Mac Sales Continue to Slide Amid Lack of Updates

[duffman9000]

I need to know who thinks adding a flatter keyboard to the MBP is a good idea. I'd love to flog that person.

If the MacBook keyboard comes to the MBP I won't buy another MBP until this idiocy stops.

 

[drewyboy]

I said it before and I will say it again; ever since Steve Jobs died this company has been going downhill.

Yup.

Steve Jobs to investors: If I take care of my customers, they'll take care of you. (Customers first)
Tim Cook to investors: We're doing everything we can to maximize your return. (Investors first)

 

[Feenician]

Not to mention that it still keeps breaking.

The new fast release model is not suitable for enterprise. We (the company I work for) bought a startup who releases every two weeks. Our customers, being traditional enterprise customers sued to annual (at best) major releases are like "WTF?" When we ask to update for new features etc. that are released on a continual basis
[doublepost=1476224411][/doublepost]

Whether or not it's a mess is subjective. It runs better than macOS, though, which is sad.

Two control panels with features and settings distributed randomly among them (and seemingly migrating randomly). Random bits of UI and controls from versions of Windows in days of yore. Did they at least get rid of the Windows 3.1 font panel that was still in 8 yet? I don't mess with fonts on Windows since I'm just running services on there. It's not subjective - it's a freaking dog's dinner

 

[cube]

Whether or not it's a mess is subjective. It runs better than macOS, though, which is sad.

I disagree. macOS is worse since after Snow Leopard, but it does not get broken usually, unlike Windows.

 

[Rigby]

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!

I think the MBP (particularly the 13" version) is still the most acceptable model in the Mac product line. In fact, if the rumored new models adopt a flatter keyboard (a la the new Macbook) and perhaps drop the USB and HDMI ports, they could actually be inferior to the 2015 model. But there is definitely an urgent need for updates of the MBA and desktop machines.

 

[512K Fat Mac]

I agree with a lot of this. A lot of people pandering for an update don't appreciate that the newer Intel CPUs aren't much more powerful, if more powerful at all. Similar or lower benchmarks for the sake of a refresh would be pointless.

What could be improved is the pricing. If Apple can't justify an update, then don't charge the same cash for older tech. The current rMBPs are still very capable machines. But continuing to price them in that market is insulting to the consumer.

Apple's pricing model is what drives all of this.

It's true that the performance of the (expected) new CPUs and, to a lesser extent, GPUs, will not provide a material performance improvement over the current lineup for most of the tasks and use cases employ by most of Apple's MBP customers. But there will be changes and improvements to other hardware features, some incremental and less obvious and some more significant. Taken together with Apple's fairly aggressive approach to dropping software support for older hardware, the biggest difference between buying a newly released major hardware revision and its immediate predecessor is that the former often has (or is often expected to have) a non-trivially longer useful life.

Because Apple doesn't adjust pricing of aging models downward until after (or within a few weeks of) updated hardware revisions, the value proposition to customers for expected new hardware resembles a step function. Of course, it has been that way for many years.

Your point is still well taken. There's more to it than the mere matter of whether the marginal improvement in CPU or GPU performance represents a noticeable change, today, over the current product. With Apple, the value of added expected lifespan and whatever other marginal improvements come with only becomes available to customers after new hardware is released. If Apple lowered prices over the course of existing product lifecycles, customers, rather than Apple, would capture that same value, in the form of lower prices, even when buying hardware that hasn't been updated for some time. As it stands, typically, the only way for Apple's customers to maximize the value of their purchases is in-kind, by buying new hardware relatively soon after release.

 

[Stella]

Is this extracted from the Onion?

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.

 

[Arthur75]

"As soon as" NEXT MONTH ???
Is that a joke ?
It has to be THIS month.
Already way too late !!

 

[Rob_2811]

No offense to mbp users as I am also MbP user, but I'm sick of hearing mbp. I would like to hear desktop computers...Mac Pro, iMac and Mac mini.

Heh, good luck with that. I've said it before but i'm convinced the iMac will be the only desktop Mac going forward. Look how out of date the other two are. I think i'm right in thinking the Mini still ships with Haswell. Why didn't it get a bump to Broadwell?

As for the Mac Pro anybody relying on a machine like that is crazy, Apple just can't be trusted to keep the components up to date. I watched Macbreak Weekly earlier and Rene Ritchie (and you hardly ever hear him utter a bad word about Apple) was saying they made that computer an appliance with no upgradeable parts they needed to be updated at least the GPUs on a regular basis, but they havent bothered.

Its a chicken and egg situation with those two machines to an extent. I wonder how many of the five million Macs were Mac Pros or Mac Minis? Not many I would think.

 

[Mildredop]

What does Jonny Ive do from day-to-day?!

The iPhone hasn't had a major update for three years, the MacBook line hasn't had a major update for five or six years (apart from getting a bit thinner). The iMac has been pretty much the same for a decade.

And the iPhone battery case must have taken all of three minutes to design.

 

[Feenician]

That's your experience. Mine has been nothing but perfect. I've had no issues with W10.

I didn't say there were "problems". In fact I made a point of saying it was stable, and it is. I said the UI/UX is a mess, and it is. Famously so. On a pure UI/UX basis I would rather use desktop linux than Windows at this point. Gnome 3 is drastically better than Windows from that standpoint. Of course it has it's own, unique problems as a proposition

 

[weup togo]

The red ones are currently shipping Macs. Green marks previous updates.

You'll be forgiven for wondering if the entire Mac hardware team was either reassigned or laid off well over a year ago.

 

[Feenician]

The red ones are currently shipping Macs. Green marks previous updates.

You'll be forgiven for wondering if the entire Mac hardware team was either reassigned or laid off well over a year ago.

Well you would if you hadn't either a) read the thread or b) already knew that everything hinges on Intel pulling the finger out and releasing something that is both not broken and actually significantly better

If it wasn't for the fact my use case hinges on virtualising x86 operating systems - if I only used native OS X software, as presumably the vast majority do - I would be all in for Apple going custom ARM at this point. For most devs using Xcode it'd be little more than a switch and a recompile and maybe some tweaking on sensitive code paths. Though of course for hacked together piles of legacy like Photoshop it'd be tougher.

 

[44267547]

October is almost half way through and still no announcement. I figured at least we would have a projection date of a Mac Key Note in the least.

 

[Rocketman]

The overall trend is positive.

While pads are taking share, commodity PC's are taking more.

Ads rock more.

JJ

 

[Faltek]

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 5.4 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 next 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

 

[coolfactor]

Yup.

Steve Jobs to investors: If I take care of my customers, they'll take care of you. (Customers first)
Tim Cook to investors: We're doing everything we can to maximize your return. (Investors first)

That doesn't seem to fit. If Tim Cook really only cared about making money, he would release products more often at the expense of quality. It is boggling why there's such a long period between Mac updates. THREE years for the Mac Pro... seriously?

 

[pkissel]

My Mid 2012 15" Retina MBP (SSD) is still chugging along quite nicely even though its been over 4 years. Other than the anti-reflective coating delaminating issue that required a screen replacement (Apple footed the bill) its been a rock steady workhorse. This is my 2nd MBP and before that I never got near the life/support from any Windows laptop that I purchased. That is I suppose why Windows laptops cost 1/2 the price of a MBP. So sure it would be nice if Apple really refreshed their line again and gave us a reason to really be excited. It will come one day...

 

[BlargKing]

THINNER

For ****s sakes Apple. The current MacBook Pro is thin enough. Like seriously what the actual ****. How many compromises is this "Pro" laptop going to have in order to shave off a few mm?

I'm glad I jumped ship on Apple when I did. I would hate to be further stuck in this ridiculous ecosystem.

 

[Prince1369]

Well look at the price of a Mac...starting at at $999, when you (average person) can get a decent laptop for under $700...

 

[Mildredop]

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

I often consider a PC, but whenever I stand in the shop trying them out, PCs feel a lot more plasticy and cheap. The design is more 'in your face' than Apple's understated class.

And even the highest res screen still looks a bit rubbish - Windows graphics seem blocky and look cheap.

And PCs can be just as expensive.

 

[ActionableMango]

The red ones are currently shipping Macs. Green marks previous updates.

You'll be forgiven for wondering if the entire Mac hardware team was either reassigned or laid off well over a year ago.

Wow, I've been vaguely familiar with the numbers, but that graph really hits the point home.

As a consumer, I'm somewhat disappointed but don't care too much since I don't buy new computers that often.

As a shareholder I don't like seeing this at all. Everyone who says all the money is in iOS doesn't understand how much there still is in the Mac division. Macs are a gigantic amount of revenue, and even compared to the money that iOS brings in, it's still a big piece of the pie.

 

[weup togo]

Well you would if you hadn't either a) read the thread or b) already knew that everything hinges on Intel pulling the finger out and releasing something that is both not broken and actually significantly better

Completely beside the point. Idgaf what Intel has been doing. There are around a thousand people on the Mac hardware teams. What the **** have they been doing this whole time?

 

[djbuddha]

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.

As much as I desperately want a maxed out new MacBook (my workflow will demand it).... I can't argue with this logic at all. You're spot on. It will make such an insignificant difference at the present moment to the company as a whole.

 

[Freyqq]

Every day this gets more and more depressing for Apple...one of the wealthiest companies in the world can't keep their products up to date. Every day they delay, they potentially lose customers to competitors. The 15" rMBP is now using 3 year old chips, for instance. Current chips are on a 14 nm process, and they are using a 22 nm process. No informed buyer would pay 2k+ for a computer using 3 year old parts for the same price as on release.