Will Apple eventually stop with the Macs altogether? They aren't giving much attention at all to the Macs now compared to the iDevices, and the iDevices are bringing in most of the profit...
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Will Apple eventually stop with the Macs altogether?
- Thread starter mrsir2009
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Guess you missed the new 11" MBA and the new redesigned 13" MBA.
Did you miss the recent updates to the MBP line, quad core, thunderbird ...
The assumption in your post is incorrect, imo.
I'm not being silly. Something like 95% of their profit is from the iDevices ... So why not focus all their energy on the iDevices?
He got it from where most posters on these boards get their percentages.
He pulled it out of his rear end.
I think the MBA and the MBP updates have shown Apple isn't abandoning the Mac any time soon. Will there be a blending of iOS and OS X? Yes, more and more. Will there be a merging of mobile devices and Macs? Probably, more and more. But Apple isn't going to just drop the Mac. The iPod, iPhone and iPad have been great at promoting switching.
It's a known fact that for a while iDevices generate the majority of Apple's profits. Steve even said that yesterday. But there's no way in hell it's even close to 95%. That's a ridiculous number.
BTW, Macintosh will not be going away any time soon. Eventually though (my guess is in at least 10 years), it may evolve into something so different that the Mac name could change. Who knows? But the Mac and iDevices are converging.
MacRumors would have to change its name to AppleRumors.com. They already own the domain anyway.
BTW, Macintosh will not be going away any time soon. Eventually though (my guess is in at least 10 years), it may evolve into something so different that the Mac name could change. Who knows? But the Mac and iDevices are converging.
MacRumors would have to change its name to AppleRumors.com. They already own the domain anyway.
Last edited:
This is pretty much irrational fear and it keeps popping up on the boards (not just MR). I find it tiring.
Company are capable of managing divergent product lines. Toyota makes Tundra pickups and Priuses. Sony makes all level of video cameras and home stereos, TVs, etc. I make breakfast and dinner. etc. etc.
Company are capable of managing divergent product lines. Toyota makes Tundra pickups and Priuses. Sony makes all level of video cameras and home stereos, TVs, etc. I make breakfast and dinner. etc. etc.
It's progress man, technology evolves. I'm sure that in the future computers will be completely different than what we have today. It's neither good nor bad, it's just forward motion.
30 years ago you could have asked, "is IBM going to stop making typewriters? I mean they seem really focused on their new line of personal computers?"
30 years ago you could have asked, "is IBM going to stop making typewriters? I mean they seem really focused on their new line of personal computers?"
Cite your source that details apple's profits are solely from the iDevices. This makes no sense given the rising marketshare, and the quarterly reports that apple has.
Without a Mac, how would developers produce the apps that are running on all those iDevices?
Until Xcode runs on something other than Mac OS, it's too early to worry about Macs going away.
Until Xcode runs on something other than Mac OS, it's too early to worry about Macs going away.
Yeah, but a PC could literally do everything a typewriter could do, and do it better. (And it made carbon paper obsolete in the process) You can't say that about an iOS device vs. a Mac.
Toyota also makes a lot of mid sized vehicles, cars, crossovers, etc.
Where is the mid sized Mac?
Even if I agreed with your assertion (which I don't), and Apple only care about iDevices, what do you think is used to create the software (both Apple's and 3rd party) which has made these things so successful?
If anything, the increase in iOS devices is driving an increase in Macintosh sales, both from end users due to the halo effect and from developers who are buying them to get into the lucrative iOS market.
I bought my daughter an iMac 10 years ago and it was very difficult to find anywhere that sold Macs on the high street. Nowadays you can buy them just about anywhere and everywhere
Why would Apple give that up?
Wrong, according to my last visit at the Apple Store and from what I read. Their manager said it was somewhere over 60% percent from iDevices and will probably go up slightly with introduction of iPad 2.
This sounds right because in late-2009, CompTIA mentioned this in an article for technicians. I would think with extreme growth of iPad, which can happen because of iPad 2, maybe 70% percent being iDevices for revenue or "net" income, or both.
I couldn't imagine 95% percent in either revenues or net profit. (I can't find anything on the internet that is any sort of industry related article that quotes this high of a percentage).
I know the iDevices have done well, and that SJ mentioned it's the biggest part of Apple, but I don't remember him saying 95% percent, do you?
Even if SJ said that live or off the cuff, then why would CompTIA, who represents nearly 3,000 technical companies, state a number in the 60th percentile (if even the high-60th percentile?) And why would Apple even be making any Macs if it only constituted five percent of either sales and/or net profit?
I think we all know SJ can say a lot of things over the top
, and he was across the street from my school, however, the guy is known for being a little enthusiastic. If you were at the keynote and he said 95% percent, terms like 95% or 90% percent is a lot of peoples' way of simply saying "majority". Think of all the times people say "ninety percent" when they actually mean "most". "That relief pitcher turns to his changeup 90% percent of the time when the score is close!"...Really? (says who?) How about saying, that pitcher turns to the changeup most of the time when the score is close? I guess "most of the time" doesn't sound as dramatic as "90% percent of the time". I can't say I heard SJ use the term 95% percent (though it's so typical of his hard sell demeanor and/or enthusiasm) and my CNN download of entire talk, including a few minutes after his speech is one where he mentioned "most" of Apple and not "95% percent". Of course, this time I was not there at an Apple or industry event/seminar so I can't say for sure.
That being said, if iDevices sustain or improve on that 70% percent, I think there is very little that is keeping Apple making computers forever. Apple can make a living just on iDevices and be far ahead of many other companies in Silicon Valley. What percentage do we have on cellphones-smartphone market? on MP3 players? on MP3 downloads? Suffice to say, Apple is doing extremely well on those fronts and can do without Macs if they chose to. But I am still glad that Apple does Macs. Like others may have suggested, if Apple stops making Macs, it's because the iDevices evolved to the point of swallowing up the Mac. The full sized tower could one day shrink into a Mac mini sized machine and the Macbooks could be swallowed up into very sophisticated iPads (or what comes next in iPad line).
Most people I know who have iPhone or iPod, and download from iTunes use PCs, and its those who have made Apple's employee base quadruple since the invention of the iPod. Steve Jobs definitely did say that these devices are "the" future of the industry. With MP3 players generically being called iPods and smarthphones being almost nothing without mention of iPhone, I would say that his huge predictions of where devices would lead us was not off target, but maybe just a little premature. In the end, his predictions eventually came out to be true.
Last edited:
Wrong, according to my last visit at the Apple Store and from what I read. Their manager said it was somewhere over 60% percent from iDevices and will probably go up slightly with introduction of iPad 2.
This sounds right because in late-2009, CompTIA mentioned this in an article for technicians. I would think with extreme growth of iPad, which can happen because of iPad 2, maybe 70% percent being iDevices for revenue or "net" income, or both.
I couldn't imagine 95% percent in either revenues or net profit. (I can't find anything on the internet that is any sort of industry related article that quotes this high of a percentage).
I know the iDevices have done well, and that SJ mentioned it's the biggest part of Apple, but I don't remember him saying 95% percent, do you?
Even if SJ said that live or off the cuff, then why would CompTIA, who represents nearly 3,000 technical companies, state a number in the 60th percentile (if even the high-60th percentile?) And why would Apple even be making any Macs if it only constituted five percent of either sales and/or net profit?
I think we all know SJ can say a lot of things over the top
Think of all the times people say "ninety percent" when they actually mean "most". "That relief pitcher turns to his changeup 90% percent of the time when the score is close!"...Really? (says who?) How about saying, that pitcher turns to the changeup most of the time when the score is close? I guess "most of the time" doesn't sound as dramatic as "90% percent of the time". I can't say I heard SJ use the term 95% percent (though it's so typical of his hard sell demeanor and/or enthusiasm) and my CNN download of entire talk, including a few minutes after his speech is one where he mentioned "most" of Apple and not "95% percent". Of course, this time I was not there at an Apple or industry event/seminar so I can't say for sure.
That being said, if iDevices sustain or improve on that 70% percent, I think there is very little that is keeping Apple making computers forever. Apple can make a living just on iDevices and be far ahead of many other companies in Silicon Valley. What percentage do we have on cellphones-smartphone market? on MP3 players? on MP3 downloads? Suffice to say, Apple is doing extremely well on those fronts and can do without Macs if they chose to. But I am still glad that Apple does Macs. Like others may have suggested, if Apple stops making Macs, it's because the iDevices evolved to the point of swallowing up the Mac. The full sized tower could one day shrink into a Mac mini sized machine and the Macbooks could be swallowed up into very sophisticated iPads (or what comes next in iPad line).
Most people I know who have iPhone or iPod, and download from iTunes use PCs, and its those who have made Apple's employee base quadruple since the invention of the iPod. Steve Jobs definitely did say that these devices are "the" future of the industry. With MP3 players generically being called iPods and smarthphones being almost nothing without mention of iPhone, I would say that his huge predictions of where devices would lead us was not off target, but maybe just a little premature. In the end, his predictions eventually came out to be true.
UPDATE:
http://www.macworld.com/article/152825/2010/07/apple_3rdquarter_results.html
This last quarter suggests, at best, that iDevices are just over 70% percent give or take a point, not 95% percent and this is just one source, but it's Macworld. Other sources vary slightly, but 60%-70% percent (but gaining on the higher number) seems like a pretty good number on any given day in last year for iDevices.
Last edited:
Here is Apple's last quarter with revenue of their 4 big lines - Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. As you can see, Macs are an over $5 billion business and growing at a rate far that of any PC company. As for the profits for each line, Apple doesn't disclose that.
Attachments
In spite of the runaway success of iPads, there are many who consider the MacBook Air to be a compelling statement on where mobile computing is headed..
I think Apple is looking for iOS and Mac OS to intercept at some point maybe in the distant future. Not sure when or how that is. I think the way they are going about it is pretty elegant (ie: the changes in Lion).
I think Apple is looking for iOS and Mac OS to intercept at some point maybe in the distant future. Not sure when or how that is. I think the way they are going about it is pretty elegant (ie: the changes in Lion).
