Mac Sales Continue to Slide Amid Lack of Updates

[MacRumors]

Amid a continuing decline in worldwide PC shipments, Apple is also experiencing a decline according to new PC shipping estimates from Gartner. During the third quarter of 2016, Apple shipped an estimated 5 million Macs, down from 5.7 million in the year-ago quarter for a 13.4 percent decline in growth.

Apple's 3Q 2016 market share comes in at 6.7 percent, down from 7.3 percent in 3Q 2015, securing the company's position as the number five worldwide PC vendor after Lenovo, HP, Dell, and Asus. While top PC vendor Lenovo saw a small drop in shipments, HP, Dell, and Asus saw growth in the range of two percent.

Gartner's Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q16 (Thousands of Units)​

Lenovo shipped an estimated 14.4 million PCs during the quarter, while HP shipped 14 million, Dell shipped 10 million, and Asus shipped 5.4 million. Acer, the number six worldwide PC vendor, was nearly on par with Apple's shipments at 4.6 million units sent out. Shipments from other smaller manufacturers were at 15 million, a 16.2 percent decline from the year-ago quarter.

In the United States, Apple shipped an estimated two million Macs, a 10.7 percent decline from the 2.3 million shipped in 3Q 2015.

Gartner's Preliminary U.S. Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q16 (Thousands of Units)​

According to Gartner's estimates, overall worldwide PC shipments fell 5.7 percent to 68.9 million units, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of decline, which it said is the "longest duration of decline" in the history of the PC industry.

Apple's U.S. Market Share Trend: 1Q06-3Q16 (Gartner)​

IDC also released its own shipment estimates, noting a 3.9 percent decline in overall worldwide PC shipments. According to IDC's numbers, which are very similar to Gartner's, Apple shipped 5 million Macs during 3Q 2016, a decline of 13 percent from 3Q 2015.

Almost all of Apple's Mac line is in desperate need of an update. Aside from the Retina MacBook, no other machines have received updates in 2016, leaving customers to eagerly await new models.

According to rumors, Apple is planning to introduce a revamped MacBook Pro as soon as later this month, said to feature a redesigned, thinner body, a flatter keyboard, a wider pressure-sensitive trackpad, and most notably, an OLED display touch panel that replaces the physical function keys.

Touch ID may be built into this panel, and it will include updated Intel processors, improved graphics, and USB C/Thunderbolt 3 support. Other Macs, like the Mac Pro, the Mac mini, iMac, and the MacBook Air are due for updates, but it is not yet clear when these machines will receive refreshes.

Article Link: Mac Sales Continue to Slide Amid Lack of Updates

 

[farewelwilliams]

well there's a shocker...

/sarcasm

 

[yaxomoxay]

real news would be the opposite trend.

 

[UKPoliticsGuy]

It's like they've stopped caring.

 

[DrumApple]

Very foolish of them to let things slip like this for so long.

 

[ksnell]

Really glad to see the market is responding!

Only *real* Apple fanboys would defend this Mac lineup.

 

[Mattsasa]

I can't believe 5 million macs sold last quarter... So sad

 

[azentropy]

As reflected in the buyers guide and I mentioned like 3 months ago, there isn't a single system I'd recommend to any of my friends/family to buy right now.

 

[xmonkey]

"According to rumors, Apple is planning to introduce a revamped MacBook Pro as soon as next month"

Uh, please tell me this was written in September.

 

[GREEN4U]

What's the point of that huge new spaceship if all they're doing is making emojis.

That car better be amazing...

 

[snowboarder]

how much longer?

 

[krause734]

This is just as good as it gets folks. No new technology.

 

[26theone]

second paragraph the numbers quoted (based on the chart) are Acer's not Apple's

 

[tubeexperience]

Who would have thought that selling terribly outdated tech at full retail prices would lead to declining sales?

 

[Jcxa]

Next month, Next Month!!!! What happened to the vaulted October Release??? Mac Charlie Brown and what is with the skimpy updates? You've had two Years. Who are you and what have you done with Apple?

 

[enc0re]

If top management has stopped caring about the Mac, I wish they would appoint an executive dedicated to the Macintosh. This is a multi-billion dollar business that deserves competent leadership. Seriously, it would not be hard to make Mac hardware competitive.

1. Just give us annual refreshes with current components for starters.
2. Next, make the Mac Pro a 'cross over product' that could be specced with desktop class or workstation class components. No more: either workstation or laptop on a stick nonsense, with a gaping hole in the middle.
3. And by God, fix your damn OpenGL drivers!

 

[Cartoonkid]

To the person who came up with the article title...thank you, Captain Obvious.

 

[rowspaxe]

6 years ago I would not consider a pc laptop. Now I would not consider a Mac

 

[ToomeyND]

I can't believe 5 million macs sold last quarter... So sad

I'm one of them. I sold my (and my wife's) MBA in April thinking for sure they would be released within the week. There was an Apple event back then for something.

Anyway, we are both in school, so I had to pick up new ones before the school year started. I'm not particularly pleased, but I made this bed...

 

[Cartoonkid]

If top management has stopped caring about the Mac, I wish they would appoint an executive dedicated to the Macintosh. This is a multi-billion dollar business that deserves competent leadership. Seriously, it would not be hard to make Mac hardware competitive.

1. Just give us annual refreshes with current components for starters.
2. Next, make the Mac Pro a 'cross over product' that could be specced with desktop class or workstation class components. No more: either workstation or laptop on a stick nonsense, with a gaping hole in the middle.
3. And by God, fix your damn OpenGL drivers!

Any executives who had free time on their hands are all tied up on the Apple Car.

 

[MRrainer]

Maybe if MR didn't have "Don't buy" stickers beneath each of them, they'd sell more ;-)

That said, I bought a MB12 for work last month and I admit I did so because it was the only one recently updated. I would not have bought a Gen-1 MB12.
Though, on all other platforms, the increases in CPU and GPU power are less significant when comparing SkyLake/KabyLake and Haswell/Broadwell. So while it's two years old, the latest CPUs aren't much faster.
It's really more of a psychological problem.

 

[gugy]

Damn you Apple, release updates this month to the entire Mac line up. Enough is enough.

 

[Sefstah]

I would love an updated Mac line, but at the same time I'm super satisfied with my 2015 MacBook Pro. If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it!

 

[TurboPGT!]

5 million Macs sold last quarter despite there being nothing new in Mac in a while...impressive.

All other PC manufacturers that are doing nothing but trying to sell PCs, should be doing much better, but instead are doing pretty poorly.

Mac sales are definitely pretty steady. They own a certain market segment, and command 90% of the purchases in the $1000+ space, routinely.

You can all whine about the lack of updates. Doesn't hurt Apple much. Or consumers. Current Macs are still great Macs. Along the margins it hurts a bit, since the Pro-pros don't have a new Mac Pro, and the new MacBook Pros are taking their time getting here. But all in all, this matters very very little.

 

[Thunderbird]

How long should I "stay tuned" for?