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That said, this article doesn't make a lot of sense to me. These sorts of disruptive technologies were going to be brought to market whether by Apple or competitors. To the extent that iPad's or iPhone's are cannibalizing traditional Apple product lines, at least Apple has retained these consumers.
Also, I've not seen any signs of Apple's innovation engine slowing down. If Jobs doesn't return, then it remains to be seen whether there is a long-term impact. But I suspect Apple's product pipeline is filled for at least another few years.
sales growth of its Mac computers is falling.Notice that the article doesn't say that sales of Macs are falling.
the issue of product cannibalisation is an important one for Apple if it wants to retain the image of being a computer company rather than just the purveyor of shiny consumer gadgets.Removing "computer" from its corporate name sure was a funny way to indicate that Apple "wants to retain the image of being a computer company."
FanBois indeed!
What is really hilarious is how the Apple advocates here have been going on about how Apple computers give you much more power for the money you spend. Then here comes Apple with the iPad which is nothing more than a woefully underpowered computer. And invent all kinds of apps for this underpowered computer
Big contradiction here
I have been going on for a few years that Window7 computers...even cheapo ones with just two GB ram and older dual core processor are enough computer for 90% of computer buyers. The iPad has pathetic power compared to a 3 year old laptop I have with Win7/2GB/T2130/80GB hard drive. My desktops have higher specs
I have always used macs ...BUT the last one needed a logic board transplant 2 times while under warrantee. When it went again it was no longer covered and they referred me to a local guy to get it replaced.. I just bought a new one and sent thee old one to recycle heaven
Then the line of the year,,”you had a good 2 year run with it” was what the “genius” told me.
TWO years?? with two major repairs?? My old G4 ran like a tank
There is no quality in the now Chinese built computers.. I will never spend that kind of money again on a 2 or 3 year “good run”
I can buy a cheap lap top and get more time than that ...
Maybe it is not JUST the I pads.. maybe they have a bigger problem than that
If shooting myself in the foot involved selling 7 million units, show me where the bullets are.
Which is probably why Apple started putting stakes down in other consumer electronics areas years ago.
Apple if it wants to retain the image of being a computer company rather than just the purveyor of shiny consumer gadgets.
Change the definition of the computer. Apple just needs to get rid of that wired iTunes tether, and an iPad can be a whole computer to the millions who don't need the power of a laptop or desktop. I suspect Apple is thinking about that, probably leveraging the cloud for additional storage and backup.
There have been signs that Apple has stopped innovating, such as its decision to include relatively minor updates to the Imac, Macbook Air, Mac Mini and Iphone 4.
The author doesn't know how Apple works. Apple doesn't maintain huge engineering teams that can go full-bore on all projects at the same time. Focus is rotated. Aside from that, this guy's definition of "minor" is whacked. The iMac underwent a major re-do a year ago, the Macbook Air and Mac Mini just got major re-dos last year, and the iPhone 4 is a huge leap ahead of its predecessor.
Then of course there also is its Mac Pro, with few words in the English language being adequate to describe the level of insanity one requires to purchase a Mac Pro.
Perhaps one doesn't want to pay Dell's or HP's inflated prices for workstations?
Apple's IOS on many fronts, while the impressive yet patronisingly named Retina Display on the Iphone 4 is its only cutting edge hardware feature.
As opposed to most high-end Android phones, which have no cutting-edge features at all.
The same can be said of the Mac Mini, which is also positioned as an Xserve replacement
That was strange, although people have been using Minis as servers for years.
And when Boeing started with those jet engine planes... They thought they were so smart at the time, but when customers stopped buying their propeller planes, well that sure wiped the smug smiles off their faces.
When AT&T came out with the push-button phone, sales of their rotary phones then crashed...fools! Damn fools! What were they thinking?
If Apple doesn't smarten up and stop coming out with all these shiny new gadgets, they will suffer the consequences - at least several more quarters of record sales and profits.
Boy, you really have to dig deep into this article to ferret out the author's biases, huh?
There have been signs that Apple has stopped innovating, such as its decision to include relatively minor updates to the Imac, Macbook Air, Mac Mini and Iphone 4.
Here is where Apple becomes a victim of its own success: Folks like this author dismiss anything that isn't Earth-shattering as "relatively minor."
Apple lives by Antoine de Saint-Exupery's rule: “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” None of the Mac models is going to get a flashy external redesign in the near future, because Jony Ive and his designers have precious little left to take away.
But in the last couple of years, the iMac has gotten a unibody enclosure, LED backlighting, and 1080p throughout the product line; the Macbook Air has been completely redesigned, gotten a standard SSD, a 20% cut in weight and a 33% drop in price; The Mac Mini has had its size chopped by a third and added dual video outputs.
The iPhone 4 got the best display in the industry, video calling that works, 720p video, and performance good enough for Epic to port its Unreal game engine over.
Then of course there also is its Mac Pro, with few words in the English language being adequate to describe the level of insanity one requires to purchase a Mac Pro.
Buying a Mac Pro seems idiotic to someone who's never had the need for one. It's like a cargo truck. If you need it, you'll know.
So perhaps it is not surprising that even with the fabled fruit logo on the back of its machines, Apple is facing a tough time trying to increase its computer sales.
Yeah, it's brutal out there. I'll bet all the other manufacturers are pointing and laughing at Apple's anemic 24% growth.
For the other Apple products, it's really an open and shut case that they are mediocre hardware that's overpriced. Apple's Imac is still arguably the best all-in-one computer on the market
How can something be "mediocre" and "arguably the best ... on the market" at the same time?
This might also explain why Apple was relatively slow in developing a Mac App Store.
Relative to what? How far did it lag behind the Windows app store?
What Asymco's figures do show is that Apple is clearly turning from being a computer firm into one that just designs shiny consumer electronics.
Begging the question. The article begins and ends with this pearl of wisdom, glossing over the fact that the most recent quarter broke records.
Actually, I think iPad will hurt the iPhone more than Mac. I have an iPhone, and helped a friend get accustomed to her iPad yesterday. (Neither of us knows much of anything about Apple products, but now we have one each.) The iPad seems to be just a huge iPhone that doesn’t make calls. The Apps are mostly the same, but each has a few the other cannot use. To be honest, although I mostly love my iPhone, I think it might’ve been smarter to get a cheapo phone and an iPad, and have 98% of the same benefits, plus many other features (immense memory space, movies, games where you don’t have to crane your neck, etc etc).
Apple proved how stupid they are years ago. They will never survive in this competitive market. So, before it becomes completely worthless, just to prove what a generous guy I am, I will take your Apple stock off your hands for $50 a share.
“There have been signs that Apple has stopped innovating”
Yeah, in the last year the only innovations Apple has introduced are the “disruptive technology” iPad everyone is racing to mimic, the Retina Display which renders resolution specs meaningless, Apple TV 2 threatening the cable TV model in a viable format, iPod Nano bringing multitouch to minuscule devices, iPod Touch and MacBook Air making very capable devices super thin, Mac Pro providing 12-core power, FaceTime making portable videophones real and viable, and maybe only a few other things.
Naysayers don’t realize: specs alone don’t matter. It’s what you do with it, and how many people will pay good money for it. $0.3T market cap says Apple is doing something right.
Yea!!! “...apple has stopped innovating.” Let’s hope everybody stops till I can catch up. I just found an Apple 2200 printer, my beloved bought on one of his buying sprees, waaay back in the bottom of a closet. Never out of the box. Floppy disc. No idea what to do with it.