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Mac Sales Continue to Slide Amid Lack of Updates

My worry is they have an event and release a new iMac and MacBook Pro and then leave the rest.

If they update all the Macs in one event, that'd be good. I don't mean radical changes across the board - the Mac mini just needs a spec bump, for example.
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azentropy said:
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.
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Same here. My dad's Mac mini from 2009 is slow as hell and I keep telling him to hold out... that the rumour mill says new macs coming ... but he needs one soon.
 
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iOS and relevant products are the new Apple. Those of you holding onto desktop products and "macOS" are as delusional as Atari and Amiga fanboys were in the late 80s and early 90s.

My iPad Pro has easily replaced my laptop needs. For desktop chores I use what every sane person uses. A Windows based PC. Apple Watch and iPhone round out the rest. Roku is kicking Apple's ass for TV though. I hardly ever turn my ATV on anymore.
 
Even if they released new hardware this fall, I'd be scared to see what they charged for it.

As it is, Macs are just hopelessly overpriced - especially in non US currency - compared to what you got a couple of years ago. My MacBook Pro 15 mid-2009 with dedicated GPU cost 1800 € and now i would have to pay 2800€ for such a device.

I'm sure the apple apologists will tell lots of things that justify the price. You're still wrong!
 
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Like many in this thread, I've been a Mac user nearly all my computing life. In fact, I just realised that this year is the 20th anniversary of my first Mac purchase. In that time, I've been the most dedicated Mac evangelist you could imagine.

Right now? I'm using this rMBP to compile a parts list to build my own PC. I've had enough. For less money I can build a freakin' killer computer. My wife did it two years ago and now it's time to follow suit.

And while I'm excited about getting a new computer - seriously, a customised build with a gorgeous case looks amazing, if anyone is worried about losing the prime aesthetics of a Mac - I'm also kinda sad. I want to use Mac OS. But Apple are not giving me any options.

Researching this PC build has been a real eye-opener. I'm constantly showing prospective builds to my wife, usually with a comment of "imagine if you could do this with a Mac".

Ah well.
 
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The coming update and probably news of discontinued products does not worry me, what worries me is that the rest of the Mac laptops and desktops are following the Mac Pro update schedules.

Apple's strategy seems to milk the products for as long as possible these days, hence we have a third iPhone 6 and computers from 2012.

It's making them money , so why would they change.
 
zen said:
Like many in this thread, I've been a Mac user nearly all my computing life. In fact, I just realised that this year is the 20th anniversary of my first Mac purchase. In that time, I've been the most dedicated Mac evangelist you could imagine.

Right now? I'm using this rMBP to compile a parts list to build my own PC. I've had enough. For less money I can build a freakin' killer computer. My wife did it two years ago and now it's time to follow suit.

And while I'm excited about getting a new computer - seriously, a customised build with a gorgeous case looks amazing, if anyone is worried about losing the prime aesthetics of a Mac - I'm also kinda sad. I want to use Mac OS. But Apple are not giving me any options.

Researching this PC build has been a real eye-opener. I'm constantly showing prospective builds to my wife, usually with a comment of "imagine if you could do this with a Mac".

Ah well.
Click to expand...

Right now you can build awesome PCs, I've been looking for a replacement for mine and Apple offers nothing even close to what you can build PC wise if you want desktop performance .

One thing I would suggest, look into watercooling, it's so fun planning and setting it up and offers amazing silent performance , which also runs your system cool and issue free.

My first watercooled PC has been the most stable and issue free.
 
TurboPGT! said:
All other PC manufacturers that are doing nothing but trying to sell PCs, should be doing much better, but instead are doing pretty poorly.
.
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Which other manufacturers listed do you think does nothing but sell PCs?
 
azentropy said:
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.
Click to expand...


Agree 100%, my brother has my old Macbook from 2011, he wants a new Mac and has done for 6 months but I've told him to hold out. Might even add an SSD and more RAM to ye-olde as it'll probably suffice for what he needs.
 
azentropy said:
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.
Click to expand...
I'm often asked for advice on buying Macs. Currently I tell people that the only sensible choice is an Apple Refurb. I've bought 5 myself in the last six months.
 
satchmo said:
They know it's just the vocal minority on forums like MacRumors who are complaining. Maybe all total a few thousand members? :)
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I wonder how large and how vocal was the vocal minority that swayed Apple into re-releasing a 4" phone.

Creative professionals in need of new Macs may not be the "majority of users", but are a mainstay and easily the most rabidly loyal of Apple customers. Still, Apple risks alienating them by letting its Pro hardware and software fade to irrelevance.
 
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Zzzoom said:
I really wonder what the strategic reasoning of Apple's top management is behind this hardware "drought". There is not a single Mac I would by at the moment.
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My gut tells me there is a silicon change in the works whether it's custom Zen or Arm I don't know but I feel there is a big change coming. If they were just moving to the lasted Intel and a re-case they wouldn't have waited this long. The thin iMac was a one year change nothing we've seen in leaks is more dramatic than that.
 
Jesus just do it:
New Mac Book Pro
New Mac Pro with Apple display

Or perhaps Ives is busy removing the headphone jackets or trying to replace Mac OS with IOS on the computers ?

Apple please let other vendors run Mac OS!!!!! If you are not into releasing new computers others are eager to do the hardware.

And give up the idea that an iPad is a better "computer" for producing content!

Just do it!!!
 
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When Tim Cook took over, he brought along a bunch of MBA bean counters armed with their "profit center”, "focusing on core businesses" and "maximising shareholder value" catchphrases and subsequently botched the product lines which as self contained units weren’t profitable enough. Before, engineers and designers came first, and the suits were there to accommodate. Cook turned the tables. The 2012 Fortune feature on "How Tim Cook is changing Apple" was all but a blunt foreshadowing of the innovation drought to come.

Meanwhile, Wall Street relentlessly manipulates Apple via doom & gloom speculation, undervaluing, shorting the stock, algo-trading, selling covered calls, and day trades. One solution would be to do it like Dell: go private, convert the shares to private equity shares, tell Wall Street to f-off and focus on what Apple used to do best.

Would Tim ever do that? No. It doesn’t look like he's lost focus either. Instead, they have refocused on milking their mobile presence with limited side vision to everything else, and using their $220B war chest to buy Chinese ride share companies. Or perhaps it’s just that Steve isn’t there anymore.
 
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MH01 said:
Right now you can build awesome PCs, I've been looking for a replacement for mine and Apple offers nothing even close to what you can build PC wise if you want desktop performance .

One thing I would suggest, look into watercooling, it's so fun planning and setting it up and offers amazing silent performance , which also runs your system cool and issue free.

My first watercooled PC has been the most stable and issue free.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm tempted by water cooling. Still not sure whether I will actually build it myself or get someone to do it, as I'm a total newbie at this.

I'm kinda eyeballing the Thermaltake Core P5 tower. Could be a dust magnet... but, come on, just imagine if you could build a custom Mac like this!

81fDfLft1OL._SL1500_.jpg
Getting back on topic, if Apple are serious about the Mac, they need to do something big. I mean, really big - I can still remember picking up this issue of Time magazine back in January 2002:
1101020114_400.jpg
Tim Cook needs to be thinking - what can Apple do to the Mac that gets them on the front of Time magazine again? When I saw that issue in 2002, it was a literal "HOLY S**T!" moment.

If the Mac is to survive, we need another one of those.
 
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'Thinner keyboard' Don't Apple or their staff listen or peruse the forums? The reason the 2015/2016 MacBook was a total failure (I travel a lot, I have seen exactly ONE in use on trains and in cafés VS countless MacBook Airs, ThinkPads and Dells) is because not only did the shallow keys on it cause immense pain (and physical harm) to the user's fingers, but it uses the ergonomically terrible non 'T' layout for the arrow keys - you know, the large square Left and Right keys, awful! This is understandable from Windows laptop makers who other than Lenovo are clueless about how to design a keyboard, but not Apple.

They are putting prettiness over functionality and that does not do them well.

My company plans to buy several 'late 2016' MacBook Pros, but if the keyboard does not feature deep travel keys like the older 13" MacBook with the DVD drive (the last MacBook with a decent keyboard), then we are switching the company to Windows, in particular HP and/or Lenovo and/or Dell, with priority number one being a good keyboard, followed by performance and battery life.

As soon as Apple launched a £700 'champagne pink' iPhone, I knew that TC was beginning to destroy Apple with his focus on effeminate industrial design choices and 'populist' business strategy (Beats acquisition - why??) over productivity decisions. The withdrawal of the only genuine competitor to the boring iPhone 7 other than the Sony Xperia XZ, LG V20, and Google Pixel (the Galaxy Note 7) is a loss to those of us whose primary use of our technology is productivity and not updating our Facebook profiles whilst sitting in a café or McDonald's.

Man up Apple, else it's over. Oh, and whilst you are at it:

Metal cased 4K Apple TV Mk 5 rather than a dull unattractive plastic box
Apple TV sized pocketable Mac Mini/Nano with zippy processor, 100% SSD & 4 x USB-C
27" 5K USB-C Thunderbolt 3 equipped monitor (high chance this will happen and I hear it will have a GPU!)
Fix all the awful UX and iCloud issues in iOS 10!

With love, because we want to believe!
[doublepost=1476263859][/doublepost]Exactly!

otternonsense said:
When Tim Cook took over, he brought along a bunch of MBA bean counters armed with their "profit center”, "focusing on core businesses" and "maximising shareholder value" catchphrases and subsequently botched the product lines which as self contained units weren’t profitable enough. Before, engineers and designers came first, and the suits were there to accommodate. Cook turned the tables. The 2012 Fortune feature on "How Tim Cook is changing Apple" was all but a blunt foreshadowing of the innovation drought to come.

Meanwhile, Wall Street relentlessly manipulates Apple via doom & gloom speculation, undervaluing, shorting the stock, algo-trading, selling covered calls, and day trades. One solution would be to do it like Dell: go private, convert the shares to private equity shares, tell Wall Street to f-off and focus on what Apple used to do best.

Would Tim ever do that? No. It doesn’t look like he's lost focus either. Instead, they have refocused on milking their mobile presence with limited side vision to everything else, and using their $220B war chest to buy Chinese ride share companies. Or perhaps it’s just that Steve isn’t there anymore.
Click to expand...
 
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zen said:
Yeah, I'm tempted by water cooling. Still not sure whether I will actually build it myself or get someone to do it, as I'm a total newbie at this.
Click to expand...

Water cooling isn't hard there are even kits that come with everything you need but it's not the only way to get silence and not really the best because it adds things that make noise. OTOH a custom loop will make the least noise if your HW is pushed to the edge. I like water I'll build water for people but it's not for me anymore since I no longer want to bench race and want silence.
 
ThatGuyInLa said:
iOS and relevant products are the new Apple. Those of you holding onto desktop products and "macOS" are as delusional as Atari and Amiga fanboys were in the late 80s and early 90s.

My iPad Pro has easily replaced my laptop needs. For desktop chores I use what every sane person uses. A Windows based PC. Apple Watch and iPhone round out the rest. Roku is kicking Apple's ass for TV though. I hardly ever turn my ATV on anymore.
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With Windows 10? Ummm no. I can see iPad pro replacing a laptop especially the Air. ATV is just a nice gadget for me.

Of course the bigger picture is that desktop and computer sales are falling and have been for a few years - market saturation and all that. Mac is doing "ok" I suppose but the truth is that both people replce computer much less often and there really is less to be excited about. Where I and I'm sure many others disagree with you is that there is still a market for larger computers that mobile will never replace.
 
zen said:
Like many in this thread, I've been a Mac user nearly all my computing life. In fact, I just realised that this year is the 20th anniversary of my first Mac purchase. In that time, I've been the most dedicated Mac evangelist you could imagine.

Right now? I'm using this rMBP to compile a parts list to build my own PC. I've had enough. For less money I can build a freakin' killer computer. My wife did it two years ago and now it's time to follow suit.

And while I'm excited about getting a new computer - seriously, a customised build with a gorgeous case looks amazing, if anyone is worried about losing the prime aesthetics of a Mac - I'm also kinda sad. I want to use Mac OS. But Apple are not giving me any options.

Researching this PC build has been a real eye-opener. I'm constantly showing prospective builds to my wife, usually with a comment of "imagine if you could do this with a Mac".

Ah well.
Click to expand...
Intel NUC (maxed out in a way that w/Apple would be impossible) replaced the Mini setup. Not a single remorse
 
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Moonjumper said:
I'd happily accept ARM processors for Macs if the following conditions were met:
1. They were as powerful as the Intel equivalents.
2. There was an Intel Rosetta for backwards compatibility.
3. It renewed Apple's interest in the Mac lineup.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it would renew their interest, would be a straight 150-250$ increase in profit margins.
Additionally they could use the RD-experience in high performance ARM for improving the products that really matter to them - iPhones and iPads.
 
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