Apple's Renewed Focus on iPad Left the Mac Behind This Year

[zen]

A lack of meaningful updates to several Macs this year impacted Apple's bottom line, as Mac revenue has declined for four consecutive quarters year-over-year.

No, it didn't! What is this FUD from Macrumors? Yes, Mac revenue declined significantly year-over-year. Apple's bottom line was unaffected entirely, because the iPhone accounts for nearly all of their profit.

This site, man, this site.

But, that aside, the Mac is dead. Apple retail stores don't feature any desktop Macs anymore. Meanwhile so many of us who have used Apple computers for decades have moved to PCs.

 

[SeanG1027]

What happens when your iPad needs to be restored? Oh yeah, I'll plug it into my PC or Mac.

 

[Pootmatoot]

If that is true, where do they go from here? iPad has peaked and is now on the decline. iPhone has peaked (it will likely get a bump next year but the market is otherwise saturated). The Watch, while maybe not a bust, was certainly not the next great thing that Cook thought it was going to be.

While not "doomed", where is the growth in this company going to come from?

It's not. It's why people have been saying for years that Apple has a boom/bust strategy, and is an incredibly risky stock: it has its eggs all in one basket is a manner no other company of the same size has.

It's why someone like Samsung - with their fingers in many, many pies - is a far more stable, longterm company.

 

[Sam_S]

What happened to "Think Different"

It seems to me that Tim's plan is to "Think Less"

 

[RobDacoder]

I'm a life-long dual user. How is Windows 10 garbage? Its continual refinement seems to be going in absolutely the right direction for me. It's certainly far more intuitive than the current state of MacOS, and it's pretty ingenious how it's managing to cover the touch/mouse divide without too many sacrifices to either (as with the hot mess that was Windows 8).

So do I, in fact I manage remote Windows servers with a MacBook, Windows in my honest opinion is lightyears behind OS X...

 

[Lapine Rider]

When looking at the current state of the Mac lineup, the new MacBook Pro is the only model Apple has updated over the past seven-plus months. Even the latest MacBook Pro models required a 527-day wait, which was considerably longer than the average of 320 days between previous MacBook Pro refreshes.

A glance at our own MacRumors Buyer's Guide shows the new MacBook Pro is the only Mac currently listed with a "Buy Now" status, as all other models beyond the 12-inch MacBook have not been refreshed for significant periods of time. The longest overdue is the Mac Pro, last updated 1,084 days ago.o iMac -- 420 days ago
o MacBook Air -- 638 days ago
o Mac mini -- 782 days ago
o Mac Pro -- 1,084 days agoThe lack of updates can be at least partially attributed to Apple having to wait on chipmakers and suppliers such as Intel, AMD, and Nvidia, each of which follow their own product roadmaps, although that cannot be the only reason given Skylake processors are now readily available for update-deprived Macs.

A lack of meaningful updates to several Macs this year impacted Apple's bottom line, as Mac revenue has declined for four consecutive quarters year-over-year. The declines have worsened each quarter, starting with a 3% drop in Q4 2015 and progressing to a 17% drop in Q3 2016, according to Strategy Analytics.

Apple investors now await the company's first quarter earnings results to see if the new MacBook Pro models will be able to reverse that trend.

Conversely, after several down quarters, the iPad has experienced a mostly upward trajectory over the past year, thanks largely in part to the iPad Pro's higher average selling price. Apple's tablet revenue is now stable on a year-over-year basis, after dipping as low as -21% one year ago.

Strategy Analytics senior analyst Eric Smith attributes the stabilizing effect to Apple's renewed focus on iPads. He said Apple entered the 2-in-1 tablet market with the iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard right in time to renew growth and capitalize on growing enterprise demand in the future.

Recognizing that Microsoft was changing the computing device market, Smith said Apple "pretty much forgot about Mac" in order to attack the 2-in-1 tablet segment with the release of iPad Pro models over the past year.Apple's move was rather effective, as iPad market share has stabilized at 22% over the past two years after declining for the previous four years. But it would seem it took a change in stance to get there as, in the past, Apple essentially dismissed the idea of releasing a tablet-notebook hybrid.

During a 2012 earnings call, when asked to comment on why the MacBook Air and iPad would not eventually converge, Apple CEO Tim Cook argued that combining the products would result in compromises. "You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator but those won't be pleasing to the user," he said.

By contrast, earlier this year Apple released a TV ad called "What's a Computer?" that positions the iPad Pro as a computer. "Imagine what your computer could do if your computer was an iPad Pro," the tagline concludes.

Likewise, Cook said the iPad Pro is a notebook or desktop computer replacement for many people. "They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones," he added. "I think if you're looking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?"

In the post-PC era, it is perhaps unsurprising that Apple's attention has shifted more towards the iPhone--and by extension, the iPad. But many faithful customers are hoping Apple will eventually turn its sights back to the Mac, following what some critics believe was a disappointing MacBook Pro update amid an aging lineup of Macs.

Rumors suggest Apple will launch new iMacs in the first six months of 2017, and at least one model is said to include an option for new AMD graphics chips. The roadmap for other Macs remains less clear.

Article Link: Apple's Renewed Focus on iPad Left the Mac Behind This Year

 

[RiddlaBronc]

It takes courage to neglect the mac line. Cant innovate my a**.

 

[crsh1976]

Clearly this is because people don't want to buy Macs anymore. The iPad is where it's at now. Tim Cook was right.

No doubt the iPad is great for a personal device, but the pro market is starved for good Macs - I can't do my job on an iPad (I tried, honest), none of the folks on my team can do their work on iPads either, especially those developers developing iOS apps that can only be done.. on Macs.

Tim Cook ought to either wake up or get fired, Apple is nothing short of cluster**** right now.

 

[macjonny1]

Personally I think it's great Apple isn't updating their computers regularly. I have a C2D macbook air that seems nearly as speedy as the current one, for example. So Apple, please continue your lack of upgrades it makes me feel great having a computer from 2010 and really not jealous at all.

 

[Appleaker]

Given that Apple has a longer generational gap than any other major similar company... it's certainly an... odd decision to time a release 2 months before critical components refresh.

If Dell, Lenovo etc can sit out this Christmas season for January - companies with a fraction of the monetary reserves as Apple - it seems odd Apple can't wait 8 weeks.

It's about Christmas sales, not customer needs... and a crippled machine for 18 months.

Probably because everything was already finalised since it was wet to be announced at WWDC, which would have been understandable. But seeing as Kaby Lake isn't game changing, maybe they wanted to get them out ASAP since a lot of people were complaining.

 

[RobDacoder]

What happened to "Think Different"

It seems to me that Tim's plan is to "Think Less"

Tims plan is to think stock holders, where Steves was not...

 

[superberg]

What happens when your iPad needs to be restored? Oh yeah, I'll plug it into my PC or Mac.

Nah, go to an Apple Store -- get ready for a drive if you don't live within 20 miles of an affluent neighborhood -- make an appointment to come back in a week, then get it taken care of.

 

[magicschoolbus]

If that is true, where do they go from here? iPad has peaked and is now on the decline. iPhone has peaked (it will likely get a bump next year but the market is otherwise saturated). The Watch, while maybe not a bust, was certainly not the next great thing that Cook thought it was going to be.

While not "doomed", where is the growth in this company going to come from?

iPhone, App Store, Keep pushing iPad down peoples throats until they are faster then the current computer lineup.

Not like they really made the new Macbook Pro's that much faster anyway.

 

[Pootmatoot]

So do I, in fact I manage remote Windows servers with a MacBook, Windows in my honest opinion is lightyears behind OS X...

Really? With the convergence of touch/mouse across the wider industry, Apple seems to be walking towards a cliff.

 

[Mainsail]

You're definitely not using either for anything other than sending gramma and grandpa pictures of your cat. Call me when you try running Photoshop, encoding and editing video, managing 30,000 fonts, etc.

What a snotty reply. How about people that write multi-million dollar contracts, manage departments of analyst, make presentations on projects and budgets, send proposals to clients? You know folks that have real jobs and make an excellent living doing it, but never use photoshop or encode/edit video. I am talking about people with significant responsibilities that need to get **** done. Why do some folks on this form think that only their needs represent real work and describe everyone else as unsophisticated boobs posting cat photos on facebook.....give me a break!

 

[Rob_2811]

Clearly this is because people don't want to buy Macs anymore. The iPad is where it's at now. Tim Cook was right.

Yes, the iPad, which saw marginal revenue growth earlier this year for the first time in ten quarters, sales numbers down for eight consecutive quarters and currently at their lowest level in five years, is "where its at".

Really hope you weren't being serious.

 

[RobDacoder]

When you can build iOS apps with an iOS device, then you'll see the shift, iOS is plenty flexible enough to take Apple into the next phase but what they need right now is a leader with some balls to implement the change, instead of pandering to the stock holders...

 

[LordVic]

Clearly this is because people don't want to buy Macs anymore. The iPad is where it's at now. Tim Cook was right.

The failure of this logic is that the iPad has also seen stagnation and declining sales.

If iPad sales were improving there might be some correlation. But both Apple Macs and Apple iPads have been shrinking sales. The iPhone also had shrinking sales over the last couple quarters.

So the question is:
if most of their hardware lines are shrinking in sales. Where is the profit margin coming from? And where is the optimism that Tim Cook is constantly saying?

And while, there are many users who could probably get by with just an iPad, the world still needs a real computer, either in a tablet, or desktop form factor. The iPad, especially with iOS, while great for looks and feel, and ease of use, falls dramatically short on what a lot of users want in a computer.

 

[Pootmatoot]

What a snotty reply. How about people that write multi-million dollar contracts, manage departments of analyst, make presentations on projects and budgets, send proposals to clients? You know folks that have real jobs and make an excellent living doing it, but never use photoshop or encode/edit video. I am talking about people with significant responsibilities that need to get **** done. Why do some folks on this form think that only their needs represent real work and describe everyone else as unsophisticated boobs posting cat photos on facebook.....give me a break!

The things you listed are basic computer functions covered by a 2007 netbook...

The "Pro" part, until this release, wasn't about your employment, but your professional need - ie needing a more capable machine.

 

[VulchR]

Scientist here: I use Mac's because I need their number crunching, and the Apple 'ecosystem' starts looking much less attractive to me without the Mac. I never, ever want to return to having centralised number-crunching facilities that are accessed by a dumb terminal like an iPad.

 

[superberg]

What a snotty reply. How about people that write multi-million dollar contracts, manage departments of analyst, make presentations on projects and budgets, send proposals to clients? You know folks that have real jobs and make an excellent living doing it, but never use photoshop or encode/edit video. I am talking about people with significant responsibilities that need to get **** done. Why do some folks on this form think that only their needs represent real work and describe everyone else as unsophisticated boobs posting cat photos on facebook.....give me a break!

To be honest, I don't know a single person that does work with an iOS device alone. They'll use a smartphone for communication (phone/email/text/misc messaging), but they all use laptops for their work.

I support thousands of users across several school districts all over Illinois, as well as several medium-sized businesses.

I have never, ever, ever, seen someone do all their work on an iPad.

CLARIFICATION: I have seen people try, myself included. No one has lasted more than a few days.

 

[Appleaker]

My grandma once tried to type an email on my ipad got a look of disgust and said "I can't use that thing". Granted she's not very tech savvy, you need a proper mouse/trackpad as well as a keyboard to even begin to have a PC replacement for the majority of tech-literate users.

That's not true, it's replaced the primary computer for a lot of people. Granted, most people still have an old PC for doing things they can't/don't know they can do on an iPad. For me, it would have to have a mouse/trackpad and a keyboard, as you say, and also run macOS on an ARM chip, meaning it would have support for macOS apps (through emulation) and iOS apps. So basically not an iPad but a touch screen, detachable Mac.

 

[magicschoolbus]

What a snotty reply. How about people that write multi-million dollar contracts, manage departments of analyst, make presentations on projects and budgets, send proposals to clients? You know folks that have real jobs and make an excellent living doing it, but never use photoshop or encode/edit video. I am talking about people with significant responsibilities that need to get **** done. Why do some folks on this form think that only their needs represent real work and describe everyone else as unsophisticated boobs posting cat photos on facebook.....give me a break!

Because this is a mac forum.

 

[Appleaker]

It can't replace my MacBook Pro. It can't replace my wife's MacBook Air. It can't replace my kid's PC's for homework. It can't replace my mom's iMac, and even my father went back to his PC for playing solitaire. So in my surroundings not a soul would be happy with just an iPad, and these people are all over the digital/non-digital spectrum.

Ok but there are still a lot of people that have replaced/could replace their primary computer with an iPad. It's a surprising amount but it's still not everyone and I don't think (or hope) it will be everyone until Apple make the iPad into a touch enabled Mac.

 

[melendezest]

Yes. A thousand times, yes.

As someone who supports HUNDREDS of iOS devices in EDU/Enterprise, the many limitations of Springboard (and iOS in general) are maddening. Apple has been slowly -- very slowly -- improving management, but their own tools (Profile Manager, Apple Configurator) are lackluster, and alternatives are not cheap.

As a power user, I'd love to use an iPad Pro as my only portable device. But it's not there yet, from a usability standpoint.

And herein lies the biggest evidence of Tim's lack of vision and direction.

Neither the Mac nor iOS are living up to their potential. They are just stagnating.

iOS should have become a suitable laptop (and maybe even desktop) replacement by now.

I mean, it is for many, but Apple needs to open it up for power users. It is a touch-based version of OS X after all, at least according to Steve Jobs. File-system access, customization, mouse support, etc. This would make a suitable consumer product to replace the consumer Macs like the iMac and (so-called) MacBooks. A Surface Studio-like, iOS-based iMac replacement and 2-in-1 iOSbooks and iPads.

The Mac Pro needs to revert back to being a REAL truck. Expandable (internally, dammit), compatible, (standard, non-proprietary) hardware configurable, and powerful as all get out. The Macbook Pro needs the same treatment: a portable truck that puts power and flexibility above thinness, all without sacrificing Apple's expected elegance. The 2011/2012 cMBPs come to mind here, and the (PC equivalent) Razer Blade Pro.

The Macintosh then becomes the truck OS, "de-iOSified" and completely separate from the consumer-oriented-but-still-powerful "new" iOS.

In other words, make iOS more Mac-like instead of turning OS X/macOS (and the hardware that runs it) into iOS (and the devices that run it).

I think Steve would have gotten here, but alas, we'll never know.