Apple's Q2 2017 MacBook Sales Increase 17 Percent Over the Previous Quarter

[satchmo]

Was really tempted to buy one, but $3,500 for a basic 13" laptop just seems too much.

$3,500? Where do you live?

But yes, it's not a cheap laptop.

Personally I'm thinking if plan to dock your MBP to a desk, consider going with the new iMac instead. Much bigger bang for your buck. Then look for a cheap MacBook if you need some portability.
Obviously it depends on the type of work you do.

 

[Dave245]

It doesn't surprise me, the Mac is a great computer (desktop or laptops) Apple make the best hardware and the best OS (at least in my experience and opinion) in the business, Apple's hardware does seem expensive but if you break it down over the amount of years you own one it really isn't that much.

I own a MacBook Pro 2011, it is a great machine that has served me well and very reliable as is my 2012 iMac. Everyone knows that Apple charge more for their hardware that's why people call it "Apple tax" but the reason people continue to buy Apple products including the Mac is because they are great reliable devices and that's what people want.

 

[phillytim]

Yeah there is absolutely nothing on the MacBook Pro line that endears me to replace my 2011 MBPro.

In fact, I pray that my 2011 keeps going, because I seriously may not buy into Apple's overpriced/underpowered offerings and may head back to Windows.

 

[melendezest]

It does .. it did. It was silly emoji bar or one USB-what port instead of 4, and even worse performance. I got the emoji bar and the feel-less keyboard with arrow keys the size of rice grains. The current macbook pros are awful, they compromise on every facet of usability and I wish they'd never made them and I wish my old MBP hadn't failed to the point it had to be replaced. I have never bought a worse Apple product than the touchbar MBP.

I just took in my 2012 15" cMBP into the Apple Store for a trackpad replacement.

I'd rather repair my current 2011-2012 machines than to replace them with the new ones. They're the last upgradeable Macs and I'll get rid of them only when they are beyond repair. Not even the Retina MBPs were usable for me.

My current storage needs would require me to buy a machine that is too expensive since I have to pay for that SSD and RAM upfront, at today's prices.

I still have spinners (in RAID 0) in my MBPs because SSDs are still too expensive comparatively speaking. And I will NOT rely on the cloud 100%. Period. I want my stuff to be LOCAL.

 

[TechZeke]

Who would've known that updating Macbooks would lead to more sales

As if Apple is the only manufacturer updating their line.

Now, for the real question...

Where is the champion Microsoft on the table?

Is this the Microsoft’s heat from the Surface? Are people asking for touchscreens or not? Is a $6 dollar USB-C to USB-A adapter (set of 2 obvs.) from Amazon a problem for people buying $2000 computers?

Don’t tell me Microsoft is having problems making people part with the cash, because Apple, the expensive one, clearly isn’t!

Actually, I agree with AyeGear. Mac always had increasing sales and marketshare until around 2014-2015 when they stopped regularly updating Macs. I don't think sales of Macs and iPads increasing after a strong round of hardware updates is a coincidence.

 

[Zirel]

Just last week, Consumer Reports revealed their 2017 Reliability ratings - and Microsoft was dead last, with Surface failure rates of 25%. Pretty bad.

Tops (in reliability order) were: Apple, Samsung, Acer, HP, Asus, Lenovo, Dell, Toshiba, and then Microsoft.

Strangely, MR didn’t report that... out of many articles they published about the Surface.

 

[imran5720]

Because, unfortunately, the human population's ratio of smart people vs the rest is not that great.

i am sorry which ones are smart here? ones who bought it or ones who did not?

 

[Zirel]

Actually, I agree with AyeGear. Mac always had increasing sales and marketshare until around 2014-2015 when they stopped regularly updating Macs. I don't think sales of Macs and iPads increasing after a strong round of hardware updates is a coincidence.

They updated it in 2014, 2015 and 2016?

Also, your argument doesn’t check out, their biggest growth was the second quarter after the 2016 model has been introduced.

 

[Thunderhawks]

Maybe you should look into what you can do with the touch bar before calling it "a silly emoji bar".

What if s/he uses it mostly in clamshell mode, like I do? Can't do (nor interested) in the touch bar.

Doesn't seem practical having to reach over the keyboard all the time, plus my eyes need things LARGE!

Maybe they'll launch a trackpad with the TB. I am not against that technology, but it seems that it needs some further thinking and kinks worked out.

Obviously, most of those clam shell users will go on with the current MBPs as long as possible and in the end we all will have no choice, but to buy whatever the latest MBPs are.

Since I only buy used, maybe the 2016/17 MBPs will be reasonably priced by the time I have to buy.
(Using two 2015 15.4" MBPs currently and just sold my 2014, which is still going strong)

 

[TechZeke]

They updated it in 2014, 2015 and 2016?

Also, your argument doesn’t check out, their biggest growth was the second quarter after the 2016 model has been introduced.

Yes, after they updated the MacBook Pro, their biggest seller. However, before that, most of the Mac line up had extremely long refresh cycles. (It was 1.5 years between 2015 MacBook Pros and the 2016) and the 15" rMBP was still using a Haswell processors. iMacs didn't even get an update in 2016. It took a good year for Apple to catch up to latest Intel chips.

 

[melendezest]

It doesn't surprise me, the Mac is a great computer (desktop or laptops) Apple make the best hardware and the best OS (at least in my experience and opinion) in the business, Apple's hardware does seem expensive but if you break it down over the amount of years you own one it really isn't that much.

I own a MacBook Pro 2011, it is a great machine that has served me well and very reliable as is my 2012 iMac. Everyone knows that Apple charge more for their hardware that's why people call it "Apple tax" but the reason people continue to buy Apple products including the Mac is because they are great reliable devices and that's what people want.

If Apple built an MBP the way they were in 2012, but with upgraded internals (processor, graphics) and modern connectivity (USB 3, TB3) I would have already given them my hard-earned cash. MBPs were desktop replacements back then.

The issue is they stopped building the machine I need that same year (2012).

So as much as I love OS X...ahem...macOS, Apple is putting me in a position of choosing hardware vs software.

Don't get me wrong, the MBPs are nice hardware, but it's too different for what I value. All current Apple portables (including iDevices) are effectively single-user items, and it looks like this isn't going to change any time soon.

So for me it's the equivalent of my favorite manufacturer discontinuing their 3-row SUV from the market.

I'll have to hold on to mine until the kids are out of the house, or go with a different brand.

 

[Thunderhawks]

But MacRumors readers were 100% certain it was a total failure of a product and no one would buy it.

A little too general that statement.
It was just an extremely unsatisfying update of a great product line.
Too many unaddressed shortcomings for professionals.

For what I do it's okay, plus an OWC dock takes care of all annoying dongle issues.
Replaced my desktop with an MBP eons ago. Would like my 17" back.

Nobody is rushing to get these, however when upgrading after many many years these were/are the only choice.

So, a dry market spike, probably.

While I am against that model, I will buy one when it's time, because it will be the only available option. Same for many others in the apple garden!

 

[FightTheFuture]

The current macbook pros are awful, they compromise on every facet of usability and I wish they'd never made them and I wish my old MBP hadn't failed to the point it had to be replaced. I have never bought a worse Apple product than the touchbar MBP.

For your sake, I hope you returned it. They still sold the retina MBP alongside the 2016 model.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

Surface sales sinking and Mac laptops soaring.

Huge FAIL of The Verge reviewers and MR forum vocal minorities.

If person "X" reviews a product and doesn't like it why is it a "Huge FAIL" just because it turns out it sold just fine regardless of said review? They still have their reasons for not liking it.

 

[Zirel]

Yes, after they updated the MacBook Pro, their biggest seller. However, before that, most of the Mac line up had extremely long refresh cycles. (It was 1.5 years between 2015 MacBook Pros and the 2016) and the 15" rMBP was still using a Haswell processors. iMacs didn't even get an update in 2016. It took a good year for Apple to catch up to latest Intel chips.

Took only a little bit more than normal. But the sales didn't grew too much after the update (Q4 2016), in Q1 and Q2 2017 they grew even more than the update quarter!

So, nope, it wasn't "pent-up demand".

 

[macmyworld]

I look at it more like BMW vs Honda. Both build fine products but BMW sells them at a premium with much higher margains. BMW could sell higher quantities if they dropped their margains, but that isn't their business model.

Apple continues to use price to make their brand higher end in the eye of the buyer. The strategy has been a huge success for them. Sure can't blame them for sticking to it.

Microsoft is trying to emulate Apple but doesn't have the manufacturing chops yet. Someday they may.

As to the touch bar. I have it and it is a solution looking for a problem. If Apple adds it to the iMac that would help. I use too many machines to change my behavior on one.

 

[TechZeke]

Took only a little bit more than normal. But the sales didn't grew too much after the update (Q4 2016), in Q1 and Q2 2017 they grew even more than the update quarter!

So, nope, it wasn't "pent-up demand".

It doesn't matter. It still proves my point: Sales increase after you update your products. Also, not everyone who bought a 2016 MBP are going to buy right away.

 

[Zirel]

It doesn't matter. It still proves my point: Sales increase after you update your products. Also, not everyone who bought a 2016 MBP are going to buy right away.

Dude, the product has been updated for a long time.

Sales grow before you update the product too!

 

[TechZeke]

Dude, the product has been updated for a long time.

Sales grow before you update the product too!

Okay, I'm out.

 

[john123]

Fortunately, Apple's consumer base extends far beyond an increasingly vocal (and whiny) minority on Macrumours.

Just because people don't like something you happen to like doesn't make them "whiny." Also, your logic is flawed because it relies on selection bias. No one knows—outside of market research firms that have done a conjoint analysis—what the sales or profitability numbers would look like in a model WITHOUT TB, so it's blind speculation to assume that TB = net good from a consumer point of view.

Maybe you should look into what you can do with the touch bar before calling it "a silly emoji bar".

You're assuming s/he hasn't. I used a TB 15" for a month and hated it, and I'm not alone in that assessment. Silly emoji bar is admittedly a stretch, but it's perfectly reasonable not to be a fan.
[doublepost=1502809582][/doublepost]

But MacRumors readers were 100% certain it was a total failure of a product and no one would buy it.

Actually, that's not what most people said, including people (like myself) who despise the thing.

 

[Fiachers]

Fortunately, Apple's consumer base extends far beyond an increasingly vocal (and whiny) minority on Macrumours.

"whiny"

Great attitude to have to the very very legitimate criticism of the massively overpriced and underwhelming 2016 MBPs. That this comment is the most liked on this post says a lot about how insular the site is becoming.

 

[DVD9]

I'm ready to buy a 17" Macbook Pro but Apple refuses to manufacture it. I'm using a 15" and it's too small. I've been using this retina screen macbook since November 2012. I've recently replaced several keys that I wore the letters off. It works fine otherwise.

Build it bigger or I'll just continue on with this one.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I was waiting for an article like this and the predictable responses.

Guys - Apple has many of us well locked in and essentially trapped on our MacBooks.
They usually do internal hardware updates behind the curve and often with long intervals.

Given the options for entrenched customers are "buy what they are selling now, buy something old or move to Windows", they could release nearly anything as an update and it's going to sell well - often very well if the internal components have been ignored for long and/or purchasers have been holding off.

Sales numbers and any little Q over Q growth is so detached from any analysis of the merits of the hardware "features" or not that it really warrants hardly any discussion.

We are Mac people (many/most of us anyhow) and part of that is dealing with what they release.
Trust me I'm not happy about it. I dislike a ton of the 2016/2017 MBP design decisions and am still on a 2015 model as a result. I don't know what I'll do if nothing changes. I'm not looking forward to the day (a ways off yet) when this model really is slowing down and needs to be swapped out.

How the models are selling right now has literally nothing to do with "is the keyboard good/better/worse" or "the touchbar is awesome/awful".

MacBook buyers need/want a new MacBook. They are Mac users and so they go buy new ones. That's really where that discussion usually ends. The user works around whatever tradeoffs Apple has decided on. That does not mean the user loves them all (or dislikes them, like me)

 

[ronno]

I've gotten somewhat used to the LOUD clickety clack keyboard, but the battery life blows on these new machines. I have several of the 15" touch bar laptops - they are thin but at the expense of battery life ((

 

[jasonklee]

Very happy with the new MacBook Pro. Force Touch plus Touch Bar have been great in improving my workflow in editing manuscripts. I once switched back to a 2013 MacBook Air and it felt cumbersome without Force Touch and Touch Bar and navigating using traditional UI. And that's despite that the 2013 Air is still a great computer.