I’ve long held the theory that more and more Mac users are abandoning the Mac platform but it is Windows switchers which are keeping the Mac business alive. I seem to frequently bump into former Mac users who are either all iPad or only use their Macs for specific purposes any more. Why? Because they find their iPad is both cheaper and easier to carry around. Not too mention the iPad is a lot easier to manage and you can use the same apps that you’re already familiar with from your phone.
I finally got some official confirmation that I am on the right track about my theory when Craig Federighi let a juicy little morsel slip out at an unguarded moment during WWDC this week. He said that 50% of the Mac purchases in the past year were by people who had never owned a Mac before. That is astounding! I’ve been in Operations Finance for multiple Fortune 500 level companies and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a statistic like that FOR A MATURE PRODUCT LINE.
The problem for the Mac given its recent growth rates, is that it doesn’t take much math to calculate that this platform would be shrinking significantly without the influx of Windows switchers. I told you so.
You could segment the Mac market into two different camps. One camp, the professionals, are very loyal to the Mac and outright hostile to the iPad. The other camp, open to leaving the Mac, are the consumer home users. These are people who historically bought a Mac as their household computer to communicate with friends and family, pay bills, and occasional photo management.
The days of needing a full laptop OS just to check e-mail and surf the web are over and Apple knows it. That’s why Apple has undertaken two very different initiatives recently. One, they’ve gone on a full offensive with Apple silicon to make the platform better than Windows PCs. And second, they are pivoting the iPad to take on even more of the Mac market.
Apple marketing executive, Greg Joswiak, tries to make it sound like it’s ridiculous to think that there’s any contest of survival between the Mac and the iPad. Of course, you’d expect this line of reasoning from a marketing guy. But as I always say, product line decisions on what lives or dies are never really up to the company. Customers vote with their wallets and the company has to live with the vote count. I’ve seen many a corporate VP eat their words on the future of a product line because the customers disagreed.
The big question is what kind of Windows switchers are coming to the Mac? Professional or home consumer? I suspect that the majority of Windows switchers are the home consumer type. Corporate users don’t really have much freedom to switch platforms.
So why do people leaving the Windows ecosystem choose Macs? My theory is that tablets aren’t really a thing outside of the Apple ecosystem. There are millions of households where the assumption is that if you need to replace your aging Windows laptop and want to try something from Apple, that you go buy a Mac laptop. But eventually, as Mac users have been doing, these consumers are just going to switch to the iPad too.
That’s why Apple has been steadily been improving the iPad. Tablets are like electric vehicles, it is the superior form factor and the future lies in that direction. But they’re not yet ready for prime time. Although, the iPad is getting really close.
The problem for the Mac given its recent growth rates, is that it doesn’t take much math to calculate that this platform would be shrinking significantly without the influx of Windows switchers. I told you so.
You could segment the Mac market into two different camps. One camp, the professionals, are very loyal to the Mac and outright hostile to the iPad. The other camp, open to leaving the Mac, are the consumer home users. These are people who historically bought a Mac as their household computer to communicate with friends and family, pay bills, and occasional photo management.
The days of needing a full laptop OS just to check e-mail and surf the web are over and Apple knows it. That’s why Apple has undertaken two very different initiatives recently. One, they’ve gone on a full offensive with Apple silicon to make the platform better than Windows PCs. And second, they are pivoting the iPad to take on even more of the Mac market.
Apple marketing executive, Greg Joswiak, tries to make it sound like it’s ridiculous to think that there’s any contest of survival between the Mac and the iPad. Of course, you’d expect this line of reasoning from a marketing guy. But as I always say, product line decisions on what lives or dies are never really up to the company. Customers vote with their wallets and the company has to live with the vote count. I’ve seen many a corporate VP eat their words on the future of a product line because the customers disagreed.
The big question is what kind of Windows switchers are coming to the Mac? Professional or home consumer? I suspect that the majority of Windows switchers are the home consumer type. Corporate users don’t really have much freedom to switch platforms.
So why do people leaving the Windows ecosystem choose Macs? My theory is that tablets aren’t really a thing outside of the Apple ecosystem. There are millions of households where the assumption is that if you need to replace your aging Windows laptop and want to try something from Apple, that you go buy a Mac laptop. But eventually, as Mac users have been doing, these consumers are just going to switch to the iPad too.
That’s why Apple has been steadily been improving the iPad. Tablets are like electric vehicles, it is the superior form factor and the future lies in that direction. But they’re not yet ready for prime time. Although, the iPad is getting really close.
RSS Feed