Apple's Record Mac Quarter 'Almost Unbelievable' in Face of iPad Cannibalization

[MacRumors]

One of the high points of Apple's earnings for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2011 was Mac sales, which came in well above expectations at a record 4.89 million units. On the earnings conference call, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that the strong sales were "almost unbelievable" considering continued growth in the iPad market.

Cook noted that some customers are undoubtedly electing to purchase iPads instead of Macs, eating somewhat into potential Mac sales. But as Apple has noted several times since the introduction of the iPad, Apple still holds only a small part of the PC market and that cannibalization of Windows PCs by the iPad opens up a tremendous opportunity for the company.

Apple's previous record for quarterly Mac sales came in the first fiscal quarter of this year with 4.13 million units shipped, making this quarter's performance 18% higher than that record. Given the Apple's Mac sales typically increase sequentially for the holiday quarter each year, Apple should also be well-positioned for another strong performance on the Mac side to close out the calendar year.

Article Link: Apple's Record Mac Quarter 'Almost Unbelievable' in Face of iPad Cannibalization

 

[gugy]

that's great news.
Now let's update the MacPro and bring that 30" ACD back!

 

[boomish]

Fantastic news!

 

[coder12]

Wow, this is incredible, but I really believe it. I've convinced a lot of people in my college dorm to buy a Mac, they just want something that works, and they also love Lion..

 

[fox10078]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

To think they are gonna drop macs anytime soon is foolish

 

[applefan289]

I'm glad to see Macs are doing well. I wanna be a fly on the wall if Bill Gates ever reads this post. lol

 

[Confuzzzed]

you still need a computer to do serious processing. even for photo editing. if you need a computer, then you go to Apple rathern than Dell, Toshiba Sony or HP. It's market share from those guys that Macs are winning over. The iPad is an incremental 'luxury' category IMHO

 

[anberlinairlift]

All this iOS development and promotion by Apple has made me a little worried about the future of Mac OS X and the Mac over the past couple years... So this is definitely great news

 

[Yvan256]

I've switched after using iTunes on Windows XP in the days of the 3rd generation iPod, when I finally understood that managing files by myself was pointless when the software should be doing it for me.

It went:
- iTunes on Windows
- 10GB 3rd gen. iPod (still have it, HDD probably needs to be replaced otherwise works fine)
- Mac mini G4/1.42
- 12" PowerBook G4/1.5 - still using that one as my main laptop
- Mac mini Core 2 Duo
- Mac mini Core 2 Duo (unibody) - still using that one as my main desktop

So I'm guessing a lot of people who never used anything but Microsoft OS and software are sort of waking up about alternatives and buy an iPhone/iPad and then drop their PC to get a Mac soon after that.

 

[neiltc13]

I've switched after using iTunes on Windows XP in the days of the 3rd generation iPod, when I finally understood that managing files by myself was pointless when the software should be doing it for me.

It went:
- iTunes on Windows
- 10GB 3rd gen. iPod (still have it, HDD probably needs to be replaced otherwise works fine)
- Mac mini G4/1.42
- 12" PowerBook G4/1.5 - still using that one as my main laptop
- Mac mini Core 2 Duo
- Mac mini Core 2 Duo (unibody) - still using that one as my main desktop

So I'm guessing a lot of people who never used anything but Microsoft OS and software are sort of waking up about alternatives and buy an iPhone/iPad and then drop their PC to get a Mac soon after that.

While you were doing that Microsoft was busy improving Windows, Office etc and now offers the best software that it ever has. Windows 7 is rock sold (I'd say more reliable and less buggy than Lion) and Office is simply unmatched.

 

[applefan289]

I've switched after using iTunes on Windows XP in the days of the 3rd generation iPod, when I finally understood that managing files by myself was pointless when the software should be doing it for me.

It went:
- iTunes on Windows
- 10GB 3rd gen. iPod (still have it, HDD probably needs to be replaced otherwise works fine)
- Mac mini G4/1.42
- 12" PowerBook G4/1.5 - still using that one as my main laptop
- Mac mini Core 2 Duo
- Mac mini Core 2 Duo (unibody) - still using that one as my main desktop

So I'm guessing a lot of people who never used anything but Microsoft OS and software are sort of waking up about alternatives and buy an iPhone/iPad and then drop their PC to get a Mac soon after that.

I definitely think iOS devices lure customers to Macs.

 

[mrsir2009]

What? Isn't the 'worst Mac OS release yet' hindering sales?

 

[anberlinairlift]

you still need a computer to do serious processing.

The thing is, I have a feeling that the vast majority of users out there don't need a device that can do "serious processing". I think that's something that only professionals (i.e. people in the music, movie, and graphic arts industries) really need. Therefore, a lot of people are finding that the iPad is perfectly fine for their needs.

 

[neiltc13]

What? Isn't the 'worst Mac OS release yet' hindering sales?

Lion has convinced me that my next desktop will not be a Mac. There simply isn't a compelling reason to buy a Mac desktop any more now that the advantage they had with more robust software is gone.

 

[nutjob]

How can iPads cannibalise Window's PC's which are not sold by Apple? The term refers to reducing the sale of one of your products with the introduction of another.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

what this proves to me is the iPad is not a computer and does not belong in those comparisons.
It is clearly not cannibalizing that market.

 

[mrsir2009]

Lion has convinced me that my next desktop will not be a Mac. There simply isn't a compelling reason to buy a Mac desktop any more now that the advantage they had with more robust software is gone.

= Sarcastic

 

[porky]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

If they would release a 15" macbook at a normal price (intel i3) , mac sales would be a lot higher. Now is the time to go all the way! The have gold in their hands. Everyone wants a mac now, but too many can't affort one.

 

[Naimfan]

While you were doing that Microsoft was busy improving Windows, Office etc and now offers the best software that it ever has.

While that may well be true, it's still considerably behind Apple in terms of integration and making things as easy and seamless as a Mac does.

The biggest reason is that Apple controls both hardware and the OS, so a Mac is much more tightly integrated than any Windows machine. Not a newsflash, I know, but still worth remembering.

 

[nutjob]

The thing is, I have a feeling that the vast majority of users out there don't need a device that can do "serious processing". I think that's something that only professionals (i.e. people in the music, movie, and graphic arts industries) really need. Therefore, a lot of people are finding that the iPad is perfectly fine for their needs.

Anyone who needs to do a decent amount of work of any sort can't do it on an iPad. People who don't do a decent amount of work don't need a computer. Basically the iPad is the computer for the idle rich. It's an entertainment device or a toy like the iPod (of which it's just a bigger version), which is fine, but that means it won't be making that deep an inroad into the laptop/desktop markets.

 

[aaronsullivan]

I think the iPad will begin to cannibalize PC sales in a more profound way after iOS 5. After all, previous iPad's required that you have a computer. Now they don't. iCloud and Siri will help, as well. Over this next year, if the iPad 3 gets more readable via the retina display especially, a huge chunk of computer needs can be served by an iPad alone. There are still a couple of important walls to overcome like real Office compatibility (or less need for it) and printing at anyone's printer easily. Even so, if you think about most average people, they just don't need a laptop or desktop.

That said, I love that Macs are growing in sales and I myself will probably always want a desktop computer for the things I do. For me, the iPad is a great secondary device, but I do some video editing, creative writing, programming, and game development. Most of that is going to work best on a desktop for a while to come. So, the continued growth means more attention on the Mac and I can't wait to see what's up next.

I'd love to see Apple make a headless Mac that isn't held back by a dinky form factor. See if it can take advantage of the current PC situation. There would certainly be a spike in interest, in my opinion.

 

[ECUpirate44]

Give me a 15" MBA!

 

[akadmon]

I don't believe

it's been 20+ mińutes since this got posted and my comment is still on page page 1 of this thread!

 

[nutjob]

While you were doing that Microsoft was busy improving Windows, Office etc and now offers the best software that it ever has. Windows 7 is rock sold (I'd say more reliable and less buggy than Lion) and Office is simply unmatched.

The "best software that it ever has" is still really mediocre. You can't make a purse out of a sow's ear.

And comparing a just released Lion with a mature Windows 7 is just intellectually dishonest. I installed Windows 7 recently an it basically crashed every 5 minutes until I installed the service pack. Even the 1.7.0 wasn't that bad.

 

[*LTD*]

Whoa there, hold on now.

Haven't avid MR members been telling us that Lion is a failure and that everyone hates it? That's it's the worst OS release by Apple to date?

What's going on here? All these cheap and varied Windows boxes to choose from an Apple ends up selling *more* of these expensive Macs?? That run Lion, to top it off??