Theory on rising Mac (mini) sales and rising prices -- iOS programming

[talmy]

Last night I was at my first night of (teaching) classes this term and another instructor was unpacking a box of a half dozen Mac minis for his class room. He is teaching a class on iOS programming.

This got me to thinking -- is the upswing in Mac sales mostly or perhaps entirely caused by the numbers of iOS developers who MUST have a Mac? For program development, they would be drawn to the lowest cost device possible, and that is the Mac mini. And to cash in on this, Apple raises the entry level model's price.

How many people are buying minis solely for iOS programming?

I've got three minis. One is the server and the other two act as media centers. I don't do any iOS programming.

 

[bluedevils]

I think more people are buying macs for other reasons as well. I don't think programming is the major factor in increased mini sales.

I know many who bought or contemplating buying because of their good experiences with the devices. They hear the stories of virus free OS and believe the user experience will match what they have with an IOS device. At least they figure there would be better integration with their IOS device.

 

[MattA]

Most of the people that I knew who bought Mac Minis bought them when they got a halfway decent video chipset in them. The 9400m was much better than the Intel embedded chipset. That was the main reason I bought as well. Being able to run dual monitors and the occasional game was reason enough.

I'm actually very happy with my mac mini. It's been a great little machine!

 

[SmilesLots]

My mini's are for archiving audio tapes.

 

[talmy]

I know that these polls are far from scientific, but I find it amusing that out of 11 responses nobody is using their mini for iOS programming. It looks like my original premise is far from the mark.

 

[Baby Mac]

I got it because it's small, silent and cool, temperature-wise and otherwise.

 

[ActionableMango]

I bought the original Mac Mini because for the first time, the price point was low enough to simply try out a Mac.

One thing I did not expect is that there is actually a huge advantage to having less apps available on OS X vs Windows. My Windows machines were always getting messed up by the hundred of apps I'd install and uninstall (or forget and leave them installed), trying to find decent software. On OS X there are only a few apps for any particular task, but the quality seems much, much higher. Over time I found myself doing nearly everything on the Mini and only doing two things on the PC: (1) games and (2) maintaining the PC. It seemed like I was always productive on the Mini and always maintaining the PC.

I've since moved on to an Intel Mini and a first gen MBP with bootcamp for games. I'm planning to get a MP by year's end.

 

[AbSoluTc]

I picked up my Mini to learn the Mac OS and for a change from Windows. I wanted something new and the Mini's price and form factor is what I wanted. I didn't need another monitor on my desk.

So far, I am happy.

 

[archipellago]

Mac Mini buyers = 1 born every minute...

 

[pastrychef]

Mac Mini buyers = 1 born every minute...

What the heck is that supposed to mean?

 

[Kebabselector]

What the heck is that supposed to mean?

He'll post about about Dell being better value in a bit. They maybe, but only Apple ship with OS X which is important for me.

He'll also state Windows 7 is better, but after my usual day of working with Windows 7 i'm happy to come home to OS X.

The Apple price is crap, it's overpriced - certainly in the UK. But as I tend to update once a year when the new Minis come out it really doesn't cost me a great deal (as the Mini has a good resale value).

 

[pastrychef]

He'll post about about Dell being better value in a bit. They maybe, but only Apple ship with OS X which is important for. He'll also state Windows 7 is better, but after my usual day of working with Windows 7 i'm happy to come home to OS X.

The Apple price is crap, it's overpriced - certainly in the UK. But as I tend to update once a year when the new Minis come out it really doesn't cost me a great deal (as the Mini has a good resale value).

I managed to buy mine for $380 used. It runs 24/7 silently serving up a host of services. One of the best purchases I ever made.

 

[Kebabselector]

One of the best purchases I ever made.

Can safely say the same thing about my 2006 1.66ghz Mini as well. It's been switched on for 4 years now! Great little box - setup up as my webserver at the moment.

 

[dolphin842]

I know that these polls are far from scientific, but I find it amusing that out of 11 responses nobody is using their mini for iOS programming. It looks like my original premise is far from the mark.

The ratio of developers to general users has historically been quite small and, despite the iOS gold rush, will probably continue to be small for the indefinite future. What you're looking for is a statistically significant increase in that ratio between some previous time and today, something that the poll cannot achieve unfortunately. I think it would be pretty safe to conjecture though that developer purchases do not affect sales to any great degree, just because they're such a small portion of the Apple consumer base.

As for the price increase, I think it's partly due to the newer unibody enclosure, and partly Apple making a bit more profit from what has historically been a lower-margin device (but still high relative to industry standards).

 

[btbrossard]

Mac Mini buyers = 1 born every minute...

Why would you spend so much time on a Mac forum if 99% of your posts are mac/apple bashing?

Certainly there is a Dell community forum you could find.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

I think people are getting these for media centers and everything else, use mine for netflix,net,mail,music, etc Halflife2/Bioshock etc etc and have it hooked up to a 32"lcd. Its a perfect mancave set up if you ask me. Apple using a better graphics chip just sealed the deal. MacMini's are simply great!

 

[talmy]

I think it would be pretty safe to conjecture though that developer purchases do not affect sales to any great degree, just because they're such a small portion of the Apple consumer base.

Probably so. I was just caught up in the schools purchase of Mac minis solely for a iOS programming class. And I know we are not alone. But even with all those apps out there it probably is a drop in the bucket.

Apple has stopped promoting Macs (no TV commercials and all emphasis seems to be on iOS devices), has seemed to slow development, yet sales are heading up and faster than the computer industry's recovery as a whole. I also know plenty of people with iPhones but no Mac, and don't see that often commented effect (buy an iOS device, "see the light", and buy a Mac). So just wondered about iOS development which forces the purchase.

As for the price increase, I think it's partly due to the newer unibody enclosure, and partly Apple making a bit more profit from what has historically been a lower-margin device (but still high relative to industry standards).

Well they were $500 at one time, so this is a 40% price increase in an industry that has never seen a price increase. Note that they didn't increase the price of the server model, so I don't think the switch to aluminum is a factor, nor any change in the electronics which also occurred in the server model.

 

[Alvi]

Nah, Actually, From a point of view I see the Mac Mini is one of the Last Macs an iOS Developer would use
One that already Develops Apps for Windows or anything else and is Interested enough to go to buy a Mac for iOS would buy an iMac or even a Mac Pro
The Mini is beautiful and great, but it's not an Out of the Box product, you need Speakers, Mic, Screen, Keyboard and so on, and all of those have variable qualities depending on what you buy, If you get a MacBook or an iMac you have a great overall quality, and if you have a Mac Pro you know and have the money to buy good stuff and that can really affect the quality of your app

The amateur is most of the time already a Mac user which would probably buy a MacBook Pro or an iMac, If i did apps the computer i would buy is the iMac, To get started developing apps seriously you need almost 2000$ (200$ iPhone and/or 500-800$ iPad and the 100$ Developer thing and a Mac, so if you have that money you can probably afford better than a Mini

 

[talmy]

Nah, Actually, From a point of view I see the Mac Mini is one of the Last Macs an iOS Developer would use
One that already Develops Apps for Windows or anything else and is Interested enough to go to buy a Mac for iOS would buy an iMac or even a Mac Pro
The Mini is beautiful and great, but it's not an Out of the Box product, you need Speakers, Mic, Screen, Keyboard and so on, and all of those have variable qualities depending on what you buy, If you get a MacBook or an iMac you have a great overall quality, and if you have a Mac Pro you know and have the money to buy good stuff and that can really affect the quality of your app

I don't see this at all! A current developer who is interested in iOS development will already have the keyboard, mouse, and display necessary. The speaker in the Mini is sufficient for most development, and the developer might have speakers already. The extra power of an iMac or especially Mac Pro may be an ego boost, but is unlikely to be beneficial.
Buying a Mac Pro instead means throwing away at least $2000 of profit.

The money needs to go into buying an iPad, iPhone, and iPad Touch.

I do embedded programming by day on a PC with a Pentium IV of a speed I don't even know. Windows XP and a GB of RAM. It's just fine. My only concession to "power" is I have two monitors because screen real estate is important. And a mini will do that.