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Not to beat a dead horse but I'm also considering abandoning Apple as I'm due an upgrade now. I'm still using a MBP from 2010 that I added an SSD and some extra ram too, it's still going strong although showing it's age it has served me very well over the years. Gluing parts in that used to be user replaceable, models now are 16gb of ram only (can someone explain this one?), thinness for thinness sake, removing stand…
Given the Mac's history in the last few years, and the fact that it only accounts for 12% of Apple's revenue and 8% of shipped units, I see two scenarios: 1) Apple gets out of the Mac business in a few years - Apple is not the kind of company to wait patiently for its product lines to run into the ground. The only reason they really need the Mac is Xcode for all those iOS apps that need to be developed. I wouldn't be…
This is simply not true. MacOS is at the very least a companion OS that gets more and more tightly integrated with the iOS devices. App handover, now also copy/paste, etc etc. An iPhone without a Mac loses many of its advantages over Android. Let alone that there are no signs Apple is going to abandon the Mac business as you say, the recent MBP announcements being the best proof of it.
On (2) switching to ARM: I personally don't believe in this, because this will break a lot of software and will seriously piss off a lot of people. The switch to Intel was relatively easier back in the day because the Mac user base at the time was laughable and there was a big promise that the Macs will become a lot more powerful. I know about the bitcode and stuff, but the more I think about it, the less I believe Apple is prepared to make the switch for its laptops and desktops. Maybe, just maybe one separate product line like MacBook Air switches to ARM, but then what's the point?
Car companies don't sell their race cars.
But they do sell to the public AMG, Motorsport, and TRD versions of their regular car lines even when they are not 'big sellers'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-AMG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Racing_Development just as Apple used to have https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Pro
Not to beat a dead horse but I'm also considering abandoning Apple as I'm due an upgrade now. I'm still using a MBP from 2010 that I added an SSD and some extra ram too, it's still going strong although showing it's age it has served me very well over the years. Gluing parts in that used to be user replaceable, models now are 16gb of ram only (can someone explain this one?), thinness for thinness sake, removing stand…
> models now are 16gb of ram only (can someone explain this one?) Which other laptop were you going to buy that supports more than 16 GB? How much does it cost? What's it size, weight, color depth and battery life? As far as I know, the new Surface Book also only supports 16 GB of RAM . Or the new Razer Blade. The Razer Blade Pro can have 32GB of RAM, but it is twice as heavy and twice the volume of the 15" MBP.
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/landingpage/promotions/weekly-s...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "models now are 16gb of ram only (can someone explain this one?)" "Apple told me MBP maxes out at 16GB RAM because LPDDR3 limit is 16GB/chip; Apple uses it because of performance/energy ratio." https://twitter.com/DanFrakes/status/791754757404626944 So basically, it needed to be thin and light ... because, Apple ... which limits the size of the battery. And more RAM would consume more energy, requiring the device t…
~~Older MBPs were thicker and could support 32GB. So Apple both cut away a little bit thickness for no reason, and then used that as an excuse to drop max RAM support? Something smells odd about that conclusion.~~ EDIT: No 32GB MBP ever existed. My bad.
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"Apple doesn't focus on the Mac Pro because they want to abandon creatives, it is simply because the Mac Pro doesn't enable any meaningful use-cases not served by the 5k iMac or its notebook line." Well said. This thought has been banging around in my head half-formed for the past couple of days. Thanks for expressing it so succinctly. I think this also answers why Apple has made the decision to limit/remove expansio…
> This idea of creatives being the core market for Apple during its early years is often floated. I'm not questioning its veracity, though I'm curious if anyone knows of references that backs this up with numbers or research? Check out Steve Job's first keynote after returning to Apple in 1997 starting at 18:35. He enumerates the assets the company still has at its disposable to claw its way out of almost imminent ba…
From 1997 Macworld Expo
- Apple marketshare: 7%
- 80% of all computers used in advertising, graphic design, prepress, printing
- 64% of Internet websites created on Macintosh
- ~ 10-15% Mac sales traced back to people using Adobe Photoshop
- Apple single largest education company in the world
- 60% of all computers in education were Apple
- 64% of computers teachers use were Apple
- Over $2 billion business in education
Also of note: Steve was not wearing a black turtleneck.
So it's pretty clear what segments of the market Apple was dominant in.
The question in my mind is related, but slightly different: what percentage of Apples revenues and profits came from these segments? Were there other markets out there that perhaps Apple wasn't dominant in but still contributed significantly to Apple's overall revenues? That said, I wouldn't be surprised if these two segments were the majority.
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>models now are 16gb of ram only Do you have a use for more than 16gb? Serious question.
There are legitimate reasons to need that much RAM. What I don't see people doing though, is asking if they are using the correct tool (laptop) for the job (video editing, data processing, compiling, etc).
If that's the focus, then it makes sense to emphasize thinness, aesthetics, and raise the price at the same time.
Microsoft on the other hand seem to be working hard on winning developer mindshare again, as they know they can't compete with Apple in the branding space.
I hope the surface book 2 will have a 32gb option.
Given the Mac's history in the last few years, and the fact that it only accounts for 12% of Apple's revenue and 8% of shipped units, I see two scenarios: 1) Apple gets out of the Mac business in a few years - Apple is not the kind of company to wait patiently for its product lines to run into the ground. The only reason they really need the Mac is Xcode for all those iOS apps that need to be developed. I wouldn't be…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> This idea of creatives being the core market for Apple during its early years is often floated. I'm not questioning its veracity, though I'm curious if anyone knows of references that backs this up with numbers or research? Check out Steve Job's first keynote after returning to Apple in 1997 starting at 18:35. He enumerates the assets the company still has at its disposable to claw its way out of almost imminent ba…
Thanks! I pulled out some of the stats: From 1997 Macworld Expo - Apple marketshare: 7% - 80% of all computers used in advertising, graphic design, prepress, printing - 64% of Internet websites created on Macintosh - ~ 10-15% Mac sales traced back to people using Adobe Photoshop - Apple single largest education company in the world - 60% of all computers in education were Apple - 64% of computers teachers use were Ap…
Unfortunately Apple's financial reports don't break things down in detail necessary to answer your question, but because of the power hindsight, we know that Steve gave this keynote when Apple was months away from folding (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/19/steve-jobs-apple-almost-...).
If Apple had other significant sources of revenue, he likely would have touted them as prominently as he did educators and creative professionals. Since he didn't, we can conclude with some level confidence that these were the only sources of ongoing significant revenue.