Apple's Mac sales are dropping and there's only one way to turn it around
For years, Apple's desktops and notebooks outperformed the rest of the market, mostly Windows computers.
But times have changed. Apple shipped 5% to 8% fewer computers during the second quarter compared with a year ago, according to estimates from IDC and Gartner.
Sure, the whole PC market is contracting. But Apple might not even outperform the rest of the PC market anymore, according to IDC's estimate - Apple shipments shrunk 8.3%, whereas the entire market declined 4.5%, in terms of the number of computers shipped.
Apple even saw Asus overtake it for the fourth spot in terms of number of computers shipped last quarter, per IDC, although it's close.
Time for a revamp
One reason why Apple's line of Mac computers isn't selling as well as it used to is that it's getting pretty old.
Apple hasn't updated its line of MacBook Pros or MacBook Airs since last spring, over a year ago.
And neither model has had a full redesign in years. The last time the physical look of Apple's popular MacBook Air changed was six years ago, in 2010. The MacBook Pro has looked the same since 2012.
Many of Apple's desktops haven't been updated recently, either.
Apple has one new laptop model, the MacBook, a skinny and light computer, but that's not an easy sell for many because it only has one USB port.
It's safe to assume Apple sees this decline and is trying to reverse it. Although the iPhone is the economic engine of the company, and the Mac is only a small part of Apple's business, the Mac is its oldest product line and is widely used by programmers and other computer professionals. Plus, Apple just renamed the Mac operating system.
Apple is strongly rumored to be developing a new line of MacBook Pro computers that could jumpstart sales and reinvigorate interest in its line of laptops.
The new MacBook Pro is expected to include a touchscreen built into the keyboard, a TouchID fingerprint sensor, and the latest and greatest Intel chips and AMD graphics processors.
That laptop is expected to come out in the 4th quarter, according to an accurate Apple analyst, so these laptops will miss the back-to-school season. But Apple is hoping that the new-and-improved MacBook Pro can rack up enough holiday sales to turn around Mac sales trends.
