Mac Revenue Down 34% Year-Over-Year, But Tim Cook Expects 'Significant' Improvement With M3 Macs

[HobeSoundDarryl]

The company may be expecting more revenue, not necessarily more unit sales. Higher average prices can still generate more revenue even if unit sales decline.

And this appears to be the plan. Why? Because so far it has worked, and worked, and worked again. It wasn't that long ago that margin was UNDER 40%. How much longer until it exceeds 50%?

As long as the masses find ways to rationalize higher prices, higher pricing for each unit sold can work. However, if those masses ever reach their "too rich for my blood" moment, watch out. History is full of this very same tale and it always has the same outcome once it reaches that point.

Look through this thread... on a site devoted to Apple, frequented by Apple fans who will passionately defend any Apple moves, even at their own expense. What percentage of people in this thread seem to be near that point? If fans can feel like RAM & SSD is too expensive, "making me hang on to my existing Mac for a few more years", etc... how do the NOT-fans feel not loaded with "good old days" goodwill accumulations?

That's a rhetorical question: I don't know. But their buying actions or inactions this year will very tangibly paint a picture of higher pricing acceptance or rejection. Is this yet another year of (whine loudly but) "just pay up" or do people unhappy at "insane pricing" vote with their wallets? TBD.

 

[AF_APPLETALK]

i don't give a ****. Maybe next time don't' sound like a ****ing price next time.

Both unhinged and unintelligible 😑

 

[vivek28]

Its gonna go down even more, if they keep base model Macs with 8gb RAM in 2023 and asking the premium.

 

[lowkey]

The difference being, he's stating facts, you're guessing.

Cool, the Geekbench score for the 11Core M3Pro is out?
Can you link them??

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

this is just not a mac thing. sales for consumer goods have been poor across multiple industries since 2022

...and yet, while there are a number of major industries with many players reporting weaker revenue, profit margin- just like Apple's in these 'difficult' times- is fattening... as if inflation, supply chain issues, covid, etc do not seem to apply to their costs (and/or they pass through those costs and THEN SOME to consumers).

Multiple industries since 2022 seem to be thriving, even if some have falling sales. How can that be? They are squeezing more out of each (fewer) customer(s). Profit is the key measure... and fattening profit can cover weakening revenue for some amount of time (but not forever).

I suspect Mac is dealing with:

• the robustness of M1 still being "plenty" for anyone,
• some of the Intel crowd feeling their Macs are still "good enough" too (and some needing the dual use of full Windows in bootcamp).
• the rejection of overly exploitive prices of RAM & SSD, priced just too high relative to what the market for both says they should be... if there could be competition for both.
• entry level pricing of competitor offerings being so much lower than Apple that price-sensitive buyers are opting to go for either much cheaper ones with similar core configs or much more loaded PCs at Mac pricing. A Mac budget will buy a LOT of PC.

I'm an Apple everything guy and was ready and willing to buy a new MBair 15" on launch... until I upped the config to what I wanted and it ran above MBpro prices. Longer story short: I ended up replacing a battery for $55 in the MB I already own and will now not have any interest in a new Mac until maybe an M5 or so... and that's if the value proposition for more RAM & SSD is improved by them. Else, I may go PC laptop, which I would have never considered in the last 10 years or so.

No great love for Windows or PC at all but I just won't farrrrrrrr overpay for RAM & SSD. Along with maximizing ROI for shareholders, a company must strive to maximize value for customers. Shareholders can't enjoy "another record quarter..." without those customers opening their wallets. Choices to maximize revenue per unit sold this year to generate that widening margin, kept this Apple guys wallet closed... and even motivated me choose some non-Apple tech that would have traditionally never even been considered 5-15 years ago.

 

[picpicmac]

Little surprise then that they've received this kick in the teeth

What "kick in the teeth"?

Apple's computer sales are in line with how the entire industry is going.

 

[VisceralRealist]

As much as those of us on this forum enjoy Macs, they don't bring in the Sacagaweas. Expect more subscription services in the future--that's where the money is.

 

[sinoka56]

Retain the Macbook air / pro base price and set it to 16GB / 512GB then I'll consider.

 

[ViralTrendsToday]

Yeah I don't see an increase in mac sales, unless they do flash sales on refurbished macs, I feel most people would rather buy an m1 or m2 at a discount now especially in 32+gb variations . All they had to do was release the 13 inch with a new screen and a 32 gb option starting at the same price but across the board 16gb minimum w 1tb . That would sell a lot with those waiting . At this point it looks like Apple is purely in the business of deceiving non tech savvy / new clientel .

 

[ViralTrendsToday]

Agreed

 

[bousozoku]

I'm going to buy a m3 mac soon, because i need it to replace a very old intel mac of more than 10 years

I replaced my day-to-day mid-2012 quad-core i7 MacBook Pro with a 2020 MacBook Air with the highest configuration possible, but refurbished. There is only one problem. My heater has to run more often.

 

[StupidOpinion]

diminishing returns hit hard after the m1. it's like a sata ssd. the improvement you went from 5400/7200 RPM HDD to a SATA 2 SSD was huge. however, going from SATA 2 SSD to PCIE 5 SSD x16 ain't gonna be much of a difference to the average consumer.

if apple needed the sales, they should've just let their products be thin and used this as an excuse for why they can't jam so many cores into their machines.

 

[madebybela]

making devices so powerful they can last more than a decade but being flabbergasted that you're not seeing massive gains in sales in every year, I'll never get it.

 

[mentaluproar]

I'm still really happy with my M1 Pro MacBook Pro. Even if I had the finances I see no compelling reason to upgrade. That chip really is holding up well over time, and I suspect that might hurt apple. Their ram pricing is comical. They need to drop the BS and get their profits from volume not from pricing. Drop the prices and they'll sell just fine. There are plenty of intel users looking for such a chance to jump.

Where they really need to worry is iPhones IMO. They feel so stale. I get not making big changes that alienate your user base, but changes can be exciting.

 

[V.K.]

no 27'' imac = no upgrade for me.

 

[KevinN206]

The last week I have read so many negative posts. So many demanding people here. Most people should be happy with the amazing product they already have and they don’t need to upgrade, just because some new and shiny just got out. I still have my MacBook Pro 2014 and I get a new iPad/Iphone every 5 years.
They worst though is all the complaining, I guess there are many unhappy people here.

People are just unhappy that a $1600 pro laptop comes with just 8 GB of RAM and one external monitor support.

 

[V.K.]

Exactly like my story… and probably many others. I think a new M-chip iMac 27” would convince many users to upgrade their Macs.

I’m currently running a 2017 iMac 27 which honestly is doing fine, but am looking for an upgrade for 2-3 years without any fitting offering from Apple.

Also, those prices.. the world is just expensive at the moment, and Apple is starting to leave the sweet spot with their pricing.

same here. I've got a 27'' 2017 imac. it's still fine but is getting a bit long in the tooth. I really don't want to downgrade to a 24'' screen and Mac Studio +display cost and arm and two legs.

 

[KevinN206]

Just ordered the MPB Pro 3M Max for the same reason. Few devices out there can last 10 years and be functional.

The hardware can do it, but Sonoma is limited to MacBook Pro 2018 or newer, so about five years of latest OS upgrades. Cross your fingers.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Its also the pricing. I know inflation exists but still, these things are becoming somewhat pricey...especially when you start upgrading RAM and storage.

Entry-level pricing is meaningless when you have Macs shipping with the same amount of RAM as an iPhone...in 2023.

Its kinda telling that after the M3 updates were announced, pretty much all the M2 MBPs in the refurb store that i'd seen earlier had disappeared. Buyers likely opted for those instead.

With Apple Silicon, Mac upgrades may become similar to iPad upgrades unlike the Intel era. You buy a new one if the old one dies or is no longer getting updates. And then sell a kidney to pay for it.

Yep, why would you spend $1,000's on a new M3 Mac, when your M1 version is already overkill?

There will have to be some extraordinary new benefit for me to upgrade mine before it starts getting long in the tooth.

I can't see how Tim's confidence of the M3 changing things matches reality in any way. Who is left that hasn't already jumped on an Apple Silicon machine, except for those that can't afford it? The ever rising Apple prices aren't going to convince them in a hurry.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

I have a 14-inch base MacBook Pro with M1 Pro/16GB/512GB.

I would be inclined to upgrade, but the storage and RAM upgrades are ridiculously priced. I get it, everything is integrated on-chip, but it’s still a tough pill to swallow.

I added a 1TB Crucial PCIe 4.0 SSD to my Intel NUC media server for around $50 shipped from Amazon. Apple’s pricing for upgrades just makes my head spin.

Absolutely.

FYI, the SSD in NOT integrated on-chip, only the RAM. There is simply no special excuse for Apple's SSD prices. They aren't even particularly fast anymore.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Not with these RAM and SSD prices.

Yep, I swallowed those prices for my own machine (an M1 generation, which I have zero intention of upgrading anytime soon), as I get a lot of use out of it.

But my vague desire to upgrade my son's ancient MBA is squashed by the insanity of Apple's idea of RAM/SSD prices.

 

[TheLunaPark]

Who is left that hasn't already jumped on an Apple Silicon machine, except for those that can't afford it?

Still running a 2017 iMac with 32GB RAM and one or two other spec-up‘s. Still runs really well, never slows down etc despite running quite large Logic Pro projects with a lot of plugins. Now the 2017 iMac has reached the end of the road in terms of new macOS versions, I’m starting to think about replacing it. I can comfortably afford to, but I just can’t bring myself to do it with Apple’s pathetic pricing for RAM and SSD upgrades. Mac’s have never been cheap of course, but base specs and upgrade prices are simply insulting nowadays. I honestly hope Mac sales continue to plummet if it leads them to finally doing the right thing for a change and not ripping off their customers.

 

[DarthDon]

I personally was looking forward to buy the 15" Macbook Air. Instead came a MBP 16 2019 with I9 32, 512 and 8GB graphic card. Half of that price, mint condition. It recodes all of my data so quickly that you can no longer keep up with scrolling.
Besides, I also think that people have upgraded to M1 and the difference from M1 is too small. Since Apple has been making new OSes available over the years, only those who actually get a new one will buy something new because the old one is broken. Exceptions may be newcomers or people who bought entry-level devices at the time.

 

[svish]

Apple believes the new M3 Macs can help boost Mac revenue. No reason to upgrade from M1/M2 Macs. People with Intel Macs can definitely upgrade

 

[thecades]

Most don't need these costly improvements. We need less expensive MacBooks. My next MacBook will be a 15" Air in 2025 because the Pro touchbar & the 13" are dead & gone.