Apple's Notebook Sales Drop to Estimated 2.5M as Buyers Await New MacBook Pro

macrushfan said:
I am still using my late 2008 MBP. I cannot shut it down due to a cold solder joint. I have to take a heat gun to the logic board to power it back up. Even with that pain, I refuse to upgrade since you can't upgrade memory or SSD on the newer units. Apple has lost it.
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FWIW ours (the 2008) were crippled when new, limited to 6GB of RAM, then later they released a firmware update to support 8GB. My new Retina has double that, and honestly has plenty of memory left even when I am editing graphics while video is rendering in the background.

And you can upgrade the SSD on these models, it just isn't a standard 2.5 drive which is quite frankly a dated form factor. The upgrades are more expensive however.
 
I'd argue that the drop in sales is most certainly NOT due to people waiting for a new model. The general public will have no clue literally about how old the current model is, the are not interested in that, I think they are using their tablets and smartphones more so don't need computers as much.
 
I'm still on a mid-2009 MBP 17. I swapped out the HDD for an Intel X25M SSD, and this thing performs virtually as well as any of the new rMBPs for everyday use (web browsing, email, etc.)

I've really found no reason to upgrade, especially considering they don't make the 17'' size anymore. This thing has been incredibly reliable, and I have only swapped out the battery (under Applecare). Worst thing to happen is a few feet have fallen off and needed to be replaced. Zero defects otherwise.

I will take a look at the new MBPs, but even with the new redesigns, I will have to think long and hard before shelling out another $3000 for a laptop. Any way you slice it, it is just a lot of money. Only things I really want are a quieter computer (less fan noise) and a cooler one (this 17 gets incredibly hot and bothered just loading youtube vids).
 
The difference between now and the "good ol' days" is one and simple: we didn't need to be told that Apple's products were better, now we have to look for the "incredible" part, obviously failing to find a reason for the Apple Tax.

Let's wait for another Apple's marketing slave to interview Tim Cook about the amazing pipeline waiting for us
 
apolloa said:
I'd argue that the drop in sales is most certainly NOT due to people waiting for a new model. The general public will have no clue literally about how old the current model is, the are not interested in that, I think they are using their tablets and smartphones more so don't need computers as much.
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Great to see you prowling the forums Tim, hope you're keeping in good spirits. Fingers crossed for new colour watch bands at WWDC!
 
Well this was expected to happen with their current lineup... MBP is outdated, Air is even worse, and the 12' MB is too expensive. I really hope that they will release much improved MBP this summer, and that they won't increase it's price (which is unlikely as the small MB with core m costs 1300$, which is 1500+€ here).
 
I’m still managing my MBP 17” Early 2009 and I will wait until the new 15” one comes out (though 17” would be even better).

I will not be buying any new 13” nor the one with just slightly updated features. Needs to be something more substantial new. I do not carry my laptop around and so I need a bigger screen at home. Why would anyone want smaller sized laptop if they can take their lighter iPads with keyboard covers out. As it is with my current 2009 MBP, I have even stopped upgrading OS. Staying with 10.9.3 until Apple offers some more Pro hardware.
I would have bought new hardware earlier if there was one to be excited about.

If Apple is not in rush, I will be patient too. I they want to earn money, let them show us what they have to offer.
 
Tim cook sucks. Sorry, but look at the company under cook.

Watch his interview with Jim Cramer. He is more concerned with gay rights and social issues than he is with apples declining technical capabilities. That's no joke. He wants to be remembered for his social change more than anything else.

Unfortunately, He'll end up being remembered as John Scully the second.
 
crsh1976 said:
Apple doesn't care about making Macs high-performing computers anymore, they're luxury fashion accessories to go with your iPhone and your Apple Watch.
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I think this will be confirmed ( or not ) depending on what kind of laptop Apple releases this year.

I'm fearing they will be complete garbage - i.e., no dedicated GPU at all, thinner, Macbook style keyboard, and around same price point. In short: More eye candy, no substance.

BUT - I *want* to believe..!
 
BeSweeet said:
Bring on the space gray retina MacBook Pro, please.
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Please.

I'm holding out to see what the new models bring, my 2007 mbp is on its last legs, (but what a great servant it's been). To be honest, I'd be happy with a 13" base model with skylake/16/256 and C ports.

May even go for a refurb if there's nothing 'must have' in the new models.

But I want space grey!
 
Sandstorm said:
Neglected, outdated and overpriced. Mini, pro, displays - are especially insulting.

EDIT - and before - but but Apple waits on Intel! - there are insane amount of things they could have done years ago - much better facetime cameras, drop the pathetic HDDs and switch to SSDs-only, drop non-retina displays, reduce display bezels, release a decent ergonomic mouse?
How about Touch-ID for the Mac? How about Thunderbolt displays that are not 5 years old with USB 2, crappy speakers, reflective and so on?

As it stands right now - Apple offers stale products with outdated internals, at an unbelievable (exorbitant) price. That is something only Apple can do.
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The FaceTime cameras are just pathetic. What's the difference between 480p, 720p, and 1080p cameras? Like a shiny quarter?
 
I've been thinking this for at least a year. I refused to get a rMBP last march to replace my 2009 MBP because the design was stale and it would have cost me $2400 for a high end 15".

So, I got an HP Omen 15" instead. Beautiful black aluminum, thin, quad core i7, 16gb ram, 512gb PCIe SSD, etc... for $1800. It's a steal, and mine runs OS X :D:apple:
 
2ilent8cho said:
Yep, my 2012 Macbook Air works as good as the day i bought it 4 years ago. Still runs everything fine i need it to. I would love to get a newer Air with the battery considerably better from the 2013 model onwards and a bigger capacity SSD but i just cannot justify it when there is nothing wrong with my current one, its on 520 cycles and still last 5 hours.

Last decade i was buying a new laptop every 2 years, the battery would just go dire after a year (and was not great to start with, 2 maybe 3 hours if lucky), the fans would start being on non stop, would get random reboots and freezes, bits would fall off them from poor hinges and things, chargers would go pop (These are non Apple).
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Yep, and when the replacement cycle slows down, the second-hand market begins to look much better. I bought a fully loaded 2013 Air, practically mint condition, for a great deal. I really do not think it is one bit worse than the new ones on sale currently. This is a natural stage of the market, maturity.

The same thing happened to cars, just over a longer period of time. In the 50s and 60s, people were buying new cars every year or two. While beautiful, they were not reliable back then. Technology improved, then slowed. I think most people hang on to cars for close to a decade now, and the second hand market is probably as robust as the new market.
 
Canezmd said:
Tim cook sucks. Sorry, but look at the company under cook.
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I wouldn't say I'm in the Cook is aweful camp, but things will certainly get stressful for him, if those numbers aren't turned around quickly.

Yes, Apple has more money in the bank then most nations, yes, Apple has a nice product mix, and yes, iPhone sales are bringing in billions but the fact remains we're now seeing some cracks in the foundation. iPad sales have been sliding for years, iPhone sales are slowing, and now this. I'm not going all in on the old Apple is Doomed, but there's no way you can paint this other then its very bad news.
 
840quadra said:
FWIW ours (the 2008) were crippled when new, limited to 6GB of RAM, then later they released a firmware update to support 8GB. My new Retina has double that, and honestly has plenty of memory left even when I am editing graphics while video is rendering in the background.

And you can upgrade the SSD on these models, it just isn't a standard 2.5 drive which is quite frankly a dated form factor. The upgrades are more expensive however.
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Yeah, did that on my daughters 2011 air, same technology I assume. Agree with the form factor but the proprietary nature makes it too expensive.
 
macrushfan said:
Yeah, did that on my daughters 2011 air, same technology I assume. Agree with the form factor but the proprietary nature makes it too expensive.
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Buy with the space you need now, and provided there is a current path for upgrading storage space, the prices will likely go down over time.

Memory is a bummer, but they have always had oddly low RAM ceilings on the Powerbook / MacBook range.
 
jblagden said:
Are we surprised?

I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly not surprised. I know a lot of folks are blaming “Mac Longevity”. While it’s true that Macs last a long time, that doesn’t have anything to do with sales. Look at the smartphone market; people buy a new smartphone every two years. The reason for drop in sales is the lack of upgradeability. You can’t use overpriced
proprietary Solid State Drives and solder the RAM to the logic board and then expect sales to either maintain or increase. Most folks (myself included) would rather stick with an outdated Mac than buy one which is barely upgradeable. The old MacBook Pros have upgradeable hard drives, upgradeable RAM, upgradeable wireless cards, and the optical drive bay bay can be used as a second hard drive bay for extra storage.
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I'm conflicted with the upgradeability factor. I usually only upgrade once (2011 MBP 16GB/512GB SSD out of the gate). If apple's prices were much more inline with reality I would order a system with high specs and never worry about upgrading.

Unfortunately, apple's prices are not based on reality.
 
Gotta love it when potential buyers are holding off and collectively sending a message to HQ
Wait long enough and they might as well head off to m$ Surface Pro platform with all that yoga & stand backflip stuff
 
maxsix said:
"Buyers Await New MacBook Pro"

Simply hilarious spin on collapsed sales.
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Spin?

- No products updated for years
- Sales decline
- "Nah it's because people prefer iPads".

As further evidenced by most people in this thread, there's absolutely no reason to upgrade to the latest MacBook Pros either, because they don't offer enough of a performance/price jump compared to (RAM/SSD upgraded) MacBook Pros from up to 5 years ago.

I imagine you'll use the correlation does not equal causation argument. So let's break it down:

- Year-old (if not more) MacBook Pros selling for the same price -- or depending on what country you're in and how your currency is doing, selling for even higher than they did when first introduced

- No significant hardware jumps in the last 4 years, other than CPU and SSD I/O. But then Apple charge an arm and a leg for SSD upgrades.

- Value for money. Well, that's sort of the above two points combined.

- The fact an upgrade is inevitable. The products are so outdated that nobody in their right mind (i.e., people who use their machines for their livelihood -- heck, let's just call them 'Pro consumers' for this argument), would be willing to spend $2000 on an outdated machine if a massive spec bump is around the corner.

So where's the spin?
 
maflynn said:
I wouldn't say I'm in the Cook is aweful camp, but things will certainly get stressful for him, if those numbers aren't turned around quickly.

Yes, Apple has more money in the bank then most nations, yes, Apple has a nice product mix, and yes, iPhone sales are bringing in billions but the fact remains we're now seeing some cracks in the foundation. iPad sales have been sliding for years, iPhone sales are slowing, and now this. I'm not going all in on the old Apple is Doomed, but there's no way you can paint this other then its very bad news.
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I completely understand what your saying, I persoanly don't buy into the whole "Apple is doomed" and I wouldn't count them out just yet (I'm not saying you are but a lot of people are jumping to conclusions.)
Maybe Apple will wow with the MacBook Pro at WWDC or maybe they won't, only time will tell. Me personally I still like my Apple products, my iPhone 6 Plus is great and I'm waiting for the 7 Plus or Pro (if it's real), the iPad Pro (12.9") I think is a great addition and I love the Apple Pencil. But that's just me and my opinion, there are a lot of people in the world who's opinions my be different.
 
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