“The personal computer business globally is in trouble, and the hardest hit large manufacturer is Apple Inc., maker of the decades old Mac,” Douglas A. McIntyre writes for 24/7 Wall St.
“PC sales may never recover, but the rate at which the industry has imploded slowed recently,” McIntyre writes. “Research firm IDC points out… Lenovo, the top manufacturer, suffered a 3.2% decline in shipments during the third quarter to 14,511,000. HP Inc. had shipments of 14,392,000, up 3.3%. Dell’s shipments were 10,751,000, up 6.2%. Apple shipments dropped 13% to 5,014,000. Asus sales rose 5.2% to 4,693,000.”
“Fortunately, Mac sales are little more than a rounding error for Apple’s results,” McIntyre writes. “Mac revenue in Apple’s most recently reported quarter was $5.2 billion out of Apple’s total of $42.4 billion.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s an utterly baffling mystery why Mac sales are down significantly.
Seriously, not much longer now. Stay tuned.
SEE ALSO:
As new MacBook Pro models loom, Apple issues fourth beta of macOS Sierra 10.12.1 – October 11, 2016
Thoughts on Apple’s MacBook Pro OLED touch strip – August 11, 2016
Apple preps all-new MacBook Pro line with OLED touch strip and more – August 10, 2016
Apple’s new MacBook Pro expected to feature OLED touch-panel, Touch ID power button – August 8, 2016
Next-gen MacBook Pro could feature Touch ID power button – June 28, 2016
Leaked photos pretty much confirm 2016 MacBook Pro’s OLED touchpad – June 1, 2016
Thinner, lighter 2016 MacBook Pro may feature OLED display touch bar and Touch ID – May 24, 2016
Old expensive tech is not a great drawcard.
To a degree certainly though you exaggerate the average consumer’s understanding of what is old tech though I guess in the Mac world such knowledge is higher than average. But the lack of promotion is also significant Apple seems to only like advertising new and recent products and thus has neglected the Mac generally. Hopefully that will change rather soon when new products launch. Sadly however one can’t but get the impression they are bored with the Mac, which to me is rather short sighted.
I wonder if the average non-mac owner on the street when asked what they thought of declining Mac sales, would respond with “Apple still makes Macs?”
I have money awaiting a real Mac Pro.
That would not be a black cylinder that looks like Medusa with cables and Wall Warts sprouting everywhere.
That would be a box that is user upgradeable and accepts industry standard accessories.
That would be a Mac with discrete graphics.
That would be a Mac with multiple bays for internal storage.
That would be a Mac with enough connectors to not need a hub.
That would be a Mac that is not a skinny, sealed box.
Many of us have kept our 2009-10 vintage Mac Pros running and upgraded awaiting a return to sanity. Apple should either build a proper Mac tower or license someone else to build one. I have no doubt H-P or Dell would be more than happy to get a limited license to build Mac Xeon Workstations.
Good luck getting one!
At some point it will be a proper Mac Pro, a Hackintosh or something running Windows 10 Pro. Not my choice- Apple’s.
I have current model Apple MacBook Pros and Mac minis running at the house and they are in no way a replacement for the Beast. Some of us do more than Facebook and do many tasks simultaneously. The Core i5 and i7s are nice, but cannot hope to do the heavy lifting of a Xeon.
unfortunately, its all too easy to go Hackintosh while waiting for the Mac you want. I was going to get mac-mini’s until they gimped the CPU. I ended up converting my WinXP machines to OSX El Capitan and they work fantastic. I wanted a retina 27″ iMac, but the discrete GPU was too wimpy. I ended up building an El Capitan Corei7 with a 960 GPU. Now I can even upgrade it to a 1060 GPU. How about that..
I agree about the licence idea why simply ignore such an important, if niche sector it promotes so much more in terms of the brand and mindshare. It will be a disaster if the accountants start dictating what products are to be produced, that’s the downfall of many a top company.
Anytime you are ready Tim, any time you are ready, FFS!
I assume that MDN is using sarcasm, which is deserved.
simple fact: if you don’t update your Macs or build them like how people want buyers are going to stay away regardless of ‘brand’. (Pros want an upgradable tower that you can change the GPU for example. The cylinder’s fixed GPU is now one third or less the power of off the shelf GPUs I can fit into an old six year old cheese grater Mac Pro)
Note: build them, update them like how people want: like iPhones and profits soar. Get that Apple Mac development team … ?
(perhaps Apple needs only to redesign the Mac every few years BUT they should upgrade the processors, RAM , HD etc whenever it’s feasible in-between major refreshes.
The slowness of Mac updates is due I believe to BEAN COUNTER mentality. I think Apple management led by operations type decisions is calculating it’s OK to lose sales by not updating as MAINTAINING PRICE with DROPPING COSTS of old components like processors etc means they would not lose much even with fewer sales, e.g the price of the three year old Mac Pro has not dropped. This might be financially ok BUT BAD P.R as consumers get pissed off. )
Hope Apple moves positively for Macs.
To your point, from article: “Fortunately, Mac sales are little more than a rounding error for Apple’s results”
It’s “fortunate” only to those with bean counter mentalities.
Apple is more than capable of allocating budgets to product lines so that they’re only competing with *previous* years’ results within a product line, instead of prioritizing product budgets based on percentage of total revenue/profit.
What a mystery indeed- old technology, at prices not competitive with current hardware.
Mac Mini- last updated 2 years ago.
iMac- last updated a year ago.
Mac Pro- last updated almost 3 years ago.
MacBook- last updated 6 months ago.
MacBook Air- last updated a year and a half ago.
MacBook Pro- last updated about a year and a half ago.
So their most recent updates are on their least expensive, and least capable, laptop model. Everything else is at least a year old, up to 3 years old. Has computer technology really stagnated so much in that time?
Of course, from a stockholder perspective, it’s hard to argue with Apple focusing on mobile devices nearly exclusively the last few years, with the greater margins that they see on products such as the iPhone and iPad versus on the Mac. It is a bit of a shame, though, being a longtime Mac user to see the neglect that the platform is apparently receiving from Apple. Apple themselves have claimed to be a “hardware company”, yet they aren’t updating the Mac hardware!
While it may be comforting for some to see how recent the ‘updates’ to the Mac devices were, it would also be good to know what exactly got updated since some may consider minor changes or modifications that they have little interest in, not really worthy of calling an ‘update’.
Newer Mac Minis that only come with a DUAL-core i7? My 2012 Mac Mini has a 2.8 GHz QUAD-core i7. What the heck is the matter with Apple? They’re going in reverse. Those new high-end Mac Minis are relatively expensive for just an aluminum case and Intel graphics. Sure, I changed the hard-drive in my older Mac Mini but it was a pain. Can’t they build one where the drive simply slips in and out? I was really worried about damaging the fan and SATA connectors as they seem rather small and delicate.
Apple has simply become a company for generating profits for Apple executives because both shareholders and consumers are getting chumped. Apple already uses older/proven components in new Macs and then they don’t bother to update them for a long time. That’s just not right. Just because Mac revenue is a rounding error, is that really a reason to screw over loyal Mac users. The Macs aren’t terrible but they could easily afford to do a lot better if they want to increase sales. It’s so damn annoying to hear Apple being constantly called the iPhone company.
Apple is lazy. No updates on macs means they build with old technology and increase margins. Never developed Siri, let the Siri founders leave, no echo even though they launched AI years ahead and so late to streaming music with at first an awful interface. Losing ground quickly. Amazing given the talent and resources they have. No longer hungry. Will end up biting them. No movie streaming when they once again invented rental movie streaming. Water torture.
Apple should wether build few “trucks” again, servers or, even better, some sort of clusterizable Mac mini that could be piled up for powerful CPUs and GPGPUs upgrades (with CUDA, please!).
Apple needs to not only upgrade the Macs it builds today, it needs some new models as well. The market has been asking for years for Apple to get going with new hardware that meets their needs, not the styling whims of an overpaid artist whose only abilities seem to be flat gray and lifeless.
If you look close, iOS devices are cannibalizing Mac devices, and at Apple, this process is normal.
iOS devices are innovative, have great components, are closed systems, have nice good margins, cost less to S&H and people get it.
Let’s hope Phil and the bunch have another great trick to pull of.
Agree to most above, but also another factor. I run two 27″, one going back to 2009, another a couple years younger. Both do everything I want and I hammer them many hours a day. My MacMini also does what I need (feed my TV). My MacBook Air (2nd I’ve owned) died a month ago, sadly. I have not replaced yet and am getting along on my 9.7″ pro. We have two other earlier iPads in the house and use for different things. Now here’s my point: There’s nothing about any recent iMac upgrades I absolutely need. A bit of speed, a retina screen–not essential to my work. Until there’s something about a new iMac that makes the leap worth taking (and then what do I do with the two I have?), why would I buy a new one? I like the fact these have run so long–it’s a reason I buy Apple. But I am disappointed my MacBook Air died, as did the first, the original model. As I look at the current selection, I simply want to wait for something new–whether an Air, MacBook, or Pro (I’ll see what the specs are). So part of the issue is that the Macs, in the main, are so good now that I don’t need to replace often. Part is also that I like the iPad Pro, though it can NEVER replace the laptop and will be used in a different way. I think that when Apple finally comes out with a great new set of laptops and a really major iMac upgrade, this will reflect in sales. Till then, we soldier on. The 9.7″ will do in the meantime.
MacBook Pro
13-inch, Early 2011
Processor 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
…why do I need a *new* MBP…???
17″ screen and an extended keyboard for 2 reasons.
People don’t buy outdated, neglected product lines? SHOCKING!!!
The Mac Pro is well OVER THREE YEARS since ANY update. That’s the professional line. The one line that really DOES need o be relatively up to date. Stunning.
Nearly the entire Mac line is painfully out off date and therefore even MORE overpriced, than usual, because of it.
THe Airport Express is so old it doesn’t even have AC wireless.
I have the same problem you all do, plus I need a top Nvidia GPU.
Honestly I don’t trust Apple anymore for what they may call an update for a Mac. “Updated AMD GPUs”? Come on, I really put GPUs to work all day long and it ain’t AMD anymore, at least for 2016.
I considered a six core 2010-12 MacPro but I gave up. It needs all PCIs to install fast SSDs, USB-3 and a fast Nvidia card (1070-1080 series still not supported). With connectors on the back and the HD space inside waisted because I use SSDs. All the problem and investment for a 6 year old hardware and also I will need another great monitor. If I already had a MP it maybe different.
I will keep my top iMac 27 from 2013 to run all I can and I will update my PC while Apple decides to come back to its senses. I need to be in control of my productivity and not depend on Apple hardware updates.
When?
*Tick*Tick*Tick* Waiting, waiting, waiting…
New Macs please! Yesterday! Waiting to buy!
Waiting, waiting, waiting…
It’s times like these when you wish Linux was a more viable platform. Linux is great, but it’s deficient in two areas (that I’m aware of): 1. Proprietary software is difficult to install, and 2. There is a very limited selection of software and games, even more so than for OS X.