It’s because Intel et. Al actually see macs as a threat to their market share. Gone are the niche days, and the lower cost, relatively high performance and low watt draw don’t help.
Lower cost!!?? what world are you living in?? Apple macs are still very expensive compared to their Intel counterparts. Even the lowest priced mac mini which does not come with a screen I can purchase a complete Intel based computer (screen, keyboard, mouse) cheaper.
If someone who does not have a computer wants to experience the interent, gaming, office applications, communicating to friends and family and they are on a budget, they will never purchase and Apple computer because for what limited requirments they need an Apple computer is way to expensive.
People need to stop and think that Apple is not just in the US, it is worldwide and outside of the US, Apple macs are very expensive when compared against Intel machines. This is why Apple will never be able to compete with Intel because for the price of a cheap base unit Apple mac mini (no screen), a person can purchase a complete Intel machine, screen and all for cheaper than Apples cheapest mac. It is therefore a no brainer why people purchase Intel instead of Apple. Now in the US, this could be totally different because Apple can compete with Intel on an even level (no extra taxes or fees to pay unlike they do with international customers).
For example, and it's the easiest to do, I went to Apple's UK website to look at the prices of their base mac models:
Base model 24inch iMac - £1249
Base model 27inch iMac - £1799
Base model mac mini - £699 (remember these do not come with a screen as standard)
Base model Mac Pro - £5499 (remember these do not come with a screen as standard)
Yes people will quote the hardware specs of the machines and yes the machines do have good specs BUT at the end of the day, in my opinion the majority of computer buyers are not looking for such high specs for their basic needs and this is where the problem lies, Apple do not cater for the basic needs of computer buyers outside of the US. They over spec their machines and put a high price on them. Dell, HP and Asus can all provide decent spec'd machines for a computer buyers basic needs that are a fraction of the cost of Apple's.
Again, as this post relates to Apple outside of the US, companies and business look for cost savings and unless there is a specific requirement to use a Apple MAc, a company will purchase the cheaper option which happens to be an Intel machine. Apple will never ever be able to compete with Intel when it comes to international customers because their prices are too high. Inside the US there will always be a power struggle between Apple and Intel but outside of the US, Intel knows it will never be beaten.
