Apple posts US$40 million profit
- Thread starter dricci
- Start date
googolplex
jeff.hume.ca
I can't say much, but.... yay!
Apple did a great job holding the line. There are some things to be concerned about, however.
Namely, iBook sales fell to 141,000 units in Q2 2002 from 185,000 in Q1 2002. Also, PowerBook sales fell to 89,000 units in Q2 2002 from 116,000 units in Q1 2002. Even worse, PowerBook sales have been on a steady decline the whole year, as Apple sold 134,000 units in Q2 2001.
The PowerBook is in dire need for a refresh as well as price adjustment. Let's hope Apple doesn't do the repeat thing where super success in one product category is completely offset by failure in another.
I don't want to be too negative, but Apple always has a tendency of shooting itself in the foot, or at least not running on all cylinders. We're heading into such a quarter if Apple doesn't turn around iBook and PowerBook sales REALLY soon. They need to do something now, rather than wait for WWDC or MWNY. Otherwise, all the great news about the new iMac will be soured by the drag low sales of notebooks will cause....
Namely, iBook sales fell to 141,000 units in Q2 2002 from 185,000 in Q1 2002. Also, PowerBook sales fell to 89,000 units in Q2 2002 from 116,000 units in Q1 2002. Even worse, PowerBook sales have been on a steady decline the whole year, as Apple sold 134,000 units in Q2 2001.
The PowerBook is in dire need for a refresh as well as price adjustment. Let's hope Apple doesn't do the repeat thing where super success in one product category is completely offset by failure in another.
I don't want to be too negative, but Apple always has a tendency of shooting itself in the foot, or at least not running on all cylinders. We're heading into such a quarter if Apple doesn't turn around iBook and PowerBook sales REALLY soon. They need to do something now, rather than wait for WWDC or MWNY. Otherwise, all the great news about the new iMac will be soured by the drag low sales of notebooks will cause....
simX
Unofficial Mac Genius
However, the Powerbook/iBook sales were up 22% year-over-year, which I think implies that they've sold more units in this quarter during this year, then the corresponding quarter in 2001. Demand always drops off after the novelty, because people are waiting for the next refresh.
Personally, I think Apple's line is just great. Of course, it could always use some faster processors and stuff like that, but right now Apple's product line couldn't be stronger. They all are very powerful, very fast, very well-designed, and same with Mac OS X on any of these computers. They all have been update since December '01, which was just 3 months ago. I don't think that the Powerbook/iBooks are in need of a refresh just yet they can last a bit longer. Remember, Apple has been seen to aim at a 5-month lifespan for new products, so we still have another 2 months for the iMac and iBook, another month for the Powerbook, and about 3 months for the PowerMac. So that means that we might see an update PowerBook at WWDC, but at least everything will be updated by MWNY '02.
Apple's doing fine, don't worry. And with the addition of things like Webmail, the purchase of new companies, and the release of strong products like Final Cut Pro 2 and DVD Studio Pro 1.5, Apple's position to gain in market share has never been better, even with 95% of the world against it.
Personally, I think Apple's line is just great. Of course, it could always use some faster processors and stuff like that, but right now Apple's product line couldn't be stronger. They all are very powerful, very fast, very well-designed, and same with Mac OS X on any of these computers. They all have been update since December '01, which was just 3 months ago. I don't think that the Powerbook/iBooks are in need of a refresh just yet they can last a bit longer. Remember, Apple has been seen to aim at a 5-month lifespan for new products, so we still have another 2 months for the iMac and iBook, another month for the Powerbook, and about 3 months for the PowerMac. So that means that we might see an update PowerBook at WWDC, but at least everything will be updated by MWNY '02.
Apple's doing fine, don't worry. And with the addition of things like Webmail, the purchase of new companies, and the release of strong products like Final Cut Pro 2 and DVD Studio Pro 1.5, Apple's position to gain in market share has never been better, even with 95% of the world against it.
googolplex
jeff.hume.ca
I think Apple is finally got a stable position and we wont have to worry about apple 'dying' for a very long long time. Apple has pulled itself out of its problems. We have very good hardware and software now and once again it seems like macs are actually getting respect from other computer users (not all but some) and more technical people. I think as it stands now Apple can only go up, and thats what they are doing now.
With all due with respect, no one mentioned Apple dying. But while Apple is stable, if iBook and PowerBook sales don't turn around real quick, the next quarter will merely be that: stable.
Apple is in a unique position to record explosive growth and do some catch-up with the PC industry. It seems like marketshare right now is hovering around 3.9% but Apple needs to really walk the walk instead of just talking the talk. The iMac appears to be doing a great job converting Windows users, but that's not going to help if Apple slips on the notebook side and loses market share there.
This is a classic case of one step forward, one step back. It's about time Apple records a quarter where they take two steps forward, zero steps back.
Yes, PowerBook sales improved year-on-year, but that's not saying much. Improving to a mere 89,000 units in a quarter is nothing to brag about. It just means that last year Q2, PowerBook sales absolutely sucked instead of merely being disappointing.
Clearly, Apple needs to do something with the current PB G4 line, as they are getting extremely long in tooth in terms of both performance and price, and that's resulted in a much steeper sequential decline. The argument that Q1 is typically a weak quarter doesn't really wash considering iMac sales recorded extremely healthy sequential and year-on-year growth. If Apple was more active about PowerBook pricing during Q2, it could have probably resulted in sales holding steady by taking advantage of all the collateral media exposure that Apple got from the iMac.
It's a concern going for Q3. Apple can have yet another decent quarter, or it can try to have one that's gangbusters. Personally, I'd like to see them running on all cylinders instead of the usual two.
Apple is in a unique position to record explosive growth and do some catch-up with the PC industry. It seems like marketshare right now is hovering around 3.9% but Apple needs to really walk the walk instead of just talking the talk. The iMac appears to be doing a great job converting Windows users, but that's not going to help if Apple slips on the notebook side and loses market share there.
This is a classic case of one step forward, one step back. It's about time Apple records a quarter where they take two steps forward, zero steps back.
Yes, PowerBook sales improved year-on-year, but that's not saying much. Improving to a mere 89,000 units in a quarter is nothing to brag about. It just means that last year Q2, PowerBook sales absolutely sucked instead of merely being disappointing.
Clearly, Apple needs to do something with the current PB G4 line, as they are getting extremely long in tooth in terms of both performance and price, and that's resulted in a much steeper sequential decline. The argument that Q1 is typically a weak quarter doesn't really wash considering iMac sales recorded extremely healthy sequential and year-on-year growth. If Apple was more active about PowerBook pricing during Q2, it could have probably resulted in sales holding steady by taking advantage of all the collateral media exposure that Apple got from the iMac.
It's a concern going for Q3. Apple can have yet another decent quarter, or it can try to have one that's gangbusters. Personally, I'd like to see them running on all cylinders instead of the usual two.
googolplex
jeff.hume.ca
I didn't say that anyone said that. But lots of people used to claim that. I'm just saying that people can't really argue that anymore.
It's all cool. 
Still, it has been a while since Apple has really touched the iBook and TiBook lines (I don't consider the 14" iBook a real upgrade). I seriously hope Apple isn't deciding to wait until MacWorld NY to announce something if something is ready. Frankly, the strategy of timing major product releases around the MacWorlds can be perplexing sometimes. Sure, you want to always have something big at the MacWorlds, but Apple should utilize more media events when the timing calls for it.
It just seems like Apple is afraid of doing anything innovative or revolution with the the non-iMac products, for fear of detracting attention. That's great for iMac sales, but it doesn't help grow market share if Apple is perenially capped to less than 4 million units a year. Dang, when was the last time Apple shipping that many units? 1990?
Apple has said that it's willing to suffer some loss of profit margin in order to get some market share. iMac is good, no doubt about that. But what about the iBook, TiBook, and PowerMac G4? The Mac market needs more action, less talk, especially during a time when competitors are hurting bad.
Still, it has been a while since Apple has really touched the iBook and TiBook lines (I don't consider the 14" iBook a real upgrade). I seriously hope Apple isn't deciding to wait until MacWorld NY to announce something if something is ready. Frankly, the strategy of timing major product releases around the MacWorlds can be perplexing sometimes. Sure, you want to always have something big at the MacWorlds, but Apple should utilize more media events when the timing calls for it.
It just seems like Apple is afraid of doing anything innovative or revolution with the the non-iMac products, for fear of detracting attention. That's great for iMac sales, but it doesn't help grow market share if Apple is perenially capped to less than 4 million units a year. Dang, when was the last time Apple shipping that many units? 1990?
Apple has said that it's willing to suffer some loss of profit margin in order to get some market share. iMac is good, no doubt about that. But what about the iBook, TiBook, and PowerMac G4? The Mac market needs more action, less talk, especially during a time when competitors are hurting bad.
Lest I seem overly critical, here's something I just read that made me smile:
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/top_news_item.cfm?NewsID=4529
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/top_news_item.cfm?NewsID=4529
Even if we're not analysing the numbers any further, I think that the iBook is too much behind the iMac and the TiBook lags behind the G4 towers.
While I expect even faster G4s this summer, I don't quite see what they can do about the TiBooks. The TiBook is almost perfect from a design point of view. But there just *is* no fast PPC G4 chip for notebooks right now. This is a problem, because it also implies that the iBooks can't go to 1 GHz G3s, which would be a very good move. A 800 Mhz G4 in the TiBook isn't enough for a July release. As the low end, perhaps, but not as the high end.
We'll see, though. I guess a 1 GHz G5 TiBook and a 1 GHz G3 iBook would do the thing, right?
While I expect even faster G4s this summer, I don't quite see what they can do about the TiBooks. The TiBook is almost perfect from a design point of view. But there just *is* no fast PPC G4 chip for notebooks right now. This is a problem, because it also implies that the iBooks can't go to 1 GHz G3s, which would be a very good move. A 800 Mhz G4 in the TiBook isn't enough for a July release. As the low end, perhaps, but not as the high end.
We'll see, though. I guess a 1 GHz G5 TiBook and a 1 GHz G3 iBook would do the thing, right?
(obviously I have no knowledge of Apple strategy and this is just for fun, etc..)
WWDC - TiBook speed bump topping at 800Mhz w/ apollo g4 and possibly an increase in screen resolution and/or 32mb video)
MWNY - Focus on new Towers, whether it is G5 (wishful thinking) or speed bumped G4s up to 1.2 or 1.4 Mhz. iBook gets a G4 600 or G3 800
MWSF - TiBook and iMac bumped to 1Ghz.
WWDC - TiBook speed bump topping at 800Mhz w/ apollo g4 and possibly an increase in screen resolution and/or 32mb video)
MWNY - Focus on new Towers, whether it is G5 (wishful thinking) or speed bumped G4s up to 1.2 or 1.4 Mhz. iBook gets a G4 600 or G3 800
MWSF - TiBook and iMac bumped to 1Ghz.
I definitely agree it's hard to think how Apple can improve the TiBook and iBook beyond the obvious performance and battery boosts. But I'm sure there is a lot of neat things Apple can do with the industrial design. I mean, take a look at the iMac - everyone *thought* they knew how to do a flat-screen desktop and the iMac totally caught everyone off guard.
I'm hoping Apple can achieve the same kind of design coup for the notebooks. Do something so breakthrough and amazing, yet somehow obvious, that there will be no competitors period. The iMac's design isn't readily copyable - a lot of complex engineering and production processes have to go into producing an iMac-type desktop that won't fall apart after a little use. Sure, we'll see more flacid attempts by PC manufacturers to try to capitalize on the LCD desktop idea, but they'll all fall short like they've done in the past. I would be surprised if the iMac still remains by itself even until Jan 2003. If it took Apple about a year after the lamp design was decided upon to produce it, there is no way in heck that the anemic industrial design teams of your standard PC manufacturer can do it faster.
So, it just remains for Apple to one-up the amazing industrial designs of the iBook/TiBook and leave the world in awe again. Then the mad flocks of shoppers will follow.
I'm hoping Apple can achieve the same kind of design coup for the notebooks. Do something so breakthrough and amazing, yet somehow obvious, that there will be no competitors period. The iMac's design isn't readily copyable - a lot of complex engineering and production processes have to go into producing an iMac-type desktop that won't fall apart after a little use. Sure, we'll see more flacid attempts by PC manufacturers to try to capitalize on the LCD desktop idea, but they'll all fall short like they've done in the past. I would be surprised if the iMac still remains by itself even until Jan 2003. If it took Apple about a year after the lamp design was decided upon to produce it, there is no way in heck that the anemic industrial design teams of your standard PC manufacturer can do it faster.
So, it just remains for Apple to one-up the amazing industrial designs of the iBook/TiBook and leave the world in awe again. Then the mad flocks of shoppers will follow.
For news about G5 processors head on to http://mac.fryke.com. Something radically new and obvious at the same time in the form factor of a notebook? Hmm... 'round' isn't really good for notebooks. And really, however 'special' the original iBook was, it didn't seem exactly obvious, and the jokes about them were worse than those about the new iMac.
I think since Sony has done a lot of copying lately of Apple (check out their high-end multimedia VAIO desktop - all white instead of the usual purple), maybe Apple can take a page from Sony's design book for the next gen notebook
<img src="http://www.sonystyle.com/micros/clie/media/home_70V_device.jpg">
An iBook with a touch screen that can pivot and fold in such a way to make it a tablet? The Sony design is slick without a doubt (when it folds, the screen covers the keyboard so you don't have an exposed keyboard underside). Such an iBook would be super cool and maybe something Apple can do in terms of industrial design. I think we saw some Windows CE notebooks that did something similar, but no one has seemed to find the right formula in terms of industrial design. Just right up Apple's alley, then!
<img src="http://www.sonystyle.com/micros/clie/media/home_70V_device.jpg">
An iBook with a touch screen that can pivot and fold in such a way to make it a tablet? The Sony design is slick without a doubt (when it folds, the screen covers the keyboard so you don't have an exposed keyboard underside). Such an iBook would be super cool and maybe something Apple can do in terms of industrial design. I think we saw some Windows CE notebooks that did something similar, but no one has seemed to find the right formula in terms of industrial design. Just right up Apple's alley, then!