Is Apple Abandoning Macs?

  Apple has been selling Macintosh branded computers for 31 years, but with its emphasis shifting to smartphones, watches, music and who knows what else, the company has neglected its Mac line, leaving the Apple faithful wondering if the company is still committed to it.

The last time the non-Retina edition of the MacBook Pro received an upgrade was four years ago. The Retina MacBook Pro is more than a year into its current cycle, and the MacBook Air has gone nearly 600 days without a refresh.

The Mac Mini has gone 700 days since its last update, one that didn't sit well with customers because Apple removed quad-core CPU options and made the product harder to upgrade after purchase. The Mac Pro, the high-end desktop used by creative types, has not been upgraded in nearly three years, and the last upgrade before that was six years ago.

How bad has it gotten? The influential MacRumor's Buyer's Guide does not recommend a single Mac product right now. In fact, all but the MacBook are recommended as "Don't Buy."

MacRumors' forum isn't the only source of anguish for Apple customers. The Verge, Ars Technica, and ExtremeTech have all taken Apple to the woodshed over its neglect of the Mac line, the notebooks in particular, calling out the company for selling laptops with chips from 2012 and lacking new features like USB-C. While Lenovo and Dell lead with new designs and new technologies in their laptops, Apple's latest idea of innovation is to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone.

Notebooks accounted for 78% of total Mac sales in the second quarter of 2016, according to Gartner. Apple sold 774,000 desktops vs. 3.4 million notebooks. Overall unit sales fell 6% from the same period one year earlier. In fairness, Apple can be excused for skipping the Skylake processor generation because Skylake was made for desktops, and the bulk of Apple's PC sales business is its laptops. The brand new Kaby Lake processor was made for mobile with considerably better power efficiency than Skylake.

Finally, Apple recently sent out press invitations to an announcement on Mac upgrades. But questions remain as to whether the upgrades will be anything to write home about, and more importantly, whether Apple really has its heart into the Mac line, or whether it’s focusing its innovation muscle elsewhere.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently responded to a MacRumors member's email expressing concern about the product line neglect by saying that he "loves the Mac" and that Apple is "very committed" to it. He told the member to "stay tuned." But some analysts aren’t so sure, predicting that Apple is slowly pivoting away from the slow-growth PC and laptop business.

And while most end users are happy with their Macs, others are expressing concern.

Computerworld:                Apple Opens Fire In Encryption Battle:

« Otto's Self-driving Truck Delivers Its First Payload
Cyber Strikeback: Putin’s Aide Hacked »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Check Point

Directory of Suppliers

Jooble

Jooble

Jooble is a job search aggregator operating in 71 countries worldwide. We simplify the job search process by displaying active job ads from major job boards and career sites across the internet.

BackupVault

BackupVault

BackupVault is a leading provider of automatic cloud backup and critical data protection against ransomware, insider attacks and hackers for businesses and organisations worldwide.

Resecurity

Resecurity

Resecurity is a cybersecurity company that delivers a unified platform for endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence.

MIRACL

MIRACL

MIRACL provides the world’s only single step Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) which can replace passwords on 100% of mobiles, desktops or even Smart TVs.

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

Cryptus Cyber Security

Cryptus Cyber Security

Cryptus Cyber Security is an Information Security Training company providing advanced training and services to IT Professionals.

Cavirin

Cavirin

Cavirin’s Automated Risk Analysis Platform reduces risk and automates security and compliance.

Cyber Security National Lab (CINI)

Cyber Security National Lab (CINI)

The Cyber Security National Lab brings together Italian academic excellence in Cyber Security research.

Cyber 2.0

Cyber 2.0

Cyber 2.0 is the only system in the world that blocks all forms of cyber attack within the organization, including new and unfamiliar attack methods.

H3C Group

H3C Group

H3C provides a full range of Computer, Storage, Networking and Security solutions.

Cyberhaven

Cyberhaven

Cyberhaven provides rapid enablement for GDPR and CCPA compliance, streamlined data security and modern risk management.

Cyber Command - Estonian Defence Forces

Cyber Command - Estonian Defence Forces

The main mission of the Cyber Command is to carry out operations in cyberspace in order to provide command support for Ministry of Defence’s area of responsibility.

Air IT

Air IT

Air IT are a responsive, client-focused and award-winning Managed Service Provider, helping clients achieve success and transformation through their IT and communications.

Strata Identity

Strata Identity

Strata is pioneering identity orchestration to unify on-premises and cloud-based authentication and access systems for consistent identity management in multi-cloud environments.

Heron Technology

Heron Technology

Heron Technology are a technology solutions consultancy with core competencies in the areas of Cyber Security and Digital Aviation.

Denodo

Denodo

Denodo transforms the way organizations operate by unifying their data assets in real time and making data ubiquitous and secure to all users and business applications.

Knowit

Knowit

Knowit support customers in the digital transformation, simplify people’s everyday lives and create secure and innovative solutions enabling a sustainable future.

Techtron Business IT Services

Techtron Business IT Services

TECHTRON has been providing business IT services since 2004. Our focus is on SMBs and we are good at it. Our customers trust us, they love our high levels of service, and they love what we stand for.

Securafy

Securafy

At Securafy, we understand how important it is to have the right IT partner by your side. For over 30 years, we’ve helped businesses stay secure, connected, and compliant.

WideField Security

WideField Security

WideField Security a venture backed cybersecurity startup helps enterprise protect their identity attack surface.

LabEx

LabEx

LabEx is an AI-Powered learning platform with labs spanning from Linux devops to web development and cybersecurity.