- Love the eco-system around the Mac (take a picture on the phone, see it on the Mac,....)

One can argue about the pros and cons about a Mac. At the end, the only thing that I see is that all my friends who own a Mac even from 2010, they still all work fine. Those, who use Windows based PC, bought their 2-3 years ago.

My next Mac will be in 2023. So it would cost me every month 35€ for my current Mac until 2023.
Why do I need to buy a new Mac every 3 years? It's none sense. If we are going to do more AR/VR, then I might resell my current Mac for a replacement with 32/64GB RAM.

Apple products are expensive, it's up to your budget and consideration what will be your usage. If they drop the price by 500€, everyone would consider buying an Apple product.
Have you seen the latest Surface Laptop? It's slightly a kick in the... for all Mac users.

Anyway, the PC/laptop competition is getting bigger and bigger. Just look at all the smartphone, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Samsung... All try to sell their products and they somehow all survive so far.

We live in a world of consumption, where everyone wants the latest product, that's why big companies make money out of us monkeys.... (Joke)

 

[oldoneeye]

"Higher PC prices due to the impact of component shortages for DRAM, solid state drives (SSDs) and LCD panels had a pronounced negative impact on PC demand in the second quarter of 2017"

when are people going to see through this smokescreen and call it like it is: artificial scarcity to drive up price. you cant realistically claim they couldnt predict demand would increase.

There is a global shortage for these things - every major OEM is chasing DRAM, NAND and panels. Nothing artificial and nothing unique to Apple

 

[djcgeez2189]

aww so MacBook sales are down because they are over priced under specced "PRO" laptops that aren't worth their hefty price tag. No wonder they are not selling well....

 

[gnasher729]

Yes, a seventeen inch MacBook Pro. That is what I want.

When Apple stopped selling them, they were available on the UK Apple Store quite cheap as "refurbished" for over a year until they were all sold. So people didn't buy them back then at a really good price.

A 17" MBP is something that people _want_ but they didn't buy it.

 

[cube]

"Higher PC prices due to the impact of component shortages for DRAM, solid state drives (SSDs) and LCD panels had a pronounced negative impact on PC demand in the second quarter of 2017"

There are also severe shortages of GPUs, at least at retail.

 

[gnasher729]

If your currency is weak against the dollar, then ALL computers should be expensive. So that's hardly a convincing argument.

In the UK, ALL computers have become more expensive. Average selling price up more than 30%.

 

[LordVic]

Where do you get 40% from??!!

Macbook in the US is USD 1,300 (before tax)

Macbook in Canada is USD 1,356.70 (before tax)

Pretty sure that isn't 40%. You can't compare USD to CAD and work out the percentage.

Right now on Apple.ca

And hey, lets actually add AppleCare and Taxes, and shipping...

[doublepost=1500060333][/doublepost]

Disagree. There is zero logic that the Touch Bar Needs to be dropped all together. It's way to early to determine that as of yet. When Apple continues to improve the functionality and use it across the MacBook line, we will know more then. Apple isn't going to quash the TouchBar anytime soon without a doubt.

Touch Bar can be an advantage in some applications. Almost to the point that you appreciate it when you don't have Touch Bar if you have experience with it. Apple and the developers need to combine efforts and emphasize the Touch Bar to its full potential and allow it to mature. It's been less than a year and I wouldn't place that much doubt on it yet.

I actually like the idea of the touchbar. I'm all aboard even gimmicks if they're implemented well.

My issue is that I think it was completely unnecesary to eliminated the Function keys to implement. There wasn't a shortage of space to have both, look at the sheer massive side of the touchpad. there's space that could have been used to keep the keyboard slightly closer to the front while providing physical keys AND touchbar.

without the physical functionkeys, the new MBPro is a bit of a problem. I'm more often within terminal sessions with clients who are usually just running either AIX or LInux, and because of that, I need the F keys and especially the ESC key. I'm a touch typist and losing these physical keys would dramatically slow me down

 

[slothinker]

Apple's Mac sales remained stagnant in the second quarter of 2017 compared to the year-ago quarter, according to new PC shipping estimates shared today by Gartner.

During the quarter, Apple shipped an estimated 4.24 million Macs worldwide, down from 4.26 million in the second quarter of 2016, for an estimated decline in growth of -0.4 percent. While sales were down slightly, market share was up. Apple held 6.9 percent of the market during the quarter, up from 6.7 percent a year ago. Apple is estimated to be the number four PC vendor in the world, edging out Asus, the company that held that position this time last year.

HP and Dell, the number one and number three worldwide PC vendors, respectively, saw shipment growth during the quarter. HP shipped an estimated 12.7 million PCs for 10.8 percent of the market (3.3 percent growth) while Dell shipped an estimated 9.6 million PCs for 15.6 percent of the market (1.4 percent growth). Lenovo, once the number one worldwide PC vendor, is now in second place after sales dropped from 13.3 million in Q2 2016 to 12.2 million in Q2 2017. Lenovo now holds 19.9 percent of the market and saw a -8.4 percent dip in growth.

Gartner's Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q17 (Thousands of Units)​

Asus and Acer, the number five and six worldwide PC vendors, also saw PC sales fall significantly. Asus shipped 4 million PCs during the quarter, down from 4.5 million for -10.3 percent growth, while Acer shipped 3.9 million, down from 4.4 million for -12.5 percent growth.

According to Gartner, overall worldwide PC shipments totaled 61.1 million units in Q2 2017, a 4.3 percent decline compared to Q2 2016.In the United States, PC shipments totaled 14 million units during the second quarter of 2017, a 5.7 percent decline compared to the second quarter of 2016. Apple is the number four PC vendor in the United States, shipping an estimated 1.7 million Macs (for 11.8 percent market share), a significant decline from the 1.83 million Macs shipped in the second quarter of 2016.

Gartner's Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q17 (Thousands of Units)​

Apple's U.S. sales dropped 9.6 percent from Q2 2016 to Q2 2017, with Lenovo and Asus also seeing sharp dips. Lenovo's sales were down 16.3 percent (1.9 million PCs shipped vs. 2.2 million in Q2 2016), while Asus's sales were down 40.7 percent (447K PCs shipped vs. 754K in Q2 2016).

Apple's Market Share Trend: 1Q06-2Q17 (Gartner)​

IDC also released its PC market shipment estimates today, and its numbers are a bit rosier. IDC estimates Apple shipped 4.3 million Macs during the quarter, up from 4.26 million for a small 1.7 percent growth. According to IDC, worldwide PC shipments totaled 60.5 million units, a decline of 3.3 percent. Like Gartner, IDC estimates Apple is the number four worldwide PC vendor, behind HP, Lenovo, and Dell, but above Asus and Acer.

It's important to note that data from Gartner and IDC is preliminary and that the numbers can shift, sometimes dramatically and sometimes less so. Last year, for example, Gartner estimated Mac shipments of 4.56 million in the second quarter of 2016, but the actual number was 4.26 million.

Apple recently refreshed much of its Mac notebook lineup and its iMacs, so it could see some growth in the coming quarter as customers purchase the new machines.

Article Link: Apple's Mac Sales Stagnant in Q2 2017 Amid Continuing Worldwide PC Market Decline

[doublepost=1500072129][/doublepost]

Apple's Mac sales remained stagnant in the second quarter of 2017 compared to the year-ago quarter, according to new PC shipping estimates shared today by Gartner.

During the quarter, Apple shipped an estimated 4.24 million Macs worldwide, down from 4.26 million in the second quarter of 2016, for an estimated decline in growth of -0.4 percent. While sales were down slightly, market share was up. Apple held 6.9 percent of the market during the quarter, up from 6.7 percent a year ago. Apple is estimated to be the number four PC vendor in the world, edging out Asus, the company that held that position this time last year.

HP and Dell, the number one and number three worldwide PC vendors, respectively, saw shipment growth during the quarter. HP shipped an estimated 12.7 million PCs for 10.8 percent of the market (3.3 percent growth) while Dell shipped an estimated 9.6 million PCs for 15.6 percent of the market (1.4 percent growth). Lenovo, once the number one worldwide PC vendor, is now in second place after sales dropped from 13.3 million in Q2 2016 to 12.2 million in Q2 2017. Lenovo now holds 19.9 percent of the market and saw a -8.4 percent dip in growth.

Gartner's Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q17 (Thousands of Units)​

Asus and Acer, the number five and six worldwide PC vendors, also saw PC sales fall significantly. Asus shipped 4 million PCs during the quarter, down from 4.5 million for -10.3 percent growth, while Acer shipped 3.9 million, down from 4.4 million for -12.5 percent growth.

According to Gartner, overall worldwide PC shipments totaled 61.1 million units in Q2 2017, a 4.3 percent decline compared to Q2 2016.In the United States, PC shipments totaled 14 million units during the second quarter of 2017, a 5.7 percent decline compared to the second quarter of 2016. Apple is the number four PC vendor in the United States, shipping an estimated 1.7 million Macs (for 11.8 percent market share), a significant decline from the 1.83 million Macs shipped in the second quarter of 2016.

Gartner's Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q17 (Thousands of Units)​

Apple's U.S. sales dropped 9.6 percent from Q2 2016 to Q2 2017, with Lenovo and Asus also seeing sharp dips. Lenovo's sales were down 16.3 percent (1.9 million PCs shipped vs. 2.2 million in Q2 2016), while Asus's sales were down 40.7 percent (447K PCs shipped vs. 754K in Q2 2016).

Apple's Market Share Trend: 1Q06-2Q17 (Gartner)​

IDC also released its PC market shipment estimates today, and its numbers are a bit rosier. IDC estimates Apple shipped 4.3 million Macs during the quarter, up from 4.26 million for a small 1.7 percent growth. According to IDC, worldwide PC shipments totaled 60.5 million units, a decline of 3.3 percent. Like Gartner, IDC estimates Apple is the number four worldwide PC vendor, behind HP, Lenovo, and Dell, but above Asus and Acer.

It's important to note that data from Gartner and IDC is preliminary and that the numbers can shift, sometimes dramatically and sometimes less so. Last year, for example, Gartner estimated Mac shipments of 4.56 million in the second quarter of 2016, but the actual number was 4.26 million.

Apple recently refreshed much of its Mac notebook lineup and its iMacs, so it could see some growth in the coming quarter as customers purchase the new machines.

Article Link: Apple's Mac Sales Stagnant in Q2 2017 Amid Continuing Worldwide PC Market Decline

[doublepost=1500072654][/doublepost]From my perspective Apple -- at least -- has been killing off its laptop/desktop business for years. No special high-end printers (by now they could be selling 3-d printers to 100s of thousands of customers), routers (why?), no monitors (with your special graphics cards and processing?) and who knows what other great things could have been part of a vital desktop PC. Alexa anyone? Sound-deadening headphones that connect when picked up? integrated mobile and landline telephone? It really boggles the mind that the industry led by Apple has walked away from the desktop in favor of phones and poor-posture producing laptops.

Specifically, I thought and still think that the Mac Mini offered a great way to connect lots of profitable peripherals in a customized, mostly portable system. Somehow that product is seen as a cannibal ... certainly not the way Steve Jobs would have look at it.

As a joke I've often speculated that if Apple can only rid itself of its hard-to-manufacture iPhones, Macbooks, watches and iMacs, it can really make money easily with fewer employees just by licensing the name and logo. I'll bet the top execs could make $100K per speech too!

 

[alias99]

Right now on Apple.ca

View attachment 708633


And hey, lets actually add AppleCare and Taxes, and shipping...
View attachment 708634
[doublepost=1500060333][/doublepost]

As you say right now on Apple CA and US.

US - USD 1,696.92
CA - USD 1.778.09

I repeat "where are you getting the 40% from?

Based on your logic, it costs USD 1,696.92 in America but in Brazil it is R$ 11,398 does that mean the price difference is 691.69%??? NO !!

Not sure what point your trying to make but it seems like a classic case of "fake news"

Unless you think the CA website is posting prices in USD

 

[LordVic]

As you say right now on Apple CA and US.

US - USD 1,696.92
CA - USD 1.778.09

I repeat "where are you getting the 40% from?

Based on your logic, it costs USD 1,696.92 in America but in Brazil it is R$ 11,398 does that mean the price difference is 691.69%??? NO !!

Not sure what point your trying to make but it seems like a classic case of "fake news"

Unless you think the CA website is posting prices in USD

you're making my point.

the prices of Canadian products increased from their USD equivelant about 3-4 years ago, to match the difference in the dollar.

that's exactly what i'm pointing out.

The problem with that price increase in a relatively short period of time, pegging it on the dollar, when there's no actual reason to, didn't suddenly mean that people in Canada's disposable income suddenly went up 30%-40% either.

We're not some country that uses the USD. so our day to day lives are not impacted directly by it. Except when suddenly prices go up 30-40% on assorted items all for some US based company to claim it as USD profits and prop up their margins at my countries expense.

It's even further soured when Apple already constantly boasts larger than average for their industries profit margins.

I'm not 30-40% richer. But Apple is expecting me to part with that much more than it was 2-3 years ago.