Apple running scared of Microsoft – More affordable Macs on way?
Microsoft recently called out Apple Macs for what they truly are – overpriced style over substance. Now rumors abound that Apple is looking to drastically cut the price of some of its computers in a bid to appeal to a wider range of people, especially with the economy in the state it currently is. Apple is running scared.
The latest Microsoft advertising campaign, the notorious ‘Laptop Hunters’ ads, took the fight directly to Apple. Each of the four adverts mentioned Macs before showing why the consumers featured had eschewed an Apple computer for a Windows’-based one. The main thrust was that Macs are too expensive, although the fact they are perceived as cool and are really just for kids was also mentioned in passing.
According to Apple Insider, Apple is considering reducing the price of some of its entry-level Macs. If true, both the Macbook and the iMac could be reduced in price to better cater to a changing clientele. The fact that Apple has recently seen a drop in Mac sales when sales of netbooks and PCs is rising probably has a lot to do with this change of heart.
Current Apple users may love the fact that they are able to afford this so-called premium product but the pricing strategy obviously isn’t coming across too well for people looking to buy a new laptop. They are invariably choosing PCs over Macs and the main reason would have to be because of price.
The ‘Laptop Hunters’ ads were clever because they drew everyone’s attention to the fact that Apple Macs are expensive. Most people probably already knew this but many, especially first-time buyers of computers, may not have known that you can save a lot of money simply by choosing a PC over a Mac?
Apple clearly needs to do something to stop the slide. The company may be making tons of money but in terms of unit sales, it’s not doing as well as it should. With the recession in full swing, surely even Macs are going to have to come down in price. If they do then the PC Vs. Mac argument is likely to get a whole lot more interesting very quickly.
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May 3rd, 2009
You do know that during the second fiscal quarter Apple only saw a 3% drop in Mac sales while the rest of the computer industry saw an average of 7%.
On the same quarter Apple raked in a profit of $1.21 billion and is considered as the “best non-holiday quarter” in Apple’s history. They have almost $30 billion cash on hand.
I don’t see that as a reason to be running scared.
Change your title to Windows.Blow. It’s more apt that way.
May 3rd, 2009
“Now, rumors abound that Apple is looking to drastically cut the price of some of its computers in a bid to appeal to a wider range of people, especially with the economy in the state it currently is. Apple is running scared.”
huh? “Drastically” even?
Don’t know where your analysis came from, but I suspect it was a very dark place.
May 3rd, 2009
Microsoft Windows PC’s, are they better value for money or just a poor man’s Mac?
I don’t know if I would want to buy a brand who’s main selling point is that its cheap.
Cheap is synonymous with rubbish, low quality and crap… and er, Microsoft?
Apple on the other hand is synonymous with superior quality, good value, quality engineered products… and being a bit more expensive.
Here’s a thought. I wonder what percentage of the netbooks purchased over this weekend will still be in use by their owners in 3 years time in comparison to the number of Mac’s
Eh?
May 3rd, 2009
Macs need a price drop, I agree. I’m a Mac user and I love my Mac, but they could arguably be cheaper and still sell well. If Apple is to make any serious inroads into the marketshare side of things, prices need to drop somewhat. Many people won’t pay the price for a Mac.
I maintain that my Mac has still been value for money. Yet Apple could still reduce the price, make a killing in profits and increase volume sales. I don’t think many people could argue that Windows is much better than Mac – better value, you could perhaps argue, but not which is strictly ‘better’.
It would be wise of Apple to reduce prices by £100 or even more. Yet I just get the feeling that predicting a £50 drop would be optimistic. A shame really, because it prevents many people from using Mac OSX, which is better than Windows Vista and Windows 7 by a mile. And I use all 3 quite regularly (although not so much Vista these days), so I’d say I’m in a good position to comment there.
May 3rd, 2009
So Apple’s competition is spending millions of dollars to tell the public that Apple sells a premium product? Honestly, I know lots of people who still thought the Mac was a fringe product right up until itvwas featured in several of these Microsoft ads. If MS is that scared of Apple there must be something to it.
May 3rd, 2009
Just spent a full day getting a (899 Euro!) Samsung notebook with Vista to print wireless(…)
Now, I am typing this on my trusted, 4 year old Ibook…
Go, fix your registry…
May 3rd, 2009
I bought two unibody MacBook Pros. While I would love to have purchased them for less money, never was a Wintel PC in the running. It’s like comparing apples to dung.
May 3rd, 2009
Macs represent good value. Check eBay for used machines if the price of new is too high. Also, check out the refurbished machines Apple sells. Like most things in life, one gets what he/she pays for.
May 3rd, 2009
You write: “the pricing strategy obviously isn’t coming across too well for people looking to buy a new laptop.”
But really, with the evidence provided, the sentence should read: “the pricing strategy obviously isn’t coming across too well for people [for whom Microsoft is paying] to buy a new laptop.”
Now THAT is more factual.
May 3rd, 2009
Apple may bring out some inexpensive models, ie. slightly slower processors, smaller hard drive etc. to meet, not Microsoft’s marketing, but the sad state of the economy. Apple has not cared primarily about market share but profits. While Dell etc continue to push out low profit netbooks etc, Apple has maintained very healthy profits. I agree some lower priced models, entry level types should be offered but you will not see a fire sale. Sadly, cheap in technology does equate to crap. Really life is easier on a Mac.
May 3rd, 2009
All you have to do is compare Microsoft’s last quarter with Apple’s and you can tell who is running scared.
Despite Vista.blog’s obvious bias and distorted spin, Apple is kicking Redlands rear-end.
May 3rd, 2009
Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha
The whole article is funny. I wonder how many employees Microsoft, Dell, HP and Lenvo will lay off this quarter?
May 3rd, 2009
LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It wasn’t Mac OS X that has cost the global economy $100 Billion dollars a year in lost and/or stolen revenue due to horrendously written code allowing theft, and adware, and mega viruses (virii) and other forms of malware that has really ripped up corporate bottom lines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Microsoft must be running scared of Apple if it has these lame ads and has nothing of value to say about their own OS!!!!!!!!
And you are just trolling for hits with this ridiulous article!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 3rd, 2009
Anyway. An ad payed Microsoft that does not promote their software. What does it say?
May 3rd, 2009
These ‘rumours of cheaper macs’ is the result of too many bloggers (I wouldn’t call them journalists) interviewing their word processors.
And they’re probably using M$ Word. Ah well, garbage in, garbage out.
May 3rd, 2009
Clearly, this is a troll post. Anyone who actually looked at sales figures would not conclude Apple’s supposed upcoming price drop has anything to do with Microsoft. If Apple does indeed cut prices, it will be because of the economy, not pressure from Microsoft’s Ads.
Just more fanning of the Mac flames to generate hits. Nothing to see here. Move on.
May 3rd, 2009
I’m enjoying watching PC makers trying to pay their bills and their employees with unit sales. I’m sure they’re “making it up” on the volume.
In sales, there actually are customers and business that you do not want – if you try to be all things to all people, you run the risk of being nothing to anybody.
May 3rd, 2009
I don’t see apple lowering its prices. The reason? There is too much economic uncertainty for Apple to do this. It may look as though we are in a recession, so prices should drop. But, Obama, and Bush before him, is drastically increasing spending which will eventually, if monetized, lead to higher prices. So, the current economic uncertainty says to Apple to make few changes until we know where the economy is headed. My best guess is on Stagflation: a stagnant economy and high price inflation, A La Jimmy Carter.
Regarding the ads, let me introduce a word to you that you may not understand: value. A low price by itself, cannot tell you if it is wise to purchase anything. Low priced goods are, almost always, lacking in quality, durability, effectiveness, panache and comfort. Spending as little as a quarter to half more can greatly increase the above attributes. Buying cheap is called being “penny wise and pound foolish.”
Apple, intentionally, does not engage in the low priced, e-waste laptop computers which are promoted in Microsoft’s Ads. No person so ignorant of Apple’s value would buy the computers which Microsoft touts.
That is fine with Apple, because these people were never Apple customers. Microsoft is stealing nothing from Apple. All it is doing is promoting glitzy, low priced junk. The assumption is false that people buy cheap in a recession, when they are more likely not to buy at all.
May 3rd, 2009
I’m getting so tired of stories like this … “running scared” … you’ve got to be kidding … iit’s not about marketshare … Apple says it over and over again . it’s about a user experience that just works … I’ve got 25 years of Mac work behind me to verify it and I would be dead broke if I had relied on windoze …
… ITOSS … it’s the operating system, stupid …
May 3rd, 2009
PS … when I say 25 years, I also include a few years as one of the earliest Apple II users … when M$ was unheard of …
May 3rd, 2009
When I say 25 years, it’s more than a Mac … an Apple !! user before the Mac, before M$ …. “running scared” ??? The previous writer was correct .. this is a troll post …
May 3rd, 2009
hilarious!!! The PC faithful have been throwing the “price” thing around for 20 years now.
Some things never change.
At least Apple is no longer “beleaguered”.
May 3rd, 2009
Apple spends tons on research and development. They push the whole industry. Do we want the R&D to cease? I would say no. Just go out and pay for a Mac. You will see what a real computer is like. Apple rocks!
May 3rd, 2009
This article and author is panic. No one wants to be associate with MS or Window. The biggest and most power tech company can not write a stable OS. You get what you pay for
May 4th, 2009
you guys are so pathetic……….. apple just sucks………. what are you paying that extra $1,000 for? hmmmm………. less hdd space? less powerful processor? less user-friendly operating system? more homos**ual “image” imagery (yeah thats right, I think apples “aesthetic beuty” is just another way to say “g*y imagery…….. vista and 7 (especially) look far more “beutiful” to my eyese)? yup….. that about sums it up……. too bad that windows is so popular that the hackers are only trying to exploit it, and write viruses for it…….. the hackers know writing for crap-macs is just a waste of time
May 4th, 2009
What a pathetic blog.
The FUD never stops!
Microsoft has been in stasis for years.
What, 7 years to churn out the stillborn turd Vista?
Now they take another 2 or 3 to change the name, cook up a new skin, add some bug fixes and a feature that let’s you run some apps from their 10 year-old+ XP… AND most importantly, launch a new ad campaign. Now THAT’S innovation!
You can bet there’s still DOS under the hood, and support for parallel and serial ports, too.
Apple has pushed the envelope and redefined everything they’ve touched from DAY ONE. How many failures? Apple III, Lisa, Newton (which was over-hyped and released too soon), the Cube? Not a bad record for 30+ years in business.
May 4th, 2009
Those who know buy the right stuff, those who are ignorant buy rubbish.
Those who know will buy the one that controls the whole widget, hardware and software.
Those who are ignorant will buy to regret…
May 4th, 2009
It’s Wintards like the guy who wrote this article who are running scared. Apple is kicking ass. So far, that’s hurting Dell, HP, etc., but M$ are next.
Microsoftis losing on all fronts. They can’t even COPY APPLE anymore. Look at the Zune! Win Mobile is a PATHETIC JOKE. MS has no itunes or app store, either.
Worst of all, look at the MS stock price over the past 5-10 years. Nothing.
May 4th, 2009
LOL. Sorry, Microsoft isn’t going to get dinged too badly by losing 10% of the money they get from OEM Windows licenses. Some of those Macs will generate retail Windows licenses that are much better margins.
HP, Dell and Emachines take a much bigger hit than Microsoft does on a Mac sale. Get a viable Server line and an Exchange replacement if you really want to ding them.
That was a cool trick Apple did when they pushed the envelope and got PCs to copy those Intel Macs 15 years before they even sold them. Those Motorola and IBM CPUs really threw us off.
LOL the only thing worse than a Windows fanboy is a Machead.
May 4th, 2009
I’m betting the blog writer is 15 or 16 tops. if you don’t like Macs then don’t buy one. If you rant and rave about how they suck then it is so about you and not Apple. Seel professional help or gain some maturity. Learn a few things beyond what plays WoW best.
May 28th, 2009
Mac users are so pathetic, they can’t handle anything negative about their stupid computers. PC owners Have better things to do than worship a corporation.
June 24th, 2009
Ok, So mac users are dedicated, but they are not the only people dedicated to an object,compnay, or product. I know people who worship Linux, Win Mobile, Game consoles, You name it. so moving on….
Yes Macs are OverPriced, Apple tax… You pay for the Software, you pay for the support, you pay out the ying yang so Jobs can buy a Car just to stick it on display in his livingroom… whatever…. It’s not really lowering the price that matters, because in reallity the only thing they over price is Mobile Me and accesories, they get great customer service and it includes iLife, a good software package.
They need Desktop Mac… one with no display built in, But the Same Power as an iMac. Like a Normal persons Powermac. Something cheaper then an all in one that can use standard PC monitors and keyboards… then they will attract more of the PC market to them. A Mac that is upgradable Like a PC, but not crammed with Dual Quad Core Processors, 16GB ram, and a 600$ Video card… Just a standard Home Machine… I bet they will sell. this is supposed to be an inovative cutting edge company, they havent been inovative for 10 years…. it’s all the same crap, Just a different face. they need a new Line, A Line of Computers that perform better then the Mac Mini( it stays on par with the PC side) but have the same concept… a Mac mini is supposed to be a budget minded choice for a PC user to make the switch, but it’s just a laptop crammed in a tiny box… I dont want a tiny computer anyway. i am araid i will break it, and the brick is almost as big as the computer itself.