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Kuo: MacBook Sales Down 30% Amid No New Products for Remainder of 2023
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A big issue is that the M1 was a great processor and a lot of people bought it right out the gate and have no need to upgrade. I have an M1 Mini and an M2 MBA and use both daily. I can detect no fundamental difference between the 2 machines. If it wasn’t for the form factor (15 inch MBA) I would have been plenty happy with another M1 machine.
I agree fully with your sentiments. Apple makes great products, but they also engage in nickel and dime tactics when it comes to the pricing of various things.
Upgrades are one example, iCloud is another, and let's not even get started on Apple accessories.
My kids have M1 MBA's purchased in December 2020. Those still run flawlessly. I have a M1 MBP purchased in 2022 - best computer I have ever owned - by a long shot. There was a huge wave of upgrades over the past three years and the useful lifespan of a computer is, minimum, five years - really closer to 10 if you don't need cutting edge.
Apple silicon is a step above here, but I have a three year old Thinkpad and Intel iMac for work, and both of those continue to run flawlessly as well - with no compelling reason to consider upgrading them other than our company's regular upgrade cadence.
The device I'm really waiting to see what they do something with is the iPad Pro. My 11" Pro from 2018 still feels and runs like a new device. In large part that's because Apple really nailed the form factor and have been wise enough not to change it. However, it also speaks to Apple's confusing iPad strategy. Why on earth are there so many iPad variants? Why did we get a (very marginally) cheaper Pencil?? The iPad has always been a fantastic product that Apple has never quite figured out what to do with.
Apple silicon is a step above here, but I have a three year old Thinkpad and Intel iMac for work, and both of those continue to run flawlessly as well - with no compelling reason to consider upgrading them other than our company's regular upgrade cadence.
The device I'm really waiting to see what they do something with is the iPad Pro. My 11" Pro from 2018 still feels and runs like a new device. In large part that's because Apple really nailed the form factor and have been wise enough not to change it. However, it also speaks to Apple's confusing iPad strategy. Why on earth are there so many iPad variants? Why did we get a (very marginally) cheaper Pencil?? The iPad has always been a fantastic product that Apple has never quite figured out what to do with.
These nightmare accounts of fall MacBook and iPad sales are truly on overload. Let's look a bit at reality:
1) Apple sold an absolute boatload of Macs and iPads from the Spring of 2020 through the end of 2021 as seemingly everyone needed one to work or school from home. Comparing current sales to that boom period is just ridiculous.
2) The M-Series Macs and iPads are amazing. No one needs to upgrade their M1 to M2. These computers will last most people six to eight years. The people upgrading are still using Intel based Macs.
3) Look at the introduction dates of current MacBooks:
I left out the 13" MacBook Pro because I can't understand why anyone would buy that product... for a fan? for the stupid TouchBar? The Air is a better product.
Anyway, the 24" iMac and the MacBook Air are the only products more than a year old. They are obviously waiting for the M3 processor to be ready for their next upgrade, but regardless of that, for any one upgrading their Intel MacBook Air, the current M2 machine is light years better than what they are using now, and they'd probably never notice the difference with whatever the M3 will eventually offer.
So with all this on the table, it is no surprise that Mac sales are down from last year or two years ago. And even with that decline, how many billions of dollars does the company still take in on the sales that do happen? It is still a huge number.
1) Apple sold an absolute boatload of Macs and iPads from the Spring of 2020 through the end of 2021 as seemingly everyone needed one to work or school from home. Comparing current sales to that boom period is just ridiculous.
2) The M-Series Macs and iPads are amazing. No one needs to upgrade their M1 to M2. These computers will last most people six to eight years. The people upgrading are still using Intel based Macs.
3) Look at the introduction dates of current MacBooks:
- MacBook Air with M2: July 2022
- MacBook Pro with M2 Pro or M2 Max: January 2023
- Mac Mini with M2 or M2 Pro: January 2023
- Mac Studio with M2 Max or M2 Ultra: June 2023
- iMac with M1: May 2021
Anyway, the 24" iMac and the MacBook Air are the only products more than a year old. They are obviously waiting for the M3 processor to be ready for their next upgrade, but regardless of that, for any one upgrading their Intel MacBook Air, the current M2 machine is light years better than what they are using now, and they'd probably never notice the difference with whatever the M3 will eventually offer.
So with all this on the table, it is no surprise that Mac sales are down from last year or two years ago. And even with that decline, how many billions of dollars does the company still take in on the sales that do happen? It is still a huge number.
Fully agree. I do not mind paying more for a premium built computer with a superior OS. But making a MBA 15" 1.5 times more expensive fur just 16 GB RAM and a SSD of 1TB is outrageous and insulting. It's like paying extra for a Mercedes to have wheels.
I'm going to buy a MBA 15" M3, but will wait until they come at a proper discount.
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A good point well made. Poor choice of words on my part. Replace with most buyers who are of a mind to update their hardware on a semi-regular basis 👍
In the end, if you are struggling to sell something, it’s too expensive.
Just speaking for myself (and not any one of my multiple personalities), I am holding off on when the M3 gets released in one of those MacBooks. Probably looking like next year. And I can easily wait that long.
Though I might be tempted by a reduction in price on say an M2 Macbook during some Black Friday type deals later on this fall.
Though I might be tempted by a reduction in price on say an M2 Macbook during some Black Friday type deals later on this fall.
The M1 was such a great leap forward that subsequent revisions feel more iterative than innovative. Once your customer base has an M1 or M2 computer, it’s a really tough sell to upgrade to an M3 without some significant upgrades to justify the money (i.e., 1Tb as default storage, 16Gb as default RAM)
I’ve been a multi-decade Apple fan and consumer. However, the hubris and outright contempt for customers has made me seriously reconsider my relationship with Apple.
Specifically, the M2 Mac Pro took far too long for, what turned out to be, a massive disappointment; plus the failed iPhone 15 Pro, which I returned after a week of use.
Not to mention that nearly every OS has an infestation of bugs that takes months to work out.
I am beyond frustrated by a once great company taking their customer’s money for granted.
Specifically, the M2 Mac Pro took far too long for, what turned out to be, a massive disappointment; plus the failed iPhone 15 Pro, which I returned after a week of use.
Not to mention that nearly every OS has an infestation of bugs that takes months to work out.
I am beyond frustrated by a once great company taking their customer’s money for granted.
Same. I had no reason to wait on the M3, and the 13" M2 I bought last month is an incredible machine. Since my previous 2 Intel space heaters lasted 6-7 years each, this Apple Silicon model should easily give me that many years of service.
Too expensive/don't represent value for money/ludicrously priced storage & RAM upgrades = Sales tanking
You take it to a 3rd party repair guy who knows how to solder. He swaps the chips not the entire logic board like Apple employees do. There are many places with skilled technicians. Apple is forced to do logic board swaps because skilled techs are too few in numbers to have some in every Apple retail store. One of these guys swapped out a part on a logic board while I waited, took about 3 minutes. He works under a binocular microscope.
Yes and no I think. M1 was a home run and are still good and most people with m1 do not need to upgrade. But for people still on intel machines, the upgrade prizes (since 8/256 is ludicrous) are off putting. For example, instead of purchasing a m2 mb air 15 I bought a refurbished -practically unused- M1 Pro with 1tb, 16gb via a nonApple dealer for way less than it would cost me to buy a mb air 15. These are “lost” sales for Apple I think?
I don't really understand the logic of the rumor. Because there are no refreshes planned, demand is down? Usually it is the opposite: if a refresh IS planned, sales go down as people anticipate the new one coming out. If it is going to be the same model for a while, one would think sales would be fairly steady.
I wonder if it’s time to finally blame it on radical macOS UI changes in recent releases, which all started from Ive’s ugly flat UI
I know it, but this is at odds with Apple's statements and policies on repairability.
Apple has created a website for the repairability of its products, there are official service manuals, it sells spare parts and rents official repair equipment.
It claims to favor do-it-yourself repairs and third-party repairers, but solders its own memories when it could insert a connector like on old MacBook Air.
My old MacBook Air 11" is smaller, weighs less, has a larger and easily replaceable battery, has more connections than my Air M1 and has an easily replaceable SSD. It seems paradoxical but it's true. Luckily they claim to support the right to repair, but comparing the two MacBook Airs 10 years apart, the more repairable one seems to be the old one.
😵💫
My MBP with M1 Pro and 16GB Ram probably will keep me for the next 8-10 years
I have a 2020 M1 MBP 13 and I’m seriously not looking at another MacBook until 2027. I might detour with a 32 inch iMac or Mac Studio around 2026.
Most Mac user's don't care about the M3.
People who say "I need an M3" - really? No one knows what the performance advantages are.... reducing the CPU size doesn't mean you'll get fantastic performance results as a result.
M1 machines are still great machines now and unless that machine no longer performs- lack of RAM, storage space, there's no reason to upgrade "just because a new model comes out".
People who say "I need an M3" - really? No one knows what the performance advantages are.... reducing the CPU size doesn't mean you'll get fantastic performance results as a result.
M1 machines are still great machines now and unless that machine no longer performs- lack of RAM, storage space, there's no reason to upgrade "just because a new model comes out".
Fear not Apple fans, this slowdown seems to be industry wide, not just Apple only.