Note to Google: There is a market for better Chromebooks. Someone needs to make a 13" Chromebook with a Core i3 and 1080p IPS display and 4GB of RAM and price it around $500. That thing will sell.
Over the same exact device running free Win8 at the same price point? Not so sure about that.
If Microsoft wanted to save its Surface (non-Pro) line they'd do exactly that, replace the Tegra with an Atom chip and bundle the free version of Win8 they've been giving to OEMS in the sub-$300 market.
Unless there is a paperweight market I doubt there is any market for a crapbook. Put Windows 8.1 on there plus as an added bonus you wont be harassed into using Ad+ or have your emails scanned and internet use tracked.
I hope this dude understands high resolution display with Intel CPU other than Atom cost a lot more than that.
There is similar shit already released one and half years ago, which is called 'Chromebook Pixel'. It has Core i5, 2560 x 1700 resolution 12.85 inch display, and 4 GB RAM.
And how much does it cost? 1299 bucks, bro. Considering it was released 1.5 years ago with higher spec than u suggested, Chromebook with ur spec will be somewhat cheaper, but not around 500 bucks. I doubt it is possible to make any margin under 800 bucks at this point.
Check the Acer chromebook 13 with Tegra K1, it has everyting your want, 1080P (not sure IPS), 4GB RAM, 32G SSD an even 802.11AC wifi for less than $400 !!! Its the best chromebook available now. Google it for many positive reviews, like the one below: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Acer-Chromebook-13-CB...
I think something else is at play here rather than just "build them well."
Make people desire your product, and they will come.
Apple does not always have the best (technologically speaking) product on the market. However, they have market cachet. People want to have Apple products because they are Apple products.
Acer already makes one with the Nvidia K1 SOC which is 75% of the performance of a i3 with vastly superior graphics. The screen is very nice at 1080p and it's $300
I think there's a mistake in the article: "iPod going to be rolled into the new Services category, with the iPod being joined by Apple Pay, iTunes, Software and Services, Accessories, Beats, Apple TV, and other products in the new reporting category."
While iPod, Beats, and Apple Watch are going to be rolled into Accessories, I don't think Accessories is a subset of Services. I believe Services = iTunes, Apple Pay, SW/Services; Accessories = Apple Watch, Beats, iPod, AppleTV.
If 10 is as big a disaster as 8 I'm guessing mac sales will continue to increase. I had never used a Mac but I have been for the past 2 years Microsoft can go pound sand.
High end flock to Apple. (Or run away from MS) As You wont find Macs in Your ordinary IBM PC clones* store, those are CONSCIOUS (or semi-conscious) choices.
Very good job Apple.
Same story with Chromebooks and low end. (Though there it could be matter of margins for OEMs, who needed to pay $$ to MS for licenses)
Lets see if Valve can eat out some of IBM PC clones gaming market.
That would leave business market for MS then.
Lets see if all the no-MS players can keep up their play after 'second release of Windows'** syndrome subside.
* In the early days of "PCs" there where many architectures of PCs. What we refer as "PCs" today (and mean Win+x86) was one of many, other included Apples, Comodores, Ataris, etc. We are entering period when that will be true again. At least we will have Intel PCs, and ARM PCs, or even MIPs PCs if IT pool that off.
** XP -> OK. Vista -> NO! Win7 -> OK. Win8 -> NO! Win10 -> OK???
I'm not surprised by this. Oddly enough, I think it has alot to do with Apple giving away the OS for free these days and reliable battery life longevity. I'm impressed with Yosemite, it's very slick. The only fly in the ointment is that it is ever so slightly less smooth on my late 2011 Macbook pro owing to the graphics on it.
When I had to buy a laptop for VM work on SharePoint, I went with the Macbook Pro as all the PC options just felt either tacky and dull or compromised in terms of spec. For a good all around spec such as what you find on the Macbook Pro, it generally requires lots of configuration and a cost very similar to a similar Mac. In the corporate market I've noticed a huge increase in people using Macbook Airs. At this point I wouldn't even consider buying or building a PC laptop or desktop until we see whether Windows 10 kills or cures the ailing market. My existing PC when I occasionally power it up, is fast enough. I always think you get what you pay for and PC laptops generally are cut-price, unfinished looking products because that is what they are. That's why Microsoft had to create the Surface in the first place.
What's causing the iPad downturn? Just the glut of cheaper tablets out here? Kinda curious the Nexus 9 went slightly upmarket when it seems the market is saying they prefer cheaper tablets or a premium laptop (tho 16GB for $399 & $120 keyboard accessory = /groan).
I think iOS/Android functionality has to take a huge leap if they wanna keep selling $500+ tablets, as a pure consumption device the value's never been there and there's plenty of cheaper options (or even more capable x86 options if you really need to get work done).
Frankly I think MS/Intel aren't being aggressive enough in pushing and iterating devices like that ASUS T100... They should be able to decimate the high end mobile OS tablet market.
People will accept compromises in phones that they won't accept in tablets. Local storage, high speed input / output ports (emphasis on the plural, as in multiple ports), high resolution displays, etc, and top-notch radios are all needed.
Apple, Google, and Microsoft aren't building the right tablets, for various reasons. Samsung has it almost right, except for local storage which is stuck at a pitiful 160GB on Samsung devices.
Note that the fastest growing sector for Apple is the one that has USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 2, almost unlimited local storage, and high resolution (and physically large displays). And, it is the one that works well with trackpad, keyboard, and mouse input.
Getting back to tablets, it is also under-estimated by the manufacturers the importance of putting good telephony and global navigation radios in their slates. If you are going to sell a "mash-up" of a smartphone and a PC, then it needs to do almost everything that either one of them can do.
Apple has been pretty good, with the latest iPhones having more bands of LTE connectivity than just about any other manufacturer out there. So it is possible for them to have the very best radios in their tablets if they want to. They already tend to do better than the competition here, so I don't see why every Apple tablet doesn't automatically come with these things. In fact, I don't see why every tablet *period* doesn't come with these things. It's 'Basic Mobility 101' - put good radios in mobile devices. Otherwise they aren't really mobile devices. (Microsoft especially needs to write that one out on a chalkboard a thousand times).
I've heard all of the howling and excuses about telecom fees and complexity. What's more cpmplex than a tethering connection that can't be trusted to work correctly when you need it? It would be trivial for a giant like Apple to say "Okay, enough is enough - everything gets good radios." That would be all that it would take - the entire market would move to match them overnight. The costs of such technology would plummet within 8 months.
The one thing that Apple and Google are stubbornly refusing to do (and that remains the Achilles heel of their tablets) is putting decent storage sub-systems in them. By decent, I mean one that includes internal removable storage in addition to the more ho-hum internal fixed storage.
In fact, the inability to upgrade storage and RAM is also dragging down Intel's Ultrabook PCs. So why do I want a tablet that has hardly any storage to begin with and cannot have any added? It's simple, I don't. And a lot of other people feel the same way about tablets. They're a nice concept, but they just aren't capable enough to do enough, easily enough.
People who actually use their PCs and devices (to their fullest) have stuff on them. And at some point they have too much stuff for the local storage to handle. The manufacturers have to stop treating this as a user fault, and start selling devices that can hold a lot of stuff, and that can be upgraded... to hold more stuff. Because that's what computing devices are *supposed* to do. For the time being, the cloud is merely a sometimes convenient supplement. That won't change soon. So the manufacturers need to pony up and present some serious local storage.
The few niches where tablets have advantages that I regularly exploit are: vehicle navigation, multi-use traveling display (airplanes, trains, buses, boats, etc), e-reader, sharing underwater and vacation videos, and as a ready secondary device to take over if my phone dies. For these roles, tablets are nimble and irreplaceable. With further development, they could take a bigger chunk out of laptop sales, but they need to be able to do more.
Finally, Apple made it's mark as a premium PC and device builder by including premium displays when no one else would. How times have changed. Apple is behind and needs to get serious about display resolution again. Maybe the time isn't right for 4K on everything (it'll never be right on a phone, of course). But, there needs to be some serious thinking about what size tablet is the right size for 4K and make it happen. There might even be a significant visible difference with 4K on a 7, 8, or 9" display. Whatever the size cutoff is found to be, then everything below that size should be 3K.
While we're talking displays, PC displays are desperately in need of 4K (and for many users 8K, but that will understandably take time for the GPUs to develop the grunt to do the job). But, there is no excuse for the premium PC and device maker to ignore 4K. 4K's time is now. Apple should have it on something. And, then almost everything. There is still a small window of opportunity for them to show leadership here. But, it is a closing window.
There's plenty of good OSes around - it's the hardware that is lacking.
Apple's shareholders should be very happy you are not a decision maker at their company. Not that your "wish list" is bad, but what are the cost of those? and what would be the price of the products?
I think you're confusing the mass market's demands with enthusiast's needs... Most people don't care that a lot of tablets are Wi-Fi only affairs with little storage, they aren't gonna pay for a second data plan and they aren't ripping movies or transferring home recordings over. It might be that most people are realizing it's not worth paying $500+ dollars for a light consumption device either...
I would say that most of what you cite, are power user functions with the possible exception of radios being built into everything. The fact that you would have to use a headset to talk through a tablet means this is basically irrelevent for the majority of people unless the tablet is their only device, and you do have Facetime which does the same thing on Wifi and 3G, so Apple has taken care of its own market. It needs to be very very careful not to upset the iPhone Apple cart since the majority of profit comes from it, and this could cannibalise sales of it. Apple has the 5K screen available to buy now on the iMac, and while it's nice, its not something I would impulse buy because there's nothing really wrong with the standard iMac screen, it's good enough for now. This reflects the way that the majority of people with $2500 to spend on an all in one pc think (who are not content authorsof 4k content). I've noticed that generally consumer interest in innovation has reduced on Surround sound, Blu-Ray, DSLRs, Monitor/TV resolutions and PC specs because the market is not the same as it was even 5 years ago and consumer habits have changed in a way that makes spec improvement far less important or desirable. If Apple did not have its designer cachet and marketing expertise I doubt the iPad Air 2 and iMac 5k would be sales success stories because the technology on its own will not get people to run out and spend these days and the pricing on both would normally make them marginal edge products for the majority of brands which are not Apple. I like that they are pushing the specs, but when it comes to 4k on a 7" display, they'd have to be clinically insane...
Simple. Same thing slowing down Android tablet sales, and that killed off netbook sales in the past.
Everyone who wants one already has one.
Now you are in the realm of replacement sales. People who broke/lost theirs getting them replaced, or people with 1st/earlier gen devices where enough changes have occurred to make the latest/greatest a compelling buy.
You might be right, even as an enthusiasts I always recognized the upgrade cycle for tablets would be slower (and slow down quicker) than for phones. Tablets running a mobile OS were never a basic need like a phone, they were a luxury, a second/third/fourth device for manly...
What's happening....is not what you think. I'm seeing more Macs in office environments than ever before. In my company we are now letting employees choose Macs. You see, Windows wasn't the culmination of the computer age...it was the Internet. As businesses move their apps and data into the cloud, Windows is no longer a requirement for compatibility. I now see no reason that companies could't run their daily operations from Chrome Books.
Also Microsoft really screwed up with Windows 8. I can't tell you how much I actually despise that hideously ugly, bipolar operating system. Once you come to understand OS X, you realize that Microsoft couldn't find their own butt with both hands and a Map.
The problem with Google's suites in particular is that they are so limited that they rarely support any standardised ISO layouts, and reference management is a pain.
Yer, definitely seen a big uptake in Macbook Airs/Pro popping up in business, people seem to like them too. As busiensses, especially start ups, just tend to use cloud services, the old compatibility with MS Office becomes less important and web standards compliance becomes more important. I've seen less interest in Chromebooks however, I think the fact that they are basically useless without internet connectivity (and Google) makes people in business very wary
"so they are happy with where it is at, but still three straight quarters of sales decline is not what they would have been hoping for"
Uhh, it is probably EXACTLY what they expected. iPads sell like a rocket in their launch quarter and then slow down. The same thing happened in 2013 --- "three straight quarters of sales decline" after the launch at the end of 2012. The same thing will probably happen in 2015. The pattern before 2013 is less obvious because Apple did some "catchup" launches that were not in October --- the iPad4 only six months after the iPad3, and the iPad mini --- but again dropoffs after the launch quarter.
Phones are subject to the same sort of dynamic, but not quite as strong, partially because of the phased launched across countries, partially because many buyers are locked into n-year contracts, and every year (for various reasons) they slide their update by a week or a month or whatever, so that over time their upgrade eligibility drifts ever further from the exact launch date.
It's not clear that this is an optimal strategy for Apple (but they know better than me!). It gets them great press, but it's obviously a bitch to manage, and very risky. One wonders if something like "launch in Q2, then refresh in Q4" would be a less risky strategy. Q2 would pick up all the people who buy for themselves, the Q4 press would pick all the people who buy as gifts, and overall the monthly sales profile would be flatter.
I'm not sure how long they can continue making their tablets relevant. Sure, some growth can come from selling in some markets they weren't in before, but if you have a year to work on innovating or improving a product like iPad mini, and all you can come up with is a different color and adding a sensor that has been in use in previous products, and then you tell people, "If you're not happy with all the extra value, just go buy the old version at a discount!", what does that say about your prospects to increase sales/relevance?
Yes, but the majority of people with the money and inclination to buy don't know or care, they just see the 3 and assume it is better than the 2. I wouldn't expect very many (any?) people to upgrade from a mini retina to a 3.
Can't say I'm surprised, earlier many of their laptops was good but quite frankly rather overpriced. Nowadays the price are more or less on par with any high quality PC while having few of quirks. Not saying the MPB is the best thing since sliced bread, but it's a very well-rounded product that have have stood the test of time. And with more and more services and applications moving to the cloud the cons of not having Windows are almost completely removed.
Interesting way to depict a +21% growth by putting a ' - ' in front of the line describing the growth number. Desperately trying to get rid of that pro Apple image?
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aryonoco - Monday, October 20, 2014 - link
Build them well and they will come.Note to Google: There is a market for better Chromebooks. Someone needs to make a 13" Chromebook with a Core i3 and 1080p IPS display and 4GB of RAM and price it around $500. That thing will sell.
chizow - Monday, October 20, 2014 - link
Over the same exact device running free Win8 at the same price point? Not so sure about that.If Microsoft wanted to save its Surface (non-Pro) line they'd do exactly that, replace the Tegra with an Atom chip and bundle the free version of Win8 they've been giving to OEMS in the sub-$300 market.
SpartanJet - Monday, October 20, 2014 - link
Unless there is a paperweight market I doubt there is any market for a crapbook. Put Windows 8.1 on there plus as an added bonus you wont be harassed into using Ad+ or have your emails scanned and internet use tracked.melgross - Monday, October 20, 2014 - link
Bing does that as well.ELPCU - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
I hope this dude understands high resolution display with Intel CPU other than Atom cost a lot more than that.There is similar shit already released one and half years ago, which is called 'Chromebook Pixel'.
It has Core i5, 2560 x 1700 resolution 12.85 inch display, and 4 GB RAM.
And how much does it cost? 1299 bucks, bro.
Considering it was released 1.5 years ago with higher spec than u suggested, Chromebook with ur spec will be somewhat cheaper, but not around 500 bucks. I doubt it is possible to make any margin under 800 bucks at this point.
ArthurG - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
Check the Acer chromebook 13 with Tegra K1, it has everyting your want, 1080P (not sure IPS), 4GB RAM, 32G SSD an even 802.11AC wifi for less than $400 !!! Its the best chromebook available now. Google it for many positive reviews, like the one below:http://www.notebookcheck.net/Acer-Chromebook-13-CB...
Zap - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
I think something else is at play here rather than just "build them well."Make people desire your product, and they will come.
Apple does not always have the best (technologically speaking) product on the market. However, they have market cachet. People want to have Apple products because they are Apple products.
fade2blac - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
Dell has something pretty close. The screen isn't 13" 1080p IPS but then this Chromebook only costs about $380.http://liliputing.com/2014/10/dell-chromebook-11-c...
Morawka - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
Acer already makes one with the Nvidia K1 SOC which is 75% of the performance of a i3 with vastly superior graphics. The screen is very nice at 1080p and it's $300BrooksT - Monday, October 20, 2014 - link
I think there's a mistake in the article: "iPod going to be rolled into the new Services category, with the iPod being joined by Apple Pay, iTunes, Software and Services, Accessories, Beats, Apple TV, and other products in the new reporting category."While iPod, Beats, and Apple Watch are going to be rolled into Accessories, I don't think Accessories is a subset of Services. I believe Services = iTunes, Apple Pay, SW/Services; Accessories = Apple Watch, Beats, iPod, AppleTV.
Brett Howse - Monday, October 20, 2014 - link
You are correct. I improperly read Software and Other, when it was actually Software, and Other. Article fixed!svan1971 - Monday, October 20, 2014 - link
If 10 is as big a disaster as 8 I'm guessing mac sales will continue to increase. I had never used a Mac but I have been for the past 2 years Microsoft can go pound sand.soulxfer - Monday, October 20, 2014 - link
Hope Mac sales grow, they had been in single digits for decades. Looks like tables are turningmelgross - Monday, October 20, 2014 - link
Mac sales were at their highest growth levels after Windows 7 came out. It could repeat with Windows 10.Scrogneugneu - Monday, October 20, 2014 - link
To put it into perspective : iPod sales are at about the same level (in terms of units) as Blackberry phone sales.przemo_li - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
Good OSX sales are telling.High end flock to Apple. (Or run away from MS) As You wont find Macs in Your ordinary IBM PC clones* store, those are CONSCIOUS (or semi-conscious) choices.
Very good job Apple.
Same story with Chromebooks and low end. (Though there it could be matter of margins for OEMs, who needed to pay $$ to MS for licenses)
Lets see if Valve can eat out some of IBM PC clones gaming market.
That would leave business market for MS then.
Lets see if all the no-MS players can keep up their play after 'second release of Windows'** syndrome subside.
* In the early days of "PCs" there where many architectures of PCs. What we refer as "PCs" today (and mean Win+x86) was one of many, other included Apples, Comodores, Ataris, etc.
We are entering period when that will be true again. At least we will have Intel PCs, and ARM PCs, or even MIPs PCs if IT pool that off.
** XP -> OK. Vista -> NO! Win7 -> OK. Win8 -> NO! Win10 -> OK???
robinthakur - Thursday, October 23, 2014 - link
I'm not surprised by this. Oddly enough, I think it has alot to do with Apple giving away the OS for free these days and reliable battery life longevity. I'm impressed with Yosemite, it's very slick. The only fly in the ointment is that it is ever so slightly less smooth on my late 2011 Macbook pro owing to the graphics on it.When I had to buy a laptop for VM work on SharePoint, I went with the Macbook Pro as all the PC options just felt either tacky and dull or compromised in terms of spec. For a good all around spec such as what you find on the Macbook Pro, it generally requires lots of configuration and a cost very similar to a similar Mac. In the corporate market I've noticed a huge increase in people using Macbook Airs. At this point I wouldn't even consider buying or building a PC laptop or desktop until we see whether Windows 10 kills or cures the ailing market. My existing PC when I occasionally power it up, is fast enough. I always think you get what you pay for and PC laptops generally are cut-price, unfinished looking products because that is what they are. That's why Microsoft had to create the Surface in the first place.
Impulses - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
What's causing the iPad downturn? Just the glut of cheaper tablets out here? Kinda curious the Nexus 9 went slightly upmarket when it seems the market is saying they prefer cheaper tablets or a premium laptop (tho 16GB for $399 & $120 keyboard accessory = /groan).I think iOS/Android functionality has to take a huge leap if they wanna keep selling $500+ tablets, as a pure consumption device the value's never been there and there's plenty of cheaper options (or even more capable x86 options if you really need to get work done).
Frankly I think MS/Intel aren't being aggressive enough in pushing and iterating devices like that ASUS T100... They should be able to decimate the high end mobile OS tablet market.
apunari - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
I believe phablets are eating into tabkets marketshare. Larger than compact smartphones yet more portable than tablets.hrrmph - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
People will accept compromises in phones that they won't accept in tablets. Local storage, high speed input / output ports (emphasis on the plural, as in multiple ports), high resolution displays, etc, and top-notch radios are all needed.Apple, Google, and Microsoft aren't building the right tablets, for various reasons. Samsung has it almost right, except for local storage which is stuck at a pitiful 160GB on Samsung devices.
Note that the fastest growing sector for Apple is the one that has USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 2, almost unlimited local storage, and high resolution (and physically large displays). And, it is the one that works well with trackpad, keyboard, and mouse input.
Getting back to tablets, it is also under-estimated by the manufacturers the importance of putting good telephony and global navigation radios in their slates. If you are going to sell a "mash-up" of a smartphone and a PC, then it needs to do almost everything that either one of them can do.
Apple has been pretty good, with the latest iPhones having more bands of LTE connectivity than just about any other manufacturer out there. So it is possible for them to have the very best radios in their tablets if they want to. They already tend to do better than the competition here, so I don't see why every Apple tablet doesn't automatically come with these things. In fact, I don't see why every tablet *period* doesn't come with these things. It's 'Basic Mobility 101' - put good radios in mobile devices. Otherwise they aren't really mobile devices. (Microsoft especially needs to write that one out on a chalkboard a thousand times).
I've heard all of the howling and excuses about telecom fees and complexity. What's more cpmplex than a tethering connection that can't be trusted to work correctly when you need it? It would be trivial for a giant like Apple to say "Okay, enough is enough - everything gets good radios." That would be all that it would take - the entire market would move to match them overnight. The costs of such technology would plummet within 8 months.
The one thing that Apple and Google are stubbornly refusing to do (and that remains the Achilles heel of their tablets) is putting decent storage sub-systems in them. By decent, I mean one that includes internal removable storage in addition to the more ho-hum internal fixed storage.
In fact, the inability to upgrade storage and RAM is also dragging down Intel's Ultrabook PCs. So why do I want a tablet that has hardly any storage to begin with and cannot have any added? It's simple, I don't. And a lot of other people feel the same way about tablets. They're a nice concept, but they just aren't capable enough to do enough, easily enough.
People who actually use their PCs and devices (to their fullest) have stuff on them. And at some point they have too much stuff for the local storage to handle. The manufacturers have to stop treating this as a user fault, and start selling devices that can hold a lot of stuff, and that can be upgraded... to hold more stuff. Because that's what computing devices are *supposed* to do. For the time being, the cloud is merely a sometimes convenient supplement. That won't change soon. So the manufacturers need to pony up and present some serious local storage.
The few niches where tablets have advantages that I regularly exploit are: vehicle navigation, multi-use traveling display (airplanes, trains, buses, boats, etc), e-reader, sharing underwater and vacation videos, and as a ready secondary device to take over if my phone dies. For these roles, tablets are nimble and irreplaceable. With further development, they could take a bigger chunk out of laptop sales, but they need to be able to do more.
Finally, Apple made it's mark as a premium PC and device builder by including premium displays when no one else would. How times have changed. Apple is behind and needs to get serious about display resolution again. Maybe the time isn't right for 4K on everything (it'll never be right on a phone, of course). But, there needs to be some serious thinking about what size tablet is the right size for 4K and make it happen. There might even be a significant visible difference with 4K on a 7, 8, or 9" display. Whatever the size cutoff is found to be, then everything below that size should be 3K.
While we're talking displays, PC displays are desperately in need of 4K (and for many users 8K, but that will understandably take time for the GPUs to develop the grunt to do the job). But, there is no excuse for the premium PC and device maker to ignore 4K. 4K's time is now. Apple should have it on something. And, then almost everything. There is still a small window of opportunity for them to show leadership here. But, it is a closing window.
There's plenty of good OSes around - it's the hardware that is lacking.
pgari - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
Apple's shareholders should be very happy you are not a decision maker at their company.Not that your "wish list" is bad, but what are the cost of those? and what would be the price of the products?
Impulses - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
I think you're confusing the mass market's demands with enthusiast's needs... Most people don't care that a lot of tablets are Wi-Fi only affairs with little storage, they aren't gonna pay for a second data plan and they aren't ripping movies or transferring home recordings over. It might be that most people are realizing it's not worth paying $500+ dollars for a light consumption device either...robinthakur - Thursday, October 23, 2014 - link
I would say that most of what you cite, are power user functions with the possible exception of radios being built into everything. The fact that you would have to use a headset to talk through a tablet means this is basically irrelevent for the majority of people unless the tablet is their only device, and you do have Facetime which does the same thing on Wifi and 3G, so Apple has taken care of its own market. It needs to be very very careful not to upset the iPhone Apple cart since the majority of profit comes from it, and this could cannibalise sales of it. Apple has the 5K screen available to buy now on the iMac, and while it's nice, its not something I would impulse buy because there's nothing really wrong with the standard iMac screen, it's good enough for now. This reflects the way that the majority of people with $2500 to spend on an all in one pc think (who are not content authorsof 4k content). I've noticed that generally consumer interest in innovation has reduced on Surround sound, Blu-Ray, DSLRs, Monitor/TV resolutions and PC specs because the market is not the same as it was even 5 years ago and consumer habits have changed in a way that makes spec improvement far less important or desirable. If Apple did not have its designer cachet and marketing expertise I doubt the iPad Air 2 and iMac 5k would be sales success stories because the technology on its own will not get people to run out and spend these days and the pricing on both would normally make them marginal edge products for the majority of brands which are not Apple. I like that they are pushing the specs, but when it comes to 4k on a 7" display, they'd have to be clinically insane...Zap - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
Simple. Same thing slowing down Android tablet sales, and that killed off netbook sales in the past.Everyone who wants one already has one.
Now you are in the realm of replacement sales. People who broke/lost theirs getting them replaced, or people with 1st/earlier gen devices where enough changes have occurred to make the latest/greatest a compelling buy.
Impulses - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
You might be right, even as an enthusiasts I always recognized the upgrade cycle for tablets would be slower (and slow down quicker) than for phones. Tablets running a mobile OS were never a basic need like a phone, they were a luxury, a second/third/fourth device for manly...Da W - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
Hahaha.I might be a Windows / Phone + Shield Tablet+ Surface pro user, but i'm sure keeping those Apple Stocks!!!!
Shadowmaster625 - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
It wont be much longer before these dumb yuppies have no more money left to just throw away on pumping up apple's profit margins.TEAMSWITCHER - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
What's happening....is not what you think. I'm seeing more Macs in office environments than ever before. In my company we are now letting employees choose Macs. You see, Windows wasn't the culmination of the computer age...it was the Internet. As businesses move their apps and data into the cloud, Windows is no longer a requirement for compatibility. I now see no reason that companies could't run their daily operations from Chrome Books.Also Microsoft really screwed up with Windows 8. I can't tell you how much I actually despise that hideously ugly, bipolar operating system. Once you come to understand OS X, you realize that Microsoft couldn't find their own butt with both hands and a Map.
Kvaern - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
" I now see no reason that companies could't run their daily operations from Chrome Books."Office. For now.
Salvor - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
Both apple and Google have their own office suites, so that doesn't seem like a huge problem to me.DarkXale - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
The problem with Google's suites in particular is that they are so limited that they rarely support any standardised ISO layouts, and reference management is a pain.robinthakur - Thursday, October 23, 2014 - link
Yer, definitely seen a big uptake in Macbook Airs/Pro popping up in business, people seem to like them too. As busiensses, especially start ups, just tend to use cloud services, the old compatibility with MS Office becomes less important and web standards compliance becomes more important. I've seen less interest in Chromebooks however, I think the fact that they are basically useless without internet connectivity (and Google) makes people in business very waryname99 - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
"so they are happy with where it is at, but still three straight quarters of sales decline is not what they would have been hoping for"Uhh, it is probably EXACTLY what they expected. iPads sell like a rocket in their launch quarter and then slow down. The same thing happened in 2013 --- "three straight quarters of sales decline" after the launch at the end of 2012. The same thing will probably happen in 2015. The pattern before 2013 is less obvious because Apple did some "catchup" launches that were not in October --- the iPad4 only six months after the iPad3, and the iPad mini --- but again dropoffs after the launch quarter.
Phones are subject to the same sort of dynamic, but not quite as strong, partially because of the phased launched across countries, partially because many buyers are locked into n-year contracts, and every year (for various reasons) they slide their update by a week or a month or whatever, so that over time their upgrade eligibility drifts ever further from the exact launch date.
It's not clear that this is an optimal strategy for Apple (but they know better than me!). It gets them great press, but it's obviously a bitch to manage, and very risky. One wonders if something like "launch in Q2, then refresh in Q4" would be a less risky strategy. Q2 would pick up all the people who buy for themselves, the Q4 press would pick all the people who buy as gifts, and overall the monthly sales profile would be flatter.
Ktracho - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
I'm not sure how long they can continue making their tablets relevant. Sure, some growth can come from selling in some markets they weren't in before, but if you have a year to work on innovating or improving a product like iPad mini, and all you can come up with is a different color and adding a sensor that has been in use in previous products, and then you tell people, "If you're not happy with all the extra value, just go buy the old version at a discount!", what does that say about your prospects to increase sales/relevance?Deelron - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
Conversely the new Air appears to be quite a beast, particularly with the benchmarks today showing it's a 3 core machinerobinthakur - Thursday, October 23, 2014 - link
Yes, but the majority of people with the money and inclination to buy don't know or care, they just see the 3 and assume it is better than the 2. I wouldn't expect very many (any?) people to upgrade from a mini retina to a 3.Calista - Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - link
Can't say I'm surprised, earlier many of their laptops was good but quite frankly rather overpriced. Nowadays the price are more or less on par with any high quality PC while having few of quirks. Not saying the MPB is the best thing since sliced bread, but it's a very well-rounded product that have have stood the test of time. And with more and more services and applications moving to the cloud the cons of not having Windows are almost completely removed.zorroog - Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - link
Interesting way to depict a +21% growth by putting a ' - ' in front of the line describing the growth number.Desperately trying to get rid of that pro Apple image?