Tim Cook Says 'Strong Demand' For 2016 MacBook Pro Helped Set New Mac Sales Record Last Quarter

[itguy06]

Strong demand my arse, more like Apple fans were starved for a new product and had been saving for a while. I wouldn't say that constitutes a victory IMO.

Yeah. Ashamed to admit it but in 1Q 2017 I made my first purchase of non-Apple gear and actually enjoy it a lot.

Instead of a Macbook I got an HP Spectre x360 - it's been a great 2-in-1 so far and can do some things my Mac can't.
Instead of an iPhone 7 or an 8 (or whatever they call it), I picked up a ZTE Axon 7. Great phone with great specs and performance. 1/2 the price of an iPhone.

Been an Apple guy since 2002 when they actually innovated and had the superior product. Today not so much and it's sad.

 

[544263]

Bottom line: Apple seems to be listening to (pro) customers.

For sure there are good reasons for this.

Don't buy if you think pricy.

Macs have always been pricy, and that was OK. But now, they are overpriced. - Big difference!

 

[0388631]

I'd be happy if they did a powder black metal shell.

 

[Machead2012]

MacBook Pro w touch bar is total garbage. Overpriced toy.
Wish I never bought it.

 

[Count Blah]

no idea what your point is.

The use of the escape key, without need to hunt and peck for it, or 'whoops' where did it go with this new layout, or now a multiple key click/touch away, all with no touch feedback.

Of course you can work arround Apple's changes(sounds familiar) by mapping the caps-lock key. Meh

 

[dbri306]

Here's a reason. There's no 15" model without it.

Good reason, then it's not the computer that you need. I on other hand need SD card, mac safe connection and one normal USB port. Still waiting while sitting on my 2009 MBP.

 

[Count Blah]

Good reason, then it's not the computer that you need. I on other hand need SD card, mac safe connection and one normal USB port. Still waiting while sitting on my 2009 MBP.

I hear the 2015 MBPs are VERY popular for people like you, with typical usage needs.

 

[BootsWalking]

If the 2015 was such a non-upgrade (you brought it up), then why are all the "I'm too smart to buy the 2016, so I'll buy the 2015 instead" doing that?

Because those who waited for the 2016 model were disappointed with what Apple delivered, both in terms of innovation and value.

 

[theluggage]

Let's be honest, 99% of those that complained about the MBP don't have the money to buy one even if it had all the specs they wanted.

Really? I can only speak for myself and I have had a couple of grand earmarked for a new Mac sitting around for the best part of a year. What I hadn't planned was having to spend a quarter of that on docks and dongles just to connect my perfectly good existing peripherals. Instead, if my current Mac suddenly goes phut, the most practical emergency replacement would still be a 2015 model.

It's not impossible that I will end up getting a MBP, although my current inclination is to dump my existing plan of a single "do it all" desktop-replacement laptop and go for an iMac + a cheaper, maybe non-pro, laptop. However, that involves waiting for (a) Apple to release the new iMac (and not screw it up) and (b) Apple to sort out what their "cheaper laptop" offering is going to be.

As for the TB3/USB-C thing, seems like there are two possibilities: (a) TB3/USB-C isn't ready for the big time and/or isn't destined for widespread adoption outside mobile - in which case the new MBP is a mistake or (b) TB3/USB-C rules and is the way forward, in which case when the heck is Apple going to roll it out across its whole desktop and mobile range? Currently all we have is a wishful-thinking interpretation of something Apple mumbled about "pro" iMacs in the famous pipeline.

If I tried my "iMac + small laptop" formula today, I'd end up with a TB2/mDP iMac and a USB-C only laptop... although, I suppose, there's the 2015 13" model...

 

[otternonsense]

Good reason, then it's not the computer that you need. I on other hand need SD card, mac safe connection and one normal USB port. Still waiting while sitting on my 2009 MBP.

It's not the computer I need, but it's the computer I was given. 1st world problem, I know, but it's easily the lamest MacBook I've ever used

 

[curtvaughan]

I think that you may be forgetting that there are millions upon millions of consumers who don't care about innovation. They just want an uncomplicated, light-weight and good looking machine to check emails, sign on to Facebook and Twitter and do Face Time with their family or current boyfriend/girlfriend. These folks have prioritized a Mac and an Iphone to be components of their middle class conspicuous consumption so they don't care what the products cost. To them expensive DOES equal quality. North America, Europe and China/India have enough of these consumers to have already made Apple the wealthiest publicly traded corporation on the planet.

Reading through a combination of complaints and adulations about Apple products, especially the last couple of years, it becomes apparent that there are two basic types of Apple customers:

1) those who are disappointed with Apple product design and decisions due to logically perceived flaws, and
2) those who defend all Apple products and decisions based upon some sort of odd love for the Apple corporation, regardless of design and pricing policies.

The first group is critical based upon the rationality of not wanting a second rate product at what are becoming luxury prices; the second group approaches Apple in a sort of religious, faith based logic, and consider criticism of Apple to be almost heresy. In that regard, this second type closely resembles radically religious people who refuse to hear rational arguments with their holy vision, and react with anger and derision toward anything contrarian of that view. This isn't the first time such things have occurred, particularly in the technology field. Witness OS wars between the MacOS/Windows/Linux faithful and all of the iPhone vs. Android flame wars. Interesting ...

 

[flat five]

Reading through a combination of complaints and adulations about Apple products, especially the last couple of years, it becomes apparent that there are two basic types of Apple customers:

1) those who are disappointed with Apple product design and decisions due to logically perceived flaws, and
2) those who defend all Apple products and decisions based upon some sort of odd love for the Apple corporation, regardless of design and pricing policies.

The first group is critical based upon the rationality of not wanting a second rate product at what are becoming luxury prices; the second group approaches Apple in a sort of religious, faith based logic, and consider criticism of Apple to be almost heresy. In that regard, this second type closely resembles radically religious people who refuse to hear rational arguments with their holy vision, and react with anger and derision toward anything contrarian of that view. This isn't the first time such things have occurred, particularly in the technology field. Witness OS wars between the MacOS/Windows/Linux faithful and all of the iPhone vs. Android flame wars. Interesting ...

what about the basic person that goes to an apple website and tries to insult about 90% of the members for no apparent reason? how would you describe that group? are you in that group? what's your reasons?

please tell me it's because you're a rational person..

 

[jase1125]

You can blame SSD pricing.

Period.
[doublepost=1494019500][/doublepost]
And Microsoft Surface Sales across the board suffered a 26% Loss in revenue last Quarter (for a total sales of $831 million, as opposed to Mac sales of $7.2 BEELION for the same time period).

Your turn...

You need to include other PC manufacturers for an accurate comparison. Microsoft isn't in the hardware game as the sole supplier with the goal of beating Apple. They are there to show other manufacturers what is possible and have been extremely successful. Your comparison is a straw man and a bad one at that.

 

[nviz22]

Until you look at the price.

Considering it's more cost effective than a Touch Bar MacBook Pro, it's a better option in 2017. When I am up for a new laptop in a couple of years, there could be better cost alternative products for me on PC's side.

 

[jase1125]

Where Mac revenue rose 26%, Surface revenue dropped 26% Year on Year for the last Quarter. Yeah, really putting the hurt on Apple.

Sorry, but Microsoft is not limited to just Surface. In case you wondered, many OEMs sell pro hardware with Windows and Microsoft gets a piece of the pie. Surface devices make them mo key, but their intention is POC for other manufacturers. That has worked brilliantly.

 

[Count Blah]

what about the basic person that goes to an apple website and tries to insult about 90% of the members for no apparent reason? how would you describe that group? are you in that group? what's your reasons?

please tell me it's because you're a rational person..

You are correct. The people who rudely defend Apple against logical, well thought out criticisms, calling others Luddites, poor, idiotic, etc... do need to keep themselves in check.

Which group do you belong to again?

 

[flat five]

You are correct. The people who rudely defend Apple against logical, well thought out criticisms, calling others Luddites, poor, idiotic, etc... do need to keep themselves in check.

Which group do you belong to again?

none
[doublepost=1494083070][/doublepost]

well thought out criticisms

lol.
the dude i was responding to had two groups listed.
meanwhile, there should of been #3 -- the vast majority of people that aren't in #1 or 2.
but he just wiped out most people and assumes they're either -- people who don't use apple computer's because they're smart or people comparable to religious fanatics.

srry but not 'well thought out criticisms'.. not even close.. just insults and uniformed opinions

 

[curtvaughan]

what about the basic person that goes to an apple website and tries to insult about 90% of the members for no apparent reason? how would you describe that group? are you in that group? what's your reasons?

please tell me it's because you're a rational person..

If I've been stung by a company, either by having purchased a disappointing product from it, or having been disappointed at new offerings giving me little improvement at price point for a good upgrade, I would choose to vent my frustrations on a website devoted primarily to that company and its products. Is that not rational? The issue, in many cases, is that some folks take criticism of a company as being a personal insult. I've posted over the last year or so my frustrations with the new MBP offerings as well as iPhone offerings in particular, on both this website and others of similar bent. This isn't because I hate Apple or feel derisive toward people who are pleased with Apple. It is because I'm disappointed that Apple has, at least for me, failed to create a product at sufficient price point/technical improvement to justify replacing my current Apple products - in my case, iPhone, MBP, iMac, and iPad - with respectively new versions of those products. I hope that the new iMacs will offer sufficient innovation and improvement along with affordable pricing to justify my replacing my old one with a new one this year. We'll see. I'm sorry you feel this to be insulting to you somehow - that isn't my intention. My intention is to put something out there in the ether which might somehow contribute to Apple's hearing my and others' current frustrations with their product directions. My criticism, or perceived criticism of "people who like current Apple products and directions", is only directed at those who interpret my dislikes to be somehow insulting to those who are satisfied or pleased. I'm simply expressing my views on the company and its product line in hopes that they will somehow listen. That you or anyone else happen not to agree does not, at least for me, mean that I have personal issues with you. Perhaps my dichotomy should have been better described. Onward ...

 

[Mefisto]

No! They are just logically expressing their frustration by calling anyone who disagrees brainwashed, religiously fanatic or a blind defender of Apple!

Venting, as it were. Quite hilarious.

 

[redheeler]

Apple has purposefully inflated the prices so much that the two-year-old prior-generation of MacBook Pros look like a good deal being sold at 100% of the original price. Value-for-money has hit a new low as a result. And unfortunately, it looks like that strategy has worked, at least partially, to bring in more revenue.

 

[WannaGoMac]

Why wouldn't you buy one without touch bar?

Cause wanted the touch ID finger print scanner.

 

[flat five]

If I've been stung by a company, either by having purchased a disappointing product from it, or having been disappointed at new offerings giving me little improvement at price point for a good upgrade, I would choose to vent my frustrations on a website devoted primarily to that company and its products. Is that not rational?

not really.. just use another brand.. if you have a negative experience with a company, why continue to allow the company to have a negative impact on your life?

The issue, in many cases, is that some folks take criticism of a company as being a personal insult.

what the heck?
your entire post was exactly about personal insults and nothing about criticism of a company.
maybe go back and read what you wrote and compare it to what you're now trying to present..

didn't read the rest.
this is dumb.
adios.

 

[quadrafenia]

Cook is delusional or he's gotten on the trump bandwagon. Or both

 

[44267547]

If I've been stung by a company, either by having purchased a disappointing product from it, or having been disappointed at new offerings giving me little improvement at price point for a good upgrade, I would choose to vent my frustrations on a website devoted primarily to that company and its products. Is that not rational? The issue, in many cases, is that some folks take criticism of a company as being a personal insult. I've posted over the last year or so my frustrations with the new MBP offerings as well as iPhone offerings in particular, on both this website and others of similar bent. This isn't because I hate Apple or feel derisive toward people who are pleased with Apple. It is because I'm disappointed that Apple has, at least for me, failed to create a product at sufficient price point/technical improvement to justify replacing my current Apple products - in my case, iPhone, MBP, iMac, and iPad - with respectively new versions of those products. I hope that the new iMacs will offer sufficient innovation and improvement along with affordable pricing to justify my replacing my old one with a new one this year. We'll see. I'm sorry you feel this to be insulting to you somehow - that isn't my intention. My intention is to put something out there in the ether which might somehow contribute to Apple's hearing my and others' current frustrations with their product directions. My criticism, or perceived criticism of "people who like current Apple products and directions", is only directed at those who interpret my dislikes to be somehow insulting to those who are satisfied or pleased. I'm simply expressing my views on the company and its product line in hopes that they will somehow listen. That you or anyone else happen not to agree does not, at least for me, mean that I have personal issues with you. Perhaps my dichotomy should have been better described. Onward ...

I read through your last few posts on here. My take on all of this is there are Apple loyalists over the years who have been devoted to Apple to their productline to better improve their work and personal life, and they're not seeing Apple's capabilities meeting their expectations.

That said, now that Apple has directed different avenues and have strayed away from what they once were, these loyalists are now becoming bitter/disgruntled that they're not seeing that same product line upgraded or refreshed. They don't like the avenues that Apple has chosen with wearable technology, stagnant iPhones, lack there of updates to the iMac and/or MacBook Pro (Most complaints I have read). These loyalists want to see Apple refresh and bring products back to what started this company, because they have faith in these products. And Apple is not on their timeline and therefore there are tempered feelings from these customers.

Regardless of where Apple is going, and as successful as they have been lately with their stock, Apple Watch success and iPhone growth, they are easily not the same company they were 20 years ago. Some have a hard time accepting that and others can't figure out why the changes. I see it as a company typically won't be the same as they were 20 years ago and they change with the times/technology.

Now, for me, I am more than content with their current product line. I have enjoyed purchasing the AirPods,/Apple Watch/iPhone/iPad/laptop/, etc. That doesn't make me an Apple worshiper, I just enjoy the current product line they have t0 offer. Not everybody would agree with me, but these products have offered me convenience and productivity for my lifestyle.

Bottom line is, there really is not one specific category of consumer when it comes to Apple. There are a multitude of people that appreciate Apple or don't condone their current path. But if somebody is that disgruntled where it's affecting their attitude and experiencing anguish, then they need to move onto a different product line and realize Apple is not going to be what they once were. It's a matter of adapting to what Apple is today or move on to something that would better suit somebody's lifestyle. That doesn't change Apple does not make a successful product and that they're not a successful company. Because they are. Apple can't be a company that meets everybody's criteria, that's not possible.

 

[gnasher729]

The best thing about the Macbook pro is you need so many adapters. It's fantastic.

Every single MacBook that I use has a USB hub. You can just buy yourself _one_ USB-C hub with HDMI, 3xUSB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, TF card and SD card reader.