Mac Shipments Estimated to Be Down Over 20% While Demand Surges in Q1 2020

[MacRumors]

Apple's Mac shipments are estimated to have been down over 20 percent in the first quarter of 2020, according to new data shared by Canalys this week. The shuttering of businesses and factories around the world has caused "severe delay in production and logistical issues", leading to a worldwide PC shipment fall of eight percent year on year.

Top vendor rankings remained stable, with Lenovo continuing to lead the PC market with 12.8 million units shipped. HP came second with 11.7 million units, followed by Dell with 10.5 million units.

Apple shipped an estimated four million Macs in the first quarter of 2019, dropping to 3.2 million in the first quarter of 2020, a decline of 21 percent. This is a greater year-over-year decline than seen by any of the other top five vendors, including Lenovo, HP, Dell, and Acer.

In spite of falling shipments, demand has soared in the first quarter of 2020, driven by remote working and learning requirements from strict lockdown measures across the world. Canalys predicts that vendors will report healthy profits over the coming weeks, with operating margin percentages reaching all-time highs.

Canalys also notes that "many other home technologies" have seen major growth amid the shift to working and learning from home. This includes headphones, webcams, printers, and monitors, as well as home-working software solutions for collaboration, virtual desktops, remote access, and security. Apple, however, does not produce products for many of these categories.

According to Canalys analyst Ishan Dutt, PC industry demand is unlikely to remain as strong as it was in the first quarter.

As we move into Q2, the production constraints in China have eased. But the spike in PC demand seen in Q1 is not likely to be sustained and the rest of the year looks less positive. Few businesses will be spending on technology for their offices, while many homes will have been freshly equipped. A global recession has begun - businesses will go bankrupt, with millions newly unemployed. Even governments and large corporations will have to prioritize spending elsewhere.

Canalys data is based on supply chain analysis and consumer surveys. Apple no longer discloses ?iPhone?, iPad, and Mac sales, which means that analyst estimates cannot be confirmed by specific sales data.

Article Link: Mac Shipments Estimated to Be Down Over 20% While Demand Surges in Q1 2020

 

[Flow39]

I imagine, like the article says, that the demand is high right now while sales have been low. However, given the current economic situation, I don't know many people keen on spending $1000+ on a computer.

 

[mistasopz]

Ouch. Lost market share and down 21% yoy. I wonder if Apple is eventually just going to give up on real computers and stick with iToys like iPads and iPhones.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Maybe if Apple actually updated its desktop computers on a regular basis instead of once every 10 years, more people might be interested in buying. But since over 80% of Apple's revenue comes from mobile products, why would they care? Apple has been killing the desktop Mac for years.

 

[fbr$]

Apple, just offer me a Mac mini or MacBook Pro with a Nvidia RTX GPU and CUDA for a reasonable price and I'll gladly buy it.

 

[iDento]

I would say redesign the iMac and lower the price of MacBook Pro but I know that this is what I want and not the market because frankly the MacBook Air, new MacBook Pro and any iMac but the entry level one are almost perfect and they offer good value for the money but apparently they’re not selling like they should.

 

[MacLawyer]

The Mac needs to be updated as often as the IOS devices. They are selling a 13 inch MacBook with an 8th gen processor. The iMac Pro is basically unchanged from late 2017. Pathetic.

 

[trusso]

I wonder if Apple is eventually just going to give up on real computers and stick with iToys like iPads and iPhones.

Not a chance. They need the Mac to develop for those platforms.

Tim is an idiot for pricing these things so high, however - part of the reason I believe we keep seeing these "Mac sales are down" reports (and yes, I know, the current economic climate may have something to do with this... but it's by no means the primary or only cause).

The difference between Steve and Tim is that Steve actually respected the intelligence of the average Mac user (20 years ago the stereotype was college-educated & creative). We didn't always agree with him, but there was a mutual respect. Tim seems to imagine an entirely different demographic (teenagers, "old folks") and along with Ahrendts, tried (and mostly succeeded) in transforming Apple into some sort of boutique brand - higher prices for no particular reason. (Not to mention the older generation today include some of the very people who catalyzed the personal computer revolution in the 60s, 70s and 80s.)

In short, out of touch is the common parlance.

 

[Winni]

Not a chance. They need the Mac to develop for those platforms.

That is relatively easy to fix:

They could either simply port the development tools to another platform, either Windows or a flavor of Linux.

Or, option number two, they make iOS "self-hosting" by porting the development tools to that platform. This would then require an iOS-based device that could function as an actual computer, not just as a "computer that is not a computer".

They could also offer cloud services for developers: All development work would happen on Apple-hosted machines, there wouldn't be a local installation of the development tools anymore -- after all, that's what real cloud computing is all about. Microsoft is clearly headed this way, but Apple doesn't have the necessary technology nor the necessary data centers for this approach; Apple cannot compete in the cloud, they're exclusively in the client-side business.

Either way, the Mac as we've known it for decades is on its way out - for Apple, the Mac is a liability at this point.

 

[arvinsim]

That is relatively easy to fix:

They could either simply port the development tools to another platform, either Windows or a flavor of Linux.

Fat chance. Apple is known for its ecosystem.

 

[CWallace]

Maybe if Apple actually updated its desktop computers on a regular basis instead of once every 10 years, more people might be interested in buying. But since over 80% of Apple's revenue comes from mobile products, why would they care? Apple has been killing the desktop Mac for years.

80% of their Mac sales are mobile products - MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. And those are updated regularly because Intel and AMD focus their attention on that market.

And that is why the desktops go a year or more between updates - can't update when your CPU and GPU vendors don't, either.

Tim is an idiot for pricing these things so high, however - part of the reason I believe we keep seeing these "Mac sales are down" reports (and yes, I know, the current economic climate may have something to do with this... but it's by no means the primary or only cause).

Because he prices them so high, Apple makes more money off their handful of Mac sales than most of the major PC OEMs do selling many multiples of machines.

 

[Altivec88]

Although we were able to buy mid tear Mac Pro’s for decades at around 3k, Now we are no longer considered pro enough because we can’t justify 20k machines. So what’s the next step down for a monitor-less mac. Oh ya, thats a crippled mac mini. Ha ha. This=no buy.

 

[HenryFSU]

I imagine there has to be an iMac refresh this year...maybe even soon...bigger screens. Also, the MacPro line is insanely priced. I don't understand how anyone really wants to buy these...especially adding thousands more for an Apple monitor and mount.

 

[patzistar]

The fix is pretty easy tbh. Drop prices and the sales will increase, but what Apple like to do is increase prices anyways, which is a bummer. I am in to buy a new MPB 16 or iMac, but right now I am holding back my order.

 

[Joniz]

If you, or your company, needs to quickly buy a computer to get through what most people are probably hoping will be a relatively short-term problem, they generally will not go with an expensive option. Quick & cheap it all that’s hopefully needed.

And if everything goes badly, there won’t be no internet left anyway.

 

[mistasopz]

"Sales are way down. Better increase prices. I'm a genius." -Tim Apple probably

 

[827538]

- They refuse to keep the lineup updated
- Let old stuff like iMac's wither on the vine
- Overpriced
- Reduced benefits (buying a Mac as a student in the past would give 3 years of Apple care)
- Increased competition from the likes of Dell who've really done a great job with the XPS line

Not all of this stuff is Apple's fault, Intel has been a cluster of failure in recent years. But even ignoring dated designs like the iMac with its' giant bezels, they seem to release big updates which push things forward then spend years acting like the product doesn't exist.

Also a 720p FaceTime camera in 2020 on a MacBook Pro should have resulted in an executive getting fired.

It's not rocket science, update the devices with the latest silicon. Then when designs start getting dated like the iMac, do a refreshed design. Still no 802.11ax on the latest iMac when the iPhone and iPad have it.

 

[HenryFSU]

If you, or your company, needs to quickly buy a computer to get through what most people are probably hoping will be a relatively short-term problem, they generally will not go with an expensive option. Quick & cheap it all that’s hopefully needed.

And if everything goes badly, there won’t be no internet left anyway.

I agree...we needed an extra computer for home use and bought a new MacBook Air 8gb/512gb for $1250. I will say this, pretty impressed by it and I have a 16" MBP.

 

[Expos of 1969]

I agree...we needed an extra computer for home use and bought a new MacBook Air 8gb/512gb for $1250. I will say this, pretty impressed by it and I have a 16" MBP.

It is not cheap nor is it quick. People have been waiting weeks to receive their new MBAs.

 

[HenryFSU]

It is not cheap nor is it quick. People have been waiting weeks to receive their new MBAs.

Amazon...order now, get in 2 days: https://smile.amazon.com/Apple-MacB...pY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1

 

[dapa0s]

Using the new iPad Pro 12.9 and comparing it to the 13.3 2019 mbp I have... Man, does ios look more modern compared to macos. They really need to do something about it.

Ipad Pro lacks support in professional use, but it feels like the future. My 16 inch should be arriving soon, but I doubt it will feel more modern than the mp3 13 I have, lol.

Even windows 10 feels more modern than macos. Apple really needs to do something with their desktop computers.

Not to mention their slow af hardware updates - iMac's outdated design and cooling, mac mini 8th gen cpus, the old design of the 13.3 inch mbp (and the cameras on both mbps).. come on, guys...

 

[CPx]

I would have bought the Air, but I have nowhere to use it right now...

 

[CWallace]

I imagine there has to be an iMac refresh this year...maybe even soon...bigger screens.

They're should be a refresh once the Comet Lake S chips ship this summer (hopefully) and AMD has new GPU parts out.

But don't expect a new design - the iMac Pro is said to stay with a 27" display (just now with miniLED for HDR and such) so they won't put something bigger in the iMac Consumer.

Also, the MacPro line is insanely priced. I don't understand how anyone really wants to buy these...especially adding thousands more for an Apple monitor and mount.

The people who do make enough money from owning one that it pays for itself within months.

The days of the Mac Pro being a "consumer / enthusiast" machine died in the late 2000s and was staked through the heart in 2013.

The fix is pretty easy tbh. Drop prices and the sales will increase...

Sell twice as many machines for one third as much revenue per machine. Big success!

Still no 802.11ax on the latest iMac when the iPhone and iPad have it.

Well Intel only just started supporting 802.11ax with the 10th Generation Core CPUs, and even some of those still don't (like the U-Series that are in the 2020 MacBook Air).

 

[Baymowe335]

Ouch. Lost market share and down 21% yoy. I wonder if Apple is eventually just going to give up on real computers and stick with iToys like iPads and iPhones.

Relax. They are going to be just fine and are in the process of phasing out traditional computing over time. iPad is doing great.

These numbers are also just guesses and have been wrong in the past. We can wait for official numbers for Apple later this month to see how "dire" the situation really is.

Even if numbers are down, current events will pass and Mac will return to its very stable performance. Mac has been a very consistent business for Apple over the last 5 years.

 

[HenryFSU]

I am looking forward to the new keyboard for my iPad Pro next month. Love to see how that will work. Seen some demo videos and very interested on how this keyboard with trackpad will make the iPad like a MacBook.