U.S. Mac Customers Continue to Wait for Updated Models as New iPad Launches

[xinu]

My 3 1/2 year old 15 MB Pro that every component replaced at least once, except the LCD, finally had its final logic board failure and now there is nothing to buy. Even with the Applecare, it really was a piece of garbage from a hardware reliability standpoint.

So, I am using my 2 year old Mini with a 512 SSD and 8GB of RAM to tied me over. As for potability, I finally ordered my first iPad. Maybe I'll wait for another year or so to see what Apple comes up with for the MB Pro.

I cant stop admiring my 15" PowerBook G4 1.67ghz it is soon 8 years old and still kicking strong. I just ripped a movie with HandBrake and installed new XBMC software to it, plays 720p movies smoothly as silk.. Antiglare display, of course. I like the design and keyboard too.

When surfing web, cpu temperature 40-50c compared to MBP i7 hitting 100c under load.. Batterylife is quite good, 3hrs WiFi with old battery..

If it was dual-core G4 with somekind of hardware accelerated video decoding, I could use it forever.

 

[iSayuSay]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B179 Safari/7534.48.3)

I don't need toys Apple, some people have work to do...

Without the toys, there probably wouldn't have been an Apple today however.

Agreed. Not all of us have to love iPad. I personally do not consider it as a serious and must have gadget. I'd buy one when the hype is worn off and the price is normal, might as well getting a preowned one just to make my expense for iPad really really minimum.

But.. Imagining Apple not selling iOS devices is just like having McDonald's that only serve humuss and mushroom soup. No American breakfast, hamburgers or french fries It simply won't sell.

And so does Apple today being the greatest company which main revenue comes from "junk" iOS computers. I'm not saying they are bad products, it's just in many case they're less needed or useful for daily computing. Mostly we only want them, not need them.

Mac certainly have more value and better computing environment, just like a good food, but it's less tempting. As a good food does

iOS is like foods with less nutritional value, but more fat and starch. Sells a lot and yummy, but .. Ahem ... Junk

 

[Navdakilla]

They need to redesign everything, or else people will be reallyyyy mad
(Apple has a knack for disappointing)

 

[jouster]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B176 Safari/7534.48.3)

pent-up demand could lead to a blockbuster June quarter for the company in that scenario.

When/if they release the new Mac Pro, their numbers are going to be quite impressive. They better have a pretty good inventory ready to go on release date.

Yeah, they'll sell hundreds the first day!









I kid, I kid...

 

[iSayuSay]

I have been waiting for the Mac Pro to update ever since i sold my 2nd Faulty iMac 27 because of the well documented Dirty Smudged Screen problem.

But all Apple seems interested in is it's Micro Sized iOS Toys - The last Mac-Pro update was nearly 600 Days ago.

I personally need a Good Fast Computer & 24"+ Display because of what i use it for (Music, Video, & 3D Modelling)

iPad 9" Retina Display ( you can't see the XXXXXXX pixels because the screen is so XXXXXX small ) & you can't buy a iMac 27 because it has a design fault with the LCD Panel..

All my Software at Present is Apple ( Logic Pro , Final Cut ) so A PC is no good but i am seriously thinking about cutting my losses and going over to the P.C

Toys R us (infinite loop C.A)

Same here buddy, I still own a 27" iMac which also develops an infamous dirty smudged screen. And I really think Apple should include it on their "Everything Mac" pamflet inside the iMac packaging, it's a great hidden feature, right?

So I really feel sorry about my purchase and really considering a MacPro, but I don't want to buy current (outdated) MacPro with full $2500 at minimum, and I still have to buy display, which cost $1000 extra (You don't want a cheap display with this beast).

But if you read my earlier opinion, world is just as it is. McDonald's can be a worldwide franchise restaurant not by selling soups. They sell junk foods, maybe like 90% of all sales.

And so does majority of people love "junk" computers like iPad. Not necessarily bad, but less useful, less functional, and less needed .. but heck, people want it more over a healthy and nutritional MacPro. Beefy, ancient and less sexy, just like your morning vegetable juice. Only people like us who can really appreciate and would like to drink it.

 

[vga4life]

Time for me to post this again:

It's all been said. Apple doesn't care about the Pro market anymore. Design was a niche (along with education) that sustained them when they were a bit player.

They are not a niche company anymore - they are a monopoly in the tablet space and a market maker in the smartphone space, either of which on their own are larger than any pro market they ever had.

In 5 years, there won't be a desktop Mac product at all. In 10 years, they'll be leasing dev workstations to licensed developers (like game console manufacturers do now) but even if they're using the mac name, they won't be selling general-purpose computers where any schmoe can run (or write) whatever they want. You'll have to use Apple's App Store (or, maybe if there's an antitrust case, one or two less popular alternative - but still signed - app stores.)

Mark my words. Apple is Microsoft plus Sony minus enterprise software and the music/movie studios.

 

[AidenShaw]

Wow!

Mark my words. Apple is Microsoft plus Sony minus enterprise software and the music/movie studios.

I'd add Standard Oil to the list - Apple's tactics are right up there with Rockefeller's.

Of course, Apple doesn't have a monopoly on crude oil, but they are approaching (or have passed) that point on online music sales, online video, and tablets.

How can Apple fans who have railed against Microsoft's "monopoly" not be screaming bloody murder about what Apple is doing?

 

[roofz]

If they make Profit with MacPro it shouldn't matter do they sell them by hunders, thousands or millions. Profit is profit.

this comment demonstrates a lack of a very basic business concept.

To companys, it doesn't matter if they make a lot of profit from a good if they don't sell much of that good.

if you ran a company, would you rather sell 10000 goods that make 25% profit from each good sold, or would you rather focus your efforts on making 1000000 products that make 20% profit from each good?

basic business

 

[Ryth]

this comment demonstrates a lack of a very basic business concept.

To companys, it doesn't matter if they make a lot of profit from a good if they don't sell much of that good.

if you ran a company, would you rather sell 10000 goods that make 25% profit from each good sold, or would you rather focus your efforts on making 1000000 products that make 20% profit from each good?

basic business

Well you are sorta lacking a basic fundamental of business also.

First...the answer is C....BOTH.

Your logic is flawed because you make it out that they have to pick A or B. Obviously you pick B if it's one or the other.

They have the ability to do both. Therefore they should do both considering A is what kept them going before the iOS devices came about.

They certainly have the resources and they certainly don't want to lose brand loyalty, especially from the PRO area. Either way they are making a profit. They don't have to

I think TIM knows this and we're going to be surprised.

The very basic business concept you are forgetting is making the customer happy...and that customer is the PRO customer.

 

[xinu]

this comment demonstrates a lack of a very basic business concept.

To companys, it doesn't matter if they make a lot of profit from a good if they don't sell much of that good.

if you ran a company, would you rather sell 10000 goods that make 25% profit from each good sold, or would you rather focus your efforts on making 1000000 products that make 20% profit from each good?

basic business

Profit is profit.

If Apple ditches MacPro they will lose millions of users switching to hackintosh boxes and there is nothing they can do to prevent it outside US where hackintosh is 100% legal even to sell them.

It is very very bad business to forget your roots, where you came from, what you are and what you were supposed to be. Professional.

You cannot do professional work with mobile CPU:s they melt under high CPU loads in some MacbookPro casing with tiny tiny fans going 7000 rpm

iOS is for toys. OS X is for computers.

 

[roofz]

Well you are sorta lacking a basic fundamental of business also.

First...the answer is C....BOTH.

Your logic is flawed because you make it out that they have to pick A or B. Obviously you pick B if it's one or the other.

They have the ability to do both. Therefore they should do both considering A is what kept them going before the iOS devices came about.

They certainly have the resources and they certainly don't want to lose brand loyalty, especially from the PRO area. Either way they are making a profit. They don't have to

I think TIM knows this and we're going to be surprised.

The very basic business concept you are forgetting is making the customer happy...and that customer is the PRO customer.

I didn't say that they couldn't do both, but the fact of the matter is that: In business, you would rather have A than B.

Of course, YOU DO BOTH!, but you definitely spend more R&D and marketing dollars, and just more resources in general on option A.

----------

Profit is profit.

If Apple ditches MacPro they will lose millions of users switching to hackintosh boxes and there is nothing they can do to prevent it outside US where hackintosh is 100% legal even to sell them.

It is very very bad business to forget your roots, where you came from, what you are and what you were supposed to be. Professional.

You cannot do professional work with mobile CPU:s they melt under high CPU loads in some MacbookPro casing with tiny tiny fans going 7000 rpm

iOS is for toys. OS X is for computers.

I agree with about 30% of this comment, the parts that say:

"Profit is profit" & "It is very very bad business to forget your roots, where you came from, what you are and what you were supposed to be. Professional."

However to say that you can't do professional work with Mobile CPUS and calling iOS for toys is just wrong..

 

[xinu]

I didn't say that they couldn't do both, but the fact of the matter is that: In business, you would rather have A than B.

Of course, YOU DO BOTH!, but you definitely spend more R&D and marketing dollars, and just more resources in general on option A.

----------



I agree with about 30% of this comment, the parts that say:

"Profit is profit" & "It is very very bad business to forget your roots, where you came from, what you are and what you were supposed to be. Professional."

However to say that you can't do professional work with Mobile CPUS and calling iOS for toys is just wrong..

What professional work can you do with an iPad?

 

[mrxak]

I don't really get why people seem to get so excited about new MacBook Pro/Air updates. Maybe it's just me, but my Apple laptops seem to last forever before I feel the need to upgrade. I had a PowerBook G4 I was using right up until about two years ago when I got my current MacBook Pro. If they were still selling that MacBook Pro model today, and I needed a laptop, I'd still buy it today. I'm always surprised at the rapid pace of MacBook Pro releases when they are such incremental updates and the old ones are still really good.

Maybe it's because I don't see a laptop as a main computer. I always turn to a more powerful desktop for any serious work, and a laptop is, to me, just a mobile device that can, if I need to, run higher end software at somewhat worse performance. But mostly, the laptop is just for convenience. Desktops benefit far more from frequent updates, so you can really get the latest thing for serious computing. Mobile computing is always going to be a bit behind, and if it's a bit behind anyway, what's it really matter? It's only good for low-end work anyway.

I suppose I should concede that those who only own a laptop may desire more frequent updates so they don't fall too far behind as desktops keep advancing. However, I think I'll always be mystified at people who choose to forgo a desktop yet still need greater computing power. That strikes me as an odd choice, then. So... if you don't actually need the power of a desktop, why the need for the latest-and-greatest laptop?

By all means, bring on new Mac Pros and iMacs, and heck, even new miniMacs. I hope there are announcements on those fronts soon. I won't begrudge anybody their MacBook Pro/Air updates either, but I don't think they're as needed. The current lines are still, very, very good. What are you trying to do with them that you can't? I'm really quite curious.

 

[iSayuSay]

Profit is profit.

If Apple ditches MacPro they will lose millions of users switching to hackintosh boxes and there is nothing they can do to prevent it outside US where hackintosh is 100% legal even to sell them.

It is very very bad business to forget your roots, where you came from, what you are and what you were supposed to be. Professional.

You cannot do professional work with mobile CPU:s they melt under high CPU loads in some MacbookPro casing with tiny tiny fans going 7000 rpm

iOS is for toys. OS X is for computers.

Yeah right, profit is profit. Even if it's only $5, it's still a profit. But I doubt MILLIONS of USERS are going to be disappointed if MacPro is discontinued anytime. In fact, MILLIONS of Apple users honestly don't care or understand about MacPro.

That said, I love MacPro, it is a beast and with the old school upgradeable concept, it's a Mac with longest lifetime. But maybe that's also the part which Apple dislike. MacPro is simply too durable, you buy it and you can partially upgrade it to suit your needs for next 5 6 years.

Apple is no saint, they love double dips, maybe even more so than making new sales. Although Apple is a bit better since they do it annually, they release new iPads/iPhones averagely in one year cycles instead of months like many competitors do.

Same case with Macbook Air, you can't actually upgrade anything (beside unofficial SSD upgrade), and so you can upgrade them (read: buying a new unit) within next 1 or 2 years instead of 6 like a MacPro. That's a good thing for Apple's business. You dont have to like it. But it's just the way it is.

In short .. Apple owes MacPro nothing today, it's really up to them if they decide to kill the line. It doesn't affect anything on their revenue. If there is another MacPro, it's just Apple being generous, not for chasing revenue. More like charity works or sales for Apple prosumers.

 

[xinu]

I hope they kill MacPro then I can open PearC shop here and make that 5 dollar profit for myself

 

[thekev]

I'd add Standard Oil to the list - Apple's tactics are right up there with Rockefeller's.

Of course, Apple doesn't have a monopoly on crude oil, but they are approaching (or have passed) that point on online music sales, online video, and tablets.

How can Apple fans who have railed against Microsoft's "monopoly" not be screaming bloody murder about what Apple is doing?

I'd agree. You must buy it through Apple. You can't use it on anything that isn't Apple. I'd understand more with software/games that are programmed specifically to the platform. Much of the other stuff (movies, music, etc.) doesn't really need to be that way. It's also not practical for retailers. The App store cut is probably less of an issue for those who would have sold to a retailer before. Even retailers save some costs, but I doubt they are enough to mitigate a 30% cut.

 

[jouster]

What professional work can you do with an iPad?

Well, I wrote, edited and sent a contract and an indenture today, which will result in a seven-figure sum for my employers. So.....that professional enough?

 

[xinu]

Well, I wrote, edited and sent a contract and an indenture today, which will result in a seven-figure sum for my employers. So.....that professional enough?

Yes for secretary it is. But that same piece of paper could be done with Amiga 500 computer also. And you cannot claim Amiga 500 as a professional tool anymore, it is so obsolete and old.

I ment more technical/artistic work. Work that make Apple products famous. Compiling software code, writing very long texts with real keyboard, rendering pictures, animation etc and even doing most of that at the same time, thans for multitasking and powerful CPU's and IO's and sufficient amount of RAM

 

[jouster]

I ment more technical/artistic work. Work that make Apple products famous. Compiling software code, writing very long texts with real keyboard, rendering pictures, animation etc and even doing most of that at the same time, thans for multitasking and powerful CPU's and IO's and sufficient amount of RAM

See there's your problem: you seem to think that your definition of professional is the only definition of professional.

Meanwhile, I'll keep right on generating turnover with my non-pro iPad 1.

 

[Billius]

Count me amongst those waiting for the new lineup of iMacs. My five year old MBP died on me recently and I want to replace it with a desktop. Ever since getting an iPad I hardly ever used my laptop portably.

 

[FluJunkie]

While they often don't know what they're buying, even clueless customers take advice from people who know better. One tech-loving son will often control the decisions of whole families.

And I've seen some customers who are about as tech-clueless as they get going "This seems...a lot like my old laptop."

 

[John.B]

Time for me to post this again:

In 5 years, there won't be a desktop Mac product at all. In 10 years, they'll be leasing dev workstations to licensed developers (like game console manufacturers do now) but even if they're using the mac name, they won't be selling general-purpose computers where any schmoe can run (or write) whatever they want. You'll have to use Apple's App Store (or, maybe if there's an antitrust case, one or two less popular alternative - but still signed - app stores.)

Time for you to, what?, regurgitate your pet dystopian fantasy again, vga?

 

[iSayuSay]

See there's your problem: you seem to think that your definition of professional is the only definition of professional.

Meanwhile, I'll keep right on generating turnover with my non-pro iPad 1.

I agree that he might be mistaken or oversimplifying with his defintion on "professional" user.
Surely you can do multi million business deals, payments and contracts on an iPad. Maybe it was just a simple email, document, electronic transfer or some sort.

But does it wrong to say that MBA can do those things too, and more? In a better environment and operability. Maybe not as convenient as iPad which you can use it on your coach, bed or simply just stand and grab your iPad. While with MBA you have to do it on a flat table, or less inconvenient .. your lap. It's admittedly not as flexible.

With that said, I do still think iPad is a sub-computer. It does some things you usually do on your regular PC (laptop/desktop). There are some overlapped functions. But then again that regular PC can still do much more than what you do on iOS.

 

[cherrykate]

U.S. Mac Customers Continue to Wait for Updated Models as New iPad Launches

It's not only for US Mac customers, almost all Apple Mac users are waiting for it.

 

[John.B]

It's not only for US Mac customers, almost all Apple Mac users are waiting for it.

Did you even read the article?

Last month, we reported on U.S. Mac sales data for the month of January as shared by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who concluded that NPD's calculated year-over-year growth of 1% was somewhat soft but perhaps not out of line with expectations given the firm's historical understatement of Apple's growth. Measuring only U.S. sales, NPD's data does not account for Apple's strong growth in international markets, and Munster notes that last quarter Apple's Mac sales outpaced NPD projections by 14 percentage points.