New MacBook Air and Mac Mini Models Driving Record Mac Sales for 3Q 2011

[MacRumors]

Business Insider reports on new sales data from market research firm NPD, as shared by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. According to NPD, Apple's U.S. Mac sales are up 22% year-over-year for the the first two months of the third calendar quarter of 2011, setting the company up to set a new record for quarterly Mac sales. The strong performance has unsurprisingly been driven by new MacBook Air and Mac mini models released on July 20th.

Wall Street analysts have been predicting Mac growth of 16% for the full quarter, and while Mac sales may slow slightly in September as Apple's product lines begin to age a bit and the back to school period winds down, the company is reportedly still on track to ship approximately 4.5 million Macs this quarter. Apple's current quarterly record for Mac sales was set in the holiday quarter last year with 4.13 million Macs sold.

NPD has also reported iPod sales down 16% year-over-year for the first two months of the quarter, which actually puts Apple at a slightly better pace than analysts had been expecting. Despite continued strong sales of the iPod touch, Apple's overall iPod sales have been declining for the past year or two as customers have turned more toward smartphones such as the iPhone as single-device options for their phone, music, and other portable media needs.

Article Link: New MacBook Air and Mac Mini Models Driving Record Mac Sales for 3Q 2011

 

[talkingfuture]

Always good news to see Mac sales on the rise.

 

[gpat]

Mac Mini? That's a surprise.

 

[applefan289]

I'm glad to see Mac sales on the rise, because I feel it is the best part of Apple's lineup of products.

 

[Consultant]

Yup. Been seeing a lot of MacBook Air around lately.

 

[Trauma1]

Not really surprised, seeing as how they are the two cheapest models. And I'm sure a good number of potential white MacBook buyers went to the MacBook Air now that it is discontinued.

----------

Mac Mini? That's a surprise.

I would be curious to see who these buyers are. I wonder if a majority of them are switchers, who are BYOD.K.M. It seems people are still jumping on the Apple/Mac bandwagon and this is a good machine to start with.

 

[inkswamp]

A reasonably priced, headless desktop Mac with decent specs is selling well. Gee, who woulda thunk it*?

* Just everyone on MacRumors who has been screaming for such a thing for years and being told it was impossible for Apple to produce.

 

[applefan289]

A reasonably priced, headless desktop Mac with decent specs is selling well. Gee, who woulda thunk it*?

* Just everyone on MacRumors who has been screaming for such a thing for years and being told it was impossible for Apple to produce.

Anyone else want Apple to make something like this again?

 

[cragmr]

Tried to buy an Air yesterday at Best Buy but they were sold out (13" 4GB 128GB). They did offer to sell me the older version (had plenty in stock) with a free AppleTV though. I said I'll just wait for the better hardware to come back in stock

 

[Photics]

No... you fools... think of the optical discs!

 

[yadmonkey]

Love that the Mini is selling well. My dream Mac remains something headless between the Mini and the Pro, but I won't hold my breath for it.

 

[applefan289]

No... you fools... think of the optical discs!

Yeah, I will be hitting a road block in the future when my Mac dies and I have to buy a new one without a disc drive...burning CDs is very important to me for iTunes music, etc. I hope they still have the SuperDrive available in the future for the minority that wants to be able to use/burn discs.

 

[mentholiptus]

Anyone else want Apple to make something like this again?

Image

I still have mine!

 

[randfee2]

the Macbook Air (got the 2011 i5 13,3") just rules.
Best Notebook I've ever owned.... insane formfactor yet great, 98% sufficient performance! ,,,,..... while others discuss wildly how to build ultrabooks... pathetic (the other manufacturers)

Love this thing. The only thing missing is an omnipotent Thunderbolt-Connector-Box with DVI, VGA, optical Audio, FireWire, USB3 etc. Why is Apple not making one?!? I'd pay 200 bucks but noo... nothing. Kinda pathetic!

I agree with prior posts though, what I'd love just as much would be a "Mac", no Pro, no Mini. Sadly, I think this will never come again.

 

[3N16MA]

I was so happy that all those rumors of Apple killing the mini a few years ago were untrue. I have a 2009 model and love it.

 

[thertrain]

Of course they are selling well. Mac sales have always been limited by the cost of the product. Now, more than ever, Apple is the hot brand and the more machines that are offered in the sub-1k price point, the more sales will climb.

 

[johnnymg]

Anyone else want Apple to make something like this again?

Image

hah........... that was one of SJ's more notable marketing 'failures'.

 

[raskar]

Macbook Pro

Strange that I don't hear rumours on the anticipated redesigned MBP!! Its been quite lately.

 

[Kentochan]

As Macs gain popularity in day to day society, its natural for the most affordable products to improve its sales the most. Good for Apple!

 

[iChrist]

hah........... that was one of SJ's more notable marketing 'failures'.

Yes, but I believe so because was before its time. It was too soon, but we may see new version of it in future, now that world is ready for it and knows of Apple.

 

[AidenShaw]

Anyone else want Apple to make something like this again?

Image

Where'd you find a picture of one without cracks?

 

[Photics]

I was so happy that all those rumors of Apple killing the mini a few years ago were untrue. I have a 2009 model and love it.

I also have a 2009 Mac Mini. Once I upgraded the RAM, I was impressed by the performance of this little machine. It's great on power savings too.

Yeah, I will be hitting a road block in the future when my Mac dies and I have to buy a new one without a disc drive...burning CDs is very important to me for iTunes music, etc. I hope they still have the SuperDrive available in the future for the minority that wants to be able to use/burn discs.

Well, the apparent slow death of CD's and DVD's — and Blu-Ray not as popular as it should be — I'm forced to move beyond discs. I'm not backing up my data as much as I should. That's because I don't like having lots of little discs everywhere. So, I think I'll pick up a nice external backup. Cloud based storage seems to be catching on too — like dropbox.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

See. All Apple had to do was add Blu-ray and sales skyrocketed. Oh wait...
(Remember this when Apple strips out the optical drive in the next iMac which will be as thin as an iPad.)

 

[cmaas]

I bought one of each, so you're welcome, Apple.

Air is a 'net new' machine to the household and, as others have noted, the best machine ever in every way. I use it to avoid booting my painfully slow work PC when I'm not in the office - giving me back hours of my life.

Mini replaced a Pro that was hooked up to a cinema 24" and never used as a laptop anyway. The Pro moved over to replace my daughter's white Macbook that suffered an untimely screen death from contact with a flying object. (Long story.)

 

[nspindel]

the Macbook Air (got the 2011 i5 13,3") ...The only thing missing is an omnipotent Thunderbolt-Connector-Box with DVI, VGA, optical Audio, FireWire, USB3 etc. Why is Apple not making one?!? I'd pay 200 bucks but noo... nothing. Kinda pathetic!

They are making exactly that. Except it's built into the back of a 27" inch monitor, and will cost you a cool grand.

I sold my 15" mbp and got the smaller air, but with the upgraded memory configuration. Absolutely love the machine, and the Thunderbold Display is going to make it pretty darn close to the ultimate machine. I'll have a firewire 800 drive, gigabit ethernet, and a gorgeous display when I'm at my desk, and an ultralight laptop on the road. With only one wire to deal with. Fantastic design.

Of course, the device you're describing above would mean people could make their own version of this setup, with any monitor. That's why Apple's not selling it yet First they'll sell a ton of the $1000 displays, then when sales fall off they'll release a little Thunderbolt hub that allows you to plug in an external monitor, and sell that for $200. If they released that now, nobody would buy a Thunderbolt Display....