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NPD: Strong Mac and iPod Sales in March Quarter So Far
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For all these statistics citing strong sales quarter after quarter, Macs don't seem to be making much of a dent in market share. Seems they've been stuck at around 8-10% for the last couple of years.
Apple owns the Premium end of the computer market. This is the place to be for profits and brand-building. The Premium end has a few natural barriers, however, starting with the $1000 entry fee. The demographic of consumers who move around in this end will also be different (though there are exceptions.) The top of the retail pyramid is narrow.
Incidentally, the Premium end is also the healthiest in a recession (for Apple.) Apple has had no problems selling Macs for the past few years.
Sadly, that seems about right. I'm all for constructive criticism, but what's up with these dudes? Seems kinda pointless to be wasting their time posting anything about a company they appear to hate. I mean, do most Mac users post negative rubbish on PC sites? Hell we don't!
These are excellent figures for Apple & they're to be welcomed.
Envy and frustration is a hard road, Laguna.
Amen, brother. I experience great frustration being forced to use Windows 40 hours a week and envy those who aren't.
But I choose not to vent that frustration on a Windows users' board. If only those from the other side of the fence provided the same courtesy.
That said, my mom's new iMac arrives in 2 days. Add one more to the Mac camp, subtract one more from the Windows camp.
Lost another one to Apple! (Dude even looks a little like John Hodgman.)
not general public, just apparently brainwashed Mac users...I swear the brainwash is starting to wear off though. If the new Vaio Z is actually available before the new MBP's are announced, 10+ years of Apple use is over. Damn all the software I'd have to toss...
Of course if the hardware is supplying the need no need to change it, its not like the current line is bad is it? It was good when it when on sale. Fair enough a bit dated, but its obviously working, i doubt that all that many people are brainwashed. If you find a better deal on sommat else, just change (to be blunt about it lol) most pro suites let you change serials between OSe's
[see report for proof i guess]
I looked around for PC's for an appliance application I had. Lots of below C2D options, some i3 options.
Not many C2D, C2Q, i5, i7, or i7q options out there in the PC world.
As crippled as we see macs, as premium buyers, we are still near the top of the food chain.
The sooner we realize that the better.
We have several Mac form factors in the Mac-Mini, low-end MacBook, MacBook 13,15,17, PowerMac and of course the iMac.
We lack a PowerMac Midi and a PowerBookLuggable with dual CPU and SSD RAID.
We do have iPhone and soon iPad.
At some point you have to trust the APPLE OVERLORDS THAT THEY HAVE YOUR BEST INTEREST IN MIND.
Rocketman
Not many C2D, C2Q, i5, i7, or i7q options out there in the PC world.
As crippled as we see macs, as premium buyers, we are still near the top of the food chain.
The sooner we realize that the better.
We have several Mac form factors in the Mac-Mini, low-end MacBook, MacBook 13,15,17, PowerMac and of course the iMac.
We lack a PowerMac Midi and a PowerBookLuggable with dual CPU and SSD RAID.
We do have iPhone and soon iPad.
At some point you have to trust the APPLE OVERLORDS THAT THEY HAVE YOUR BEST INTEREST IN MIND.
Rocketman
Um, yeah, you're wrong.
ok checked it out, and yea, most of the PC analysis is by units. I work in the storage space however, and our market share is either determined by total revenue, or TB %. So it does differ across industries.
It gets boring though. Maybe my expectations are too high.At some point you have to trust the APPLE OVERLORDS THAT THEY HAVE YOUR BEST INTEREST IN MIND.
I wasn't joking, because the computer market traditionally gets expressed in terms of unit sales.
If it were expressed in dollars, Apple would be kicking butt and taking names over the Dells, HPs and Acers of the world.
Thus my comment about measuring market share in terms of unit sales being anachronistic. We're simultaneously seeing the high-end PCs get more powerful and more expensive along with a push for low-end, low-cost machines. It almost seems like two distinct markets. I question the wisdom of putting high-end gaming PCs and MacPros in the same bucket as netbooks and cheap laptops.
Also why i dont like regarding a macbook/pro in the same category as a "normal" PC laptop. Because at the end of the day, the features of the macbook pro maybe effectively the same but the build quality, and what i'd call 'that magic' quality where it looks nice, and functions correctly, is something that you only ever find on the high spec PC laptops, the average joe laptops that cost 300 quid, cost 300 quid for a reason. In my mind, the macbook that costs 800/900 pound costs that much for a reason as well.
You get the impression that some of the laptops that come out from acer, HP, Packard Bell, Toshiba, and even sony to an extent. They dont care about making it look nice, n clearly laid out. They just put out any trash- hence why they cost 300 quid.
Next quarter will be most interesting, and the following one. The iPad is definitely a netbook killer but not an iPhone killer. With an external keyboard it may do most of what I want on a laptop or desktop computer. I will still want a very small device I can slip into my pocket, be it an iPhone or iPodTouchy. I strongly suspect that many iPad buyers will also be iPhone owners. If we had cellular access in our area I would want an iPhone for that purpose, as it is I have an iPod Touch. The little one is in my pocket for when I am out and about and the big one is for bigger tasks when I don't mind the larger bulk but do want the larger screen. I do a lot of reading already on the iPod Touch and the iPad makes this much better. I really, really like the larger screen. More speed and memory are nice too - added bonuses. The fact that the iPad gives me the same interface in a larger size is a big bonus - I can just keep the two devices synced and both are synced to my data home on my laptop. All one happy Home folder. The device does not matter, it is the data, the soul of the machine which makes it mine.
-Walter
-Walter
I think I would take these numbers with a grain of salt. The biggest surprise is the strong ipod sales. As for macbook pro updates, I can't imagine they will wait until June unless they have a full major redesign already planned. I still think we will see it at about the same time iPad orders are being taken.
I see Dell is offering i3/i5/i7 across several of their laptop lines... I could buy one right now. That includes their high end, low end, and medium end... it also includes an optional quad core i7.
I see Dell is offering i3/i5/i7 across several of their laptop lines... I could buy one right now. That includes their high end, low end, and medium end... it also includes an optional quad core i7.
Well said but I have never thought of Apple Corp. as been in the commodity market, they are not trying to sell anyone a Toyota Pries. That would be Dell.
Apple is more if i can use the same analogy a Mercedes Benz, if they where not selling those low end crapy cars and stuck to mid and high level as they use to be.
Apple like any other company could make cheap stuff, but why do that, when you can pull out something like Snow Leopard and put that sweet OS on hardware though not the fastest gets the job done not far behind top line product from competition. Also faster but crashing more does not make for a great experience.
Apple iPad is perfect for this, it may not be the Star Trek that everyone wanted, but I am sure that in a few months people will be asking how could I have lived without one. Perfect no, but enjoyable to use as well as stable, yes.i7 chip is nice, but is it so much better when opening and using a Word Document or Numbers, no of course not, we are talking a second faster if that to open I can't see a core 2 dou 2.66 been that far behind a i7 2.66 for 90% of uses.
Do I care if I get another second or two out of a CPU rather than stable drivers and easy to use finished product like Mac OS? Yes I care a lot about that.
Sadly, that seems about right. I'm all for constructive criticism, but what's up with these dudes? Seems kinda pointless to be wasting their time posting anything about a company they appear to hate. I mean, do most Mac users post negative rubbish on PC sites? Hell we don't!
Are you really asking are Mac users of a different demographics maybe, a bit more educated and less prone to childish tantrums?
We need research to figure this out. Oh wait they have http://news.cnet.com/2100-1040-943519.html
Re the negativity. I too feel negative about these figures. The entire range of Macs are using very old tech at premium prices. The buyers guide clearly shows how old everything is. The build quality is appalling in far too many cases and the MP heat issue was outrageous and dishonest. Deny, deny, deny, deny .. fix. Silence. The price rises in the UK were incredible (Whilst reduced in the US) with an increase of nearly 500£ (around 800$) on the base model. This in a recession too. The exchange rate has improved since the short dip which means Apple are making around 20% more than when they fixed the prices. Finally, the displays .. what a joke. And how does all this effect sales? Not at all ... in fact it's a record breaking year. What does that say to Apple? Don't update, don't improve quality, increase prices and you'll be able to add to the tens of billions in cash you already have stashed because your customers are dopes. They'll accept anything. If anyone criticises you have the zealots to flame them. Everything is made from the same parts, made and assembled in China so why is the Apple premium so high? Nice cases and OS X aren't sufficient. And as for the OS. The spinning beach ball is still here a decade after I started with Macs. What an advancement.
You can only build your brand so much at the premium end of the market. If you want to expand that brand, you need to expand your product selection, which means offering products in both the mid and lower tier. Apple will eventually reach a brick wall in the premium end of the market, and will have nowhere to go but down if they want to continue to expand.
I won't comment on 'One', after all, I used to do the same as far as building my own PC. However...
You may not remember how Apple used to perform refreshes prior to Steve Jobs' return to Apple. It seemed like every three months they'd release an incremental update to their desktop lineup and it had customers so confused that they would simply hang on to what they had until enough upgrades passed by to make a new purchase worth while. These PC vendors putting something 'new' and 'faster' every few months are making the same mistakes that nearly drove Apple into bankruptcy. By waiting a year or so for each hardware upgrade, Apple can ensure that it's not so incremental, that the improvements are definite, not just perceptual. They also try to ensure that these same upgrades are reliable; meaning that they're not going to simply drop in a new chip because it's new, but because they know it will hold up to the average user. They don't always succeed, but Apple's Customer Satisfaction ratings prove that they're at least on the right track.
Tell me something: Do you go out and buy a new car every year? Every two years? Just because they made some incremental improvement in economy or performance? No. You normally keep the car until it becomes too expensive to maintain or it just doesn't meet your needs any more--a minimum of 5 years on the average. A computer is little different. Why should you complain about incremental updates when you already know the computer you own meets your needs? Your computer getting a little old? Then the current model is probably already a significant upgrade over the existing one. I can maybe see waiting for the next year's model if I knew it was coming out soon, but if I need one now, I'm not going to whinge about how long it's taking for the next one to come.
As yet, Blu-Ray isn't a data standard for PCs of either stripe--the cost, if nothing else, is still too high. New chips bring a similar problem, i5 and i7 chips cost nearly double that of the current Core series. Yes, certain groups may want or need the 'latest and greatest,' but for now most people want machines that are economical and reliable. Maybe once the economy recovers a little farther from this past recession we'll see more frequent updates again, but until then, it only makes good business sense to balance costs and income.
Apple will eventually reach a brick wall in the premium end of the market,
There's absolutely no reason for this to happen. Explain how exactly Apple will "reach a brick wall." At worst, Mac sales will remain stable. At best, the Premium end will actually expand as the economy improves and more consumers enter higher-income brackets.
Eventually Apple might replace $1000+ Macs with a different product (tablet?), which would simply mean lower margins (or the same margins at a lower price point), but it still won't mean there would be no demand for tech at the Premium level. The Premium end of the market will always exist. Price points might naturally go down but that's no reason Apple can't continue to demand a relative premium if they keep rolling out great products. Apple can continue to charge whatever the market can bear. Clearly, it can more than bear $1000+ computers, even in a recession. Demand for Apple gear is as high as ever, and it looks like that's not about to change anytime soon.
You're right. I'm not sure what is really so Super about the SuperDrive anymore. I really would like an option to be able to at least upgrade to a Blu-ray drive, but then again, exactly why would SJ allow us to do that??? There are plenty of HD (720p only) movies that he makes available for our consumption at his iTunes store. Why would he enable us to bring our content into his closed ecosystem? You want to have fun? Pay SJ.
A few comments. For high priced computers, BluRay is most certainly "the standard." Apple has some of the highest priced computers yet are filled with low mid-end components. For Apple "high priced" doesn't equate to "high-end." They wouldn't add BluRay because it would cut into margin costs. Now that BluRay has cut costs considerably for licensing, it's time to AT A MINIMUM, ADD IT AS AN OPTION. Let people pay extra for it via BTO option if they want it. Apple could at lest do that! Apple should offer everything available on the market that will viably fit in its computers and perform considerably well as BTO options. BluRay is certainly a standard that Apple should at least allow as an option... heck it can charge ridiculous margins for it and make extra money. Those users that need it will pay for it, and those users that want it for entertainment will justify added costs for it.
From the price checking I have done, Core i5/i7 CPUs (32nm Arrandale) actually cost less than the Core 2 Duo series CPUs they're directly replacing! That's certainly not the case with the Quad Core 45nm CPUs at lower clock speeds... but Arrandale 32NM is a better buy, higher clock speeds, and include the graphics (as crappy as Intel's IGP may be). The MBPs will definitely get an Arrandale 35W 32nm CPU.
It appears I painted my argument with much too broad a brush.
Despite the fact that the cost of Blu-Ray drives is down significantly, the cost of Blu-Ray disks is still prohibitive at $2.20 per disk or more while regular DVDs only cost $.50 each, depending on where you get them. This is merely one of the reasons I say the price is too high to be a standard. Yes, I know you can buy a Blu-ray recorder for any machine, including Apple as an external unit, but are you really ready to conceivably waste tens of dollars per cake if you happen to have the inevitable bad burn? Are you willing to spend $250 for a cake of a hundred disks when you can get DVDs for less than $50? I'm not.
As for your argument about "Apple has some of the highest priced computers yet are filled with low mid-end components..." I happen to know from first-hand experience that Apple maintains very high standards for the components they buy. Working for a component manufacturer, I saw the extremely narrow tolerances they demanded for what we shipped; not the usual ±5% tolerances, not even the tighter ±2% seen on many other high-end brands, but often a ±.5%, that's right, one-half of one percent toleranceand if their own testing revealed even 1% of the shipped components out of that tolerance, we received the entire shipment back for reverification or replacement. We're talking about values and tolerances so small that the QA had to be performed in a Faraday cage with all lighting and personal electronics outside of the cage. This even included any battery-powered watches. Apple pays more for the components they buy, and as we have already seen, if a manufacturer doesn't meet their demands, Apple will go to another manufacturer for the components they need.
Ok, so maybe some of the processors you checked are cheaper than what Apple is currently using (by the way, they are using i5/i7s as well) but the requirements there are just as stringent; there's at least an even chance that those cheaper prices you found were components rejected by Apple and the higher-end brands like Alien.
So in summary, Blu-ray is not "the standard". They are not in every make and model of computer on the market, and until media prices come down, they aren't likely to be. That doesn't mean you can't buy them, only that so-called ubergeeks are likely to be the ones to get them for now. Nobody I know--and I know a number of IT professionals--is even considering them unless they're in a media creation business as well.
BluRay is standard in game consoles and standalone disc players.
Playing HD video on a PC is a "bad idea-tm", and Apple would have to agree to licensing terms harsher than Flash is hard on CPU's. "Allowing" BluRay as an external device on a mac is sufficient. Anybody can add BluRay at anytime to a mac and even network them via other BluRay equipped devices.
One only needs ONE BluRay drive, if at all.
You know what the real answer is. Apple is all about forward leaning on file based media. "Be glad, not sad."
Rocketman