rMB the best selling Mac?!

[navaira]

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere.

According to the usually right Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via AppleInsider), the 12-inch MacBook is now Apple's best-selling PC product, with the 13-inch MacBook Pro coming in second. If this is the case, then I believe that if Intel had lost the spot in the next MacBook (something Intel would know at this point), such a development would have had a material impact on the Chipzilla's financial guidance for 2016.

IF this is true, Air is like SO dead. Also, I can't believe it. I thought it was the worst selling Mac.

 

[keysofanxiety]

13-inch Retina or 2012 MBP? Still though I'm surprised if that's the case, you get much for your money with the rMBP over the rMB.

 

[navaira]

Oh that's a good question re: which 13" MBP. I couldn't find the original article on AppleInsider.

 

[lite426]

If this is true, then I've been right about what I said all along. Some people claim the MacBook is Apple's niche product, but in my opinion the MacBook IS the mainstream targeted premium laptop, and most consumers prefer light weight and a good screen to a heavier weight and faster processor (rMBP).

 

[BarcelonaPaul]

I'm not surprised - it's beautiful, it's bang up to date! It's new, it matches your iPhone. No doubt, next years model will come in Rose Gold too! You see the crowds of young people around this at the Apple stores. The rMBP and Airs look incredibly dated next to it. It's got everything going for it for most people that want an Apple laptop. I've used Macs for 20 years now, but, for me, this is the nicest, most beautiful design Mac that i've seen. (Loved the G4 Cube at the time too).

 

[navaira]

I bought an Air for one reason – keyboard. What surprised me as well is that in the poll I've made earlier most people seem to love the rMB keyboard and say they find it the best they ever used, and hate everything else. But I have a desktop as well, and I use Sculpt which is very similar travel-wise to Air's keyboard, so if I got used to a rMB keyboard I'd have a problem.

Also the Core M. Ummm... But I figured out a while ago that Mac buyers don't care about processing power, they care about purdy, and the rMB is gorgeous. I don't want one, but boy, it looks good.

 

[boltjames]

If this is true, then I've been right about what I said all along. Some people claim the MacBook is Apple's niche product, but in my opinion the MacBook IS the mainstream targeted premium laptop, and most consumers prefer light weight and a good screen to a heavier weight and faster processor (rMBP).

Stop.

Considering the age of the MacBook Air (2008) and the MacBook Pro (2006) it shouldn't be a surprise that a brand new cutting edge 2015 notebook is outselling these older models in the short-term of its initial launch run. It doesn't make the RMB any less of a niche product, it just means that at this moment in time that the niche audience outnumbers the core audience which has no reason to upgrade their old Air or Pro with a new one that doesn't look any different.

You are right in that most premium niche consumers care more about weight and display than they do processing power as they don't stress their notebooks enough to notice the difference. That's why RMB owners are an extremely happy niche, being amongst the few and privileged to own the world's greatest notebook.

BJ

 

[Z3man]

Cant wait, mines coming tomorrow.

 

[lite426]

Stop.

Considering the age of the MacBook Air (2008) and the MacBook Pro (2006) it shouldn't be a surprise that a brand new cutting edge 2015 notebook is outselling these older models in the short-term of its initial launch run. It doesn't make the RMB any less of a niche product, it just means that at this moment in time that the niche audience outnumbers the core audience which has no reason to upgrade their old Air or Pro with a new one that doesn't look any different.

You should add: that doesn't look any different, and doesn't weigh any less or have a better screen. Which just proves my point. Right now consumers want lighter/better screen. Right now the MacBook isn't a niche product. Right now it's a mainstream, popular and desirable product for most consumers. When a redesign for the Air and Pro comes along, which hasn't happened, and they're both lighter and have a better screen, with none of the other tradeoffs of the rMB, then I might agree the MacBook would lose a lot of its popularity. But right now, in their current forms the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air are the niche products. There's no guarantee that there even will be a redesign for them, it's just speculation.

 

[boltjames]

You should add: that doesn't look any different, and doesn't weigh any less or have a better screen. Which just proves my point. Right now consumers want lighter/better screen. Right now the MacBook isn't a niche product. Right now it's a mainstream, popular and desirable product for most consumers. When a redesign for the Air and Pro comes along, which hasn't happened, and they're both lighter and have a better screen, with none of the other tradeoffs of the rMB, then I might agree the MacBook would lose a lot of its popularity. But right now, in their current forms the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air are the niche products. There's no guarantee that there even will be a redesign for them, it's just speculation.

You need to step back and look at the line as it stands now with two very old models up against a shiny new one.

Right now there is zero incentive for an aging Air or Pro owner to get another Air or Pro. So they're either not showing up or impatiently getting an RMB to satisfy that urge. If we could jump forward a year to see newly designed Air and Pro lines up against the RMB and judge sales at that time we'd see that the RMB is a great niche product for it's great niche audience.

BJ

 

[yegon]

Yeah, if this is true it's more a testament to declining Air sales than surging rMB sales imo. The Air matured a few years ago into - ignoring modern, recent expectations of screen quality aside - an astounding portable computer in terms of the ratio of power/battery/size/weight. Us forum nerds aside, there's been little to separate the last few iterations of MBA, so I can't see many people feeling the need to upgrade anything less than 3 years old, outside of plumping for something markedly different like the rMB. Equally, as much as the masses aren't as driven by specs as us spods, the masses are aware of tablets and phones with screens that surpass current MBA's so many probably won't even consider replacing it until the screen on their laptop matches the experience they have with their phone or tablet.

Completely anecdotal, but I travel a lot by train and I see countless MBA's in the wild - hundreds over the last few years - and have only ever seen ONE rMB. Granted, this is entirely anecdotal and I'm not saying this is indicative of the wider market, but the rMB is so incredibly portable a train is THE place to see such a device if people own them.

Myself, the rMB is one of the nicest computers I've ever owned. I've got a ninja gaming PC, a maxed 2012 Mac Mini with a Samsung Evo Pro 1tb SSD and a late 2013 15'' rMBP for other tasks, but for what I personally bought it for the rMB is exactly as brilliant.

There is one thing I'd add to the rMB though - and I'm 99.9% certain it'll never happen - and that's a sim card slot. It's the only thing I miss from when I used to tote an iPad around for on the go duties. I can tether, sure, but it's not the same.

 

[lite426]

You need to step back and look at the line as it stands now with two very old models up against a shiny new one.

Right now there is zero incentive for an aging Air or Pro owner to get another Air or Pro. So they're either not showing up or impatiently getting an RMB to satisfy that urge. If we could jump forward a year to see newly designed Air and Pro lines up against the RMB and judge sales at that time we'd see that the RMB is a great niche product for it's great niche audience.

BJ

People who "impatiently get" any product for no reasons other than having the flashiest have to be pretty impulsive and dumb. If people are upgrading to the rMB, they're doing it exactly for the reasons I stated: lighter weight or better screen. These aren't niche interests. Obviously though if I already owned a 2013 or 2014 MacBook Pro Retina I wouldn't go out and buy a rMB, I'd want to get at least a good few years' use out of my current machine and most consumers would too.

You say "if we could" do this or that, "next year" this or that, but none of that matters to me as they haven't happened. In the present, right now, the MacBook isn't a niche product. Anything else you say is speculation.

 

[boltjames]

People who "impatiently get" any product for no reasons other than having the flashiest have to be pretty impulsive and dumb. If people are upgrading to the rMB, they're doing it exactly for the reasons I stated: lighter weight or better screen. These aren't niche interests. Obviously though if I already owned a 2013 or 2014 MacBook Pro Retina I wouldn't go out and buy a rMB, I'd want to get at least a good few years' use out of my current machine and most consumers would too.

You say "if we could" do this or that, "next year" this or that, but none of that matters to me as they haven't happened. In the present, right now, the MacBook isn't a niche product. Anything else you say is speculation.

Light weight and superior screen are NOT niche interests. But combined with the RMB's weak processor and upmarket price that light weight and retina screen DOES appeal to a niche market.

"Yes my good man, I'll take your least powerful notebook and I demand to pay the highest price for it" is not something Mr. & Mrs. Average utter as they walk into Best Buy past the stack of $259 HP 15"ers looking for a replacement for the laptop the family uses in the kitchen.

ANY $1,600 notebook is for a niche market. A $1,600 notebook with a small screen and a weak processor and a non-Windows operating system is a niche within a niche.

Click this. You can get 6 of these notebooks for the price of 1 Retina MacBook.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchp...atingsystem_facet=Operating System~Windows 10

BJ

 

[BarcelonaPaul]

Interesting debate here guys, BUT I still do not think that the guy who plans on buying a HP laptop is an Apple customer. It's the person who loves his iPhone and the way that it works, he's maybe got an iPad as well which he loves and seeing the new design of the MacBook with beautiful screen and a very decent 512GB and 8GB of RAM is certainly enough to make him interested. I've had a similar conversation with clueless guys at the gym who were knocking iPhones for being too 'delicate' compared to their Samsung Galaxy's!!!!!!!!! Exactly! And they didn't understand my love and simplicity of syncing things from my MacBook to an iPhone and streaming to an Apple TV! Just goes to show!

 

[boltjames]

Interesting debate here guys, BUT I still do not think that the guy who plans on buying a HP laptop is an Apple customer. It's the person who loves his iPhone and the way that it works, he's maybe got an iPad as well which he loves and seeing the new design of the MacBook with beautiful screen and a very decent 512GB and 8GB of RAM is certainly enough to make him interested.

iPhones are free with a two year contract.

The Retina MacBook is $1,300 at a minimum.

Very different economics though the consumer has a similar desire for quality. Niche's are like that.

BJ

 

[BarcelonaPaul]

iPhones are free with a two year contract.

The Retina MacBook is $1,300 at a minimum.

Very different economics though the consumer has a similar desire for quality. Niche's are like that.

BJ

iPhones are NOT free with a contract here in the UK - on a contract they are £50 a month which is £1200 over 2 years just for a 16GB iPhone - if you want a 128GB, you are then charged up to £280 upfront on top of that monthly amount - a SIM only deal is £10 - £15 a month for similar airtime. ALL of the people that I know who have bought into Macs have like myself, paid the RRP for a iPhone at the Apple store and then opted for a SIM only deal as EE are incredibly expensive this year for iPhone. Certainly, in the UK it's cheaper to pay the £600 - £699 for the phone upfront!

 

[boltjames]

iPhones are NOT free with a contract here in the UK - on a contract they are £50 a month which is £1200 over 2 years just for a 16GB iPhone - if you want a 128GB, you are then charged up to £280 upfront on top of that monthly amount - a SIM only deal is £10 - £15 a month for similar airtime. ALL of the people that I know who have bought into Macs have like myself, paid the RRP for a iPhone at the Apple store and then opted for a SIM only deal as EE are incredibly expensive this year for iPhone. Certainly, in the UK it's cheaper to pay the £600 - £699 for the phone upfront!

Apologies, you are right, other countries have different pricing structures.

BJ

 

[SteveJUAE]

Exactly! And they didn't understand my love and simplicity of syncing things from my MacBook to an iPhone and streaming to an Apple TV! Just goes to show!

Funny how you think it's simplicity and I find it completely annoying and restrictive

That's the advantage of sometimes being on the outside of IOS you are free to chose to be nannied or not

It's the same for some of these photo catalogue software I find them completely intrusive and they often leave lots of little bits around like syncd Ipad photos

My professional environment is a well organised and structured and so too is my personal devices, I don't need or use spotlight, finder, search. I don't need to know pictures with bikes in them or songs by albums etc

Mini rant over

 

[lite426]

Light weight and superior screen are NOT niche interests. But combined with the RMB's weak processor and upmarket price that light weight and retina screen DOES appeal to a niche market.

"Weak processor" doesn't mean anything to most consumers, it won't even be a consideration in the buying process. The processor is sufficient for most people and the difference between the speed of the MacBook and the MacBook Pro Retina 13" doesn't matter to most consumers. The "upmarket" price is the same as or similar to the MacBook Pro Retina. So at the very least you can't say the MacBook is any more niche than the Pro Retina, can you?

"Yes my good man, I'll take your least powerful notebook and I demand to pay the highest price for it" is not something Mr. & Mrs. Average utter as they walk into Best Buy past the stack of $259 HP 15"ers looking for a replacement for the laptop the family uses in the kitchen.

To turn that around, "Yes my good man, I'll take your mid-range heavy notebook with half the storage of the MacBook, uglier design and no better screen" isn't something Mr. And Mrs. Average utter either. Mr and Mrs Average are more likely to ask, "Can it fit all of my pictures and songs and downloads and documents? It has 256 GB you say? And look how light and sleek it is! Look at that lovely screen Great, I'll take it."

ANY $1,600 notebook is for a niche market. A $1,600 notebook with a small screen and a weak processor and a non-Windows operating system is a niche within a niche.

The price in the US for the base model is $1299, the same as for the base MacBook Retina Pro. In the UK, the MacBook is £50 more expensive. You get double the storage for the same price. That matters more to most consumers. The real niche product is the 15" MacBook Pro Retina at $2000+.

Click this. You can get 6 of these notebooks for the price of 1 Retina MacBook.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?id=pcat17071&nrp=15&cp=1&sp=-bestsellingsort skuidsaas&seeAll=Operating System&ks=960&sc=Global&list=y&usc=All Categories&type=page&iht=n&browsedCategory=pcmcat138500050001&st=pcmcat138500050001_categoryid$abcat0502000&qp=operatingsystem_facet=Operating System~Windows 7^operatingsystem_facet=Operating System~Windows 8^operatingsystem_facet=Operating System~Windows Embedded Standard^operatingsystem_facet=Operating System~Windows Vista^operatingsystem_facet=Operating System~Windows XP^operatingsystem_facet=Operating System~Windows 10

It has 1366 x 768 resolution, it's ugly, and it's heavy, things that any consumer can notice and understand at a glance.

 

[navaira]

"To turn that around, "Yes my good man, I'll take your mid-range heavy notebook with half the storage of the MacBook, uglier design and no better screen" isn't something Mr. And Mrs. Average utter either. Mr and Mrs Average are more likely to ask, "Can it fit all of my pictures and songs and downloads and documents? It has 256 GB you say? And look how light and sleek it is! Look at that lovely screen Great, I'll take it".

This is EXACTLY how I imagine buyers of the rMB approach it. I just didn't realise that so many people had this sort of disposable income.

 

[Serban]

these days design is the selling point and Apple knows that
even in auto industry the design is the factor

 

[boltjames]

So at the very least you can't say the MacBook is any more niche than the Pro Retina, can you?

Yes, I can.

The Pro is a class of notebooks for working professionals in the field of media and publishing, niche industries.

The RMB is a notebook for working executives as a second notebook for travel purposes, a niche audience.

The hairs we are splitting now are a set of niches within a niche. 8% of the world is on OSX, 2% use Pro's, 1% use RMB's, with either product we aren't talking about mass consumables here when a perfectly suitable 15" HP notebook can be had for $249.

You and I are on the same page when it comes to the RMB's ethos where processing power doesn't matter, it's all about aesthetics and portability. Mr. & Mrs. Upper Middle Class will buy an RMB strictly on those grounds, no question.

BJ

 

[c0ppo]

these days design is the selling point and Apple knows that
even in auto industry the design is the factor

In auto industry design has always been a factor. Always!

 

[mattopotamus]

based on the average person's computing needs this is not surprising. It is easily the best looking laptop on the market. Most people could use just an iPad if they could be more productive on it.

 

[lite426]

Yes, I can.

The Pro is a class of notebooks for working professionals in the field of media and publishing, niche industries.

The RMB is a notebook for working executives as a second notebook for travel purposes, a niche audience.

The RMB is for everyone who wants a premium laptop. The name says it all. MacBook. Short, simple. Not MacBook Travel Edition.