Mac Sales Remain Flat in July, 5% Year Over Year Drop Expected for September Quarter

[Michael73]

Google may have been right...in a way.

I think tablets becoming more powerful are only part of the equation. The other two parts is that people are discovering that for most of their needs (such as email and web browsing) they don't need a lot of horsepower.

The second part has to do with the cloud which is where Google may have been ahead of their time with the idea of their Chromebooks. As M$, Adobe and even Apple move applications to the cloud, the need for hefty-defty hardware and memory to run them is lessened.

The term "post-pc era" is probably a bit cliche, but the data does bear out the bigger trend that desktops and even laptops will at some point become relegated to niche audiences and uses.

 

[Diesel79]

I don't think this is only a problem for macs, take a look at windows 8 machines they're not selling to great either.

 

[Cory Bauer]

Maybe Apple should, you know, release some new Macs.

I think tablets becoming more powerful are only part of the equation. The other two parts is that people are discovering that for most of their needs (such as email and web browsing) they don't need a lot of horsepower.

I think we're all using our Macs/PCs less and less as our tablets and smartphones get used more and more. For that reason, we'll likely make do with the same ol' aging Mac/PC for considerably longer.

 

[TheHateMachine]

How many PC makers are currently shipping Haswell notebooks and desktops?

HP, Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Lenovo and Acer for sure. The latter two are only shipping desktops with 4th Gen, refreshed ultrabooks announced but last gen is still the only option.

Asus is the only one who has announced products but currently only sells 3rd gen.

 

[macnisse]

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Based on the data, he maintains his outlook of a 5% year over year drop in Mac sales for the September quarter and continues to note that Mac sales are becoming less significant in light of iPhone and iPad sales, representing just 15% of Apple's total revenue.

May the new mac pro turn the ship over?

 

[Count Blah]

May the new mac pro turn the ship over?

Not at those prices.

 

[ValSalva]

rMBP or die

Yes! Well, maybe not death October is just around the corner. Of course since the Haswell rMBP's have been rumored since June they are beginning to seem like like a mirage.

 

[Eidorian]

How many PC makers are currently shipping Haswell notebooks and desktops?

All of them. I can pick up an Intel based notebook with Iris Pro from anyone carrying a Clevo ODM.

 

[bpcookson]

This makes me think that Apple needs to break into Enterprise in a serious way if they want their Mac lines to be meaningful beyond the following decade, but then I wonder... maybe the endgame is just iOS, and OS X will now forever hold the backseat.

I mean, previously, I had always assumed that the "halo effect" was going to bring OS X to the forefront. That's based on the assumption that my phone or my tablet are accessories. I don't mean to say that they are inherently incapable of anything, rather that they would never be your primary computing device.

But that's silly, because of course computers will get smaller and smaller until desktop and phone hardware converge. At that point, accessories are everything.

 

[baller1308]

Well, people don't change their computers as often as they change their phones. If they do, they usually buy used, especially with macs.

 

[bpcookson]

Not at those prices.

At what prices? Has the the cost been announced? Or are you just assuming they will continue with current Mac Pro pricing structure?

 

[Tankmaze]

hopefully the "classic" macbook pro sales is higher / bigger than the rmbp.
because people like to upgrade the memory and hdd in those notebook.
so apple won't discontinue the cmbp.

just upgraded my 2011 mbp with 16gb ram and 1TB.

 

[komodrone]

the word *doom* should be banned.

 

[madmax14304]

Sales being down isn't surprising. The Mac Pro isn't in our hands yet and the iMac hasn't had any significant updates since 2009 aside from thunderbolt, incremental speed bumps and making it thinner. That said, if they give a large PCIe SSD in the next iMac, I may bite.

 

[Solomani]

Meh. Less and less people are buying personal computers these days (PCs or Macs). Honey Boo Boo could have predicted this better than the "expert analysts".

 

[samh004]

Wait, you mean NOT updating computer equipment is BAD for sales? WOW!! I hope someone informs the folks at Apple. It seems that they are too busy focusing on the consumer portable division to even notice the Macs are not getting updated.

Exactly my thinking, they used to update products twice a year, some haven't even been updated yearly now, so this is just funny books. We can show you sales are down, because they are... but we all know the cause of that.

I don't even understand the reasoning behind forgetting about mac users, I'll always be more mac than iOS, and when iOS falls if there's no mac line because they've slowed the updates even more it's going to be bye bye Apple, unfortunately.

Perhaps they've been caught in their own "halo" and think iOS, and only iOS, is the way forward, at the expense of the mac that kept them floating for so long, and the users that bought the mac. They seem to have forgotten that.

 

[WardC]

exactly my thinking, they used to update products twice a year, some haven't even been updated yearly now, so this is just funny books. We can show you sales are down, because they are... But we all know the cause of that.

I don't even understand the reasoning behind forgetting about mac users, i'll always be more mac than ios, and when ios falls if there's no mac line because they've slowed the updates even more it's going to be bye bye apple, unfortunately.

Perhaps they've been caught in their own "halo" and think ios, and only ios, is the way forward, at the expense of the mac that kept them floating for so long, and the users that bought the mac. They seem to have forgotten that.

Amen!!!!! You said it, like it is!

 

[NewbieCanada]

I'm assuming this isn't unique to the Mac? Lets see what the December quarter is when most likely Haswell Pros will have been released.

Of course it's not. Anyone who thinks refreshes of existing models or even radically new models is going to change this has their head in the sand.

Look at how many people here proudly list a 2008 - 2010 Mac as their primary computer. And this is a place for advanced users who like computers. For most people old computers are perfectly good - they won't replace it unless they have to. There simply aren't more people to sell to.

All Apple or any manufacturer can hope to do is maintain or increase market share in a shrinking market.

 

[flottenheimer]

(Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster) ... continues to note that Mac sales are becoming less significant in light of iPhone and iPad sales, representing just 15% of Apple's total revenue.

15% of an incredible amount of money is 15% of an incredible amount of money.
No need to downplay that much money, Gene.

 

[euvnairb]

I'm actually waiting to see what Apple has in store for the Haswell rMbp. I will get it depending on what it has/doesn't have. Please Apple! I'm eager to make the right purchase.

 

[iMacBooked]

Me too, waiting for the rMBP Haswell. I think this will be a blast and sales will go up.

 

[Madhawk]

Offer the mac in a Gold color, it will sell like hot cakes.

 

[WardC]

Apple's computers are expensive...really expensive, compared to the rest of the market. Take Apple's 15" Retina MacBook Pro for instance, their flagship model...even a base configuration is over $2000. And looking at 15" PC/Windows laptops, most of those are around a $499 price point. Apple doesn't even sell a MacBook Air for under $800, and it's a netbook sized one at that. I will admit the 11" Air is a nice computer...but Apple's computers all demand a HUGE premium, and always have.

Most iPhone users are not Mac owners. This is true. Most of them own a cheap(er) PC that will run iTunes.

Most people do not have $1800 for an iMac or $2299 fpr a laptop. They want a basic computer that will do web, MS Office, e-mail, and play CDs and DVDs.

So I can see how Mac sales are not doing well. It's not the tablets that are canabalizing things....people are spending their money on new iPhones and using 3 or 4 year old PCs (albeit an i5 or Celeron) that can get the job done.

Apple has not been hustling for the sale. I do not see Mac ads on TV anymore. Maybe this new Mac Pro will go gangbusters and change things. We will see.

 

[Rogifan]

Won't the new MBP's have Thunderbolt 2? Is that available to ship yet?

 

[Plutonius]

Not at those prices.

Nobody knows what the new Mac Pro will cost. Most people are assuming that it will be expensive but it may not be.