Apple’s earnings report from its most recent holiday quarter was record-breaking across several metrics, surpassing analysts’ expectations. Inside Apple’s earnings report, there’s one item that’s especially noteworthy: Apple Silicon-powered Macintosh sales are positively exploding!
Mac sales generated $10.8 billion in revenue. That’s a whopping 26% increase in Mac-based revenue compared to the same quarter a year ago. And over the last four years, Mac sales have skyrocketed by nearly 60%. That’s unabashedly astounding. It’s hard to remember the last time we’ve seen traditional PC sales jump so drastically.
In a world that is primarily mobile-oriented, Apple has miraculously managed to create excitement around brand new laptops thanks to new designs, a willingness to fix mistakes, and of course, Apple’s in-house designed line of M-x processors.
The performance gains and power efficiency that the M1 brings to the table accomplished something that was seemingly impossible. It managed to get people hyped up for computer hardware. Sure, we’ve seen Apple iterate on the MacBook and iMac line, and sure, there is the Mac Pro, but Apple’s line of M1 laptops is the first time in a long time that we’ve seen genuine excitement for entry-level Macs from non-pro users.
Apple’s notebook lineup today is more compelling and exciting than it’s been in years. Consequently, it’s no surprise that Mac sales are accelerating at a rate that rival PC manufacturers simply can’t keep up with.
MacDailyNews Take: Even the entry-level M1-power Mac mini ($649 at Amazon) is an astonishing eye-opener. It’s not an incremental move up for Macintosh, it’s a jaw-dropping leap from Macs handicapped by Intel snails!
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It has been a long while since I had so many people calling me about getting a new Mac. It’s been even longer since I could confidently say, “At this moment in time, you can’t go wrong with any new Mac.” One guy just bought a brand new M1 MacBook Pro 13″ and was a bit upset when he read that the computer might be discontinued. I explained that its is a great freaking little computer. I have one and it is a pleasure to use, extremely powerful, and light as a feather.
The Mac is casting the Halo effect on other Apple products and services for a change. There are also lots of people with 12-15 year old Macs coming out of the woodwork all of a sudden. Macs last a long time.
M1 MacBook Air – in the under 1000$ category, it is hard to beat what it gives. Quality build, no fan, speedy, great screen, good speakers, keyboard-touchpad very good, best battery life.
It was bound to have some sales traction.
I have an M1 MBA – no fan noise when Zoom starts up like the Intel version or with Windows PCs.
It’s a brilliant computer, I love it. Once you go Mac, you don’t go back.
Not true at all.
I got a trash can and an M1 MBP. Rarely used anymore.
Yes, you certainly know all about BS…
The Mac is not back — it is
more indomitable present day than ever since 1984…
Not too long ago, the CEO was so obsessed with his “foresight” to see everything iOS, i.e., iPhone (Apple being a phone company) and iPad, particularly the iPad that he predicted would replace laptops. Along the way, he totally neglected the Mac line for quite some time (pipeline Tim). Then the longtime loyal customers got fed up and screamed for the return of the Mac. After a while, the CEO finally buckled and actually admitted “he was wrong”. That’s how Mac line was resurrected. People power at work. But it was close….
I totally get what you are saying, and the buck stops with Tim.
but…..
I’ve also noticed that it wasn’t until Jonny Ive left that the Mac started to heed the complaints of long time users.
I think Ive was the biggest proponent of the trash can Mac Pro debacle. That guy pushed form too far over function.
Maybe the Mac projects had to wait until the silicon was ready. iOS was progressing. The Mac would progress once Apple was ready. It amazes me how people think these things don’t take time. Everyone complained about the Beats purchase. But, AppleMusic is a huge success and AirPods are undeniably magical.
I’ve always wondered about Ive. Maybe Forstall was the right guy for the job? Ive wasn’t a fan though.
I’m not even sure what you’re asking about: Forstall was a VP of iOS (read: a programmer) and Ive was an Industrial Designer. What possible connection do they have?
Obviously you are locked into titles and unaware of Forstall’s multi-faceted career. Right, Jony was just a hardware guy making everything too thin or obtuse ridiculous designs, he had several, but the round trashcan MacPro was his worst and the beginning of the end his time at Apple ego tone deaf over six years. Obviously, Apple is doing better.
For those seeking enlightment of Scott’s many accomplishments, a synoptic list:
1992: Forstall joined Steve Jobs’s NeXT and stayed when it was purchased by Apple in 1997.
2000: Forstall became a leading designer of the Mac’s new Aqua user interface, making him a rising star in the company.
January 2003: He was promoted to SVP and supervised the creation of the Safari web browser.
2005: When Jobs began planning the iPhone, he pitted the Macintosh and the iPod team, led by Forstall and Tony Fadell respectively, against each other in an internal competition. Forstall won that fierce competition to create iOS.
The decision enabled the success of the iPhone as a platform for third-party developers: using a well-known desktop operating system as its basis allowed the many third-party Mac developers to write software for the iPhone with minimal retraining. Forstall was also responsible for creating a software developer’s kit for programmers to build iPhone apps, as well as an App Store within iTunes.
2006: Forstall became responsible for Mac OS X releases after Avie Tevanian stepped and before being named SVP of iPhone Software. Forstall received credit as he “ran the iOS mobile software team like clockwork and was widely respected for his ability to perform under pressure”.
Other: He has spoken publicly at Apple Worldwide Developers Conferences, including talks about Mac OS X Leopard in 2006 and iPhone software development in 2008, later after the release of iPhone OS 2.0 and iPhone 3G, and on January 27, 2010, at Apple’s 2010 iPad keynote. At WWDC 2011, Forstall introduced iOS 5. Forstall also appears in the iOS 5 video, narrating about three-quarters of the clip, and in almost every major Apple iOS special event. At the “Let’s talk iPhone” event launching the iPhone 4S, he took the stage to demonstrate the phone’s Siri voice recognition technology, which was originally developed at SRI International.
Software is far more important than hardware, but the advantage of Apple’s success is you can have BOTH…
Disclaimer:The admission of Cook that he was wrong was his own word. But the Ive story I present here involves some degree of my own speculations.
I really have no idea how much real design capability Ive had, but he was knighted! So, he must be good! (if it had any relevance, lol). I believe Cook and Ive had been very close buddies. Perhaps great minds think alike? When SJ passed away, his real successor was meant to be Scott, from all accounts regarding the relationship bet. Scott and SJ. Cook almost immediately fired Scott for the reason that he was a difficult man to interact with? But my speculation of the reason why Scott was fired was because (besides the fact he was talented) he was mad at Ive who started sticking his nose into software region, mostly display composition, fonts yes, thinner fonts and perhaps some ports arrangement etc. That’s probably because, after a well publicized Bondi Blue iMac (big deal…), or clamshell (literally) powerbook etc, CRT quickly transitioned to flat panel display. Everything became flat. There is no curvy sheet metal to play with as Jony dreamed of (Ferrari?). Now, Ive lost the space to play with so called “design”, thus he started tinkering with thinness. Cook knew that Scott was the Real McCoy in Steve’s mind (Cook being an interim caretaker), and seized the first opportunity to get rid of Scott when he crashed with the buddy Jony. Fantasized too much? Perhaps….
Spot on. I know reading stories Forstall and Ive could not meet in a room together, Cook had to be there to referee. Also correct there were books written Scott was heir apparent most qualified to be CEO and many articles at the time in 2012 national publications like Time magazine. High level mangement departure orchestrated by Cook and Ive, nothing more. Both had much to loose if Scott took over so it was an easy decision for both of them.
The karma for Cook is at the end enforcing returing to redesigned MacPros embraced by professionals and not winning awards in an art gallery, combined with making products thicker was the end of Ive. Seems no one can contain this highly creative genuis ego as well as Steve so he took his flat icons and went home…
I’m hoping Forstall comes back.
Legendary how the two could not sit down in a meeting and treat each other in a civil manner. Forstall not only was a huge threat to Ive going back to his golden days with Steve developing the iPod, iPhone, Mac OSX (Aqua), but a bigger threat to uncreative beancounter Cook.
Forstall faced the upper management firing squad and they got rid of him on Trumped up charges and mistakes so easy to correct.
Forstall is the only CEO on planet Earth that can take on Ive’s colossal ego, not that he would have to, and put Apple back in the creative tour de force…
The strength of the Mac is consistency. From the start, through good times and bad, through MANY transitions (software and hardware)… A Mac is a Mac. An ‘80s Mac user running System 6 on a Mac Plus could step through a magic time tunnel, emerge in 2022, and quickly understand how to use a current iMac. Hello, again. Desktop interface with pointer cursor, menu bar, mouse, keyboard, NO touch screen… But wow, such a huge colorful screen, no cables, so flat! Understanding the Internet may take more time 😆 How would MS-DOS user handle understanding Windows 11?
I love my little M1 MBP. Its a little beast, it just goes and goes and does all the stuff I need and with no fan noise. This is easily the best computer that I have owned.
I’ve been sick at home for some days now and I’ve been watching quite some AppleTV+ shows on my MBP (16″, M1max) in bed and have done some graphic design work when I feel OK enough. It’s incredible how long the battery lasts, no fan noise and the bottom of my MacBook only gets slightly warm. Excellent machine. The notch is questionable but hasn’t shown to be too noticeable most of the time. A nice plus would have been to add LAN connection in the power brick as they do for the latest iMac.
As soon as they release a M1 Max/Pro or M2 Mini, I will get a new one. Impatiently waiting…