Apple Inc. Treats Mac Team Like A Stepchild [REPORT]

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Apple CEO Tim Cook reaffirmed Apple’s commitment to the Mac desktop in particular and the Mac in general in an internal memo circulated recently. Apple’s desktops have not been updated for years, and the Mac Pro and Mac Mini have not been refreshed for even longer time. The lack of updates to the desktop, however, has prompted scrutiny and speculation among the media and the Apple enthusiast community.

Less important to Apple now

In the memo, Cook addressed the doubts about the importance of the Mac, saying, “If there’s any doubt about that with our teams, let me be very clear: we have great desktops in our roadmap. Nobody should worry about that.”

However, a report from Bloomberg indicated that the Mac is getting far less attention than it once did. There are some rational explanations for this. The Mac represents less of Apple’s revenue now than it did five years ago. Usually, the Mac generates somewhere between 10% and 12% of Apple’s revenue, in comparison to 60% or more for the iPhone.

A few organizational changes have also impacted the Mac line, says Bloomberg, citing persons “familiar with the matter.” Meetings between Jony Ive’s design team and the Mac engineers have become less frequent. Apple now does not have a dedicated team working on macOS. Instead, there is one big team that is developing both iOS and macOS.

Also the tech giant is apparently more willing to test and develop multiple ideas simultaneously when developing new designs. This divides the efforts of the engineers and slows things down, notes Bloomberg.

“In the past, managers pushed a more singular vision. Engineers are now ‘asked to develop multiple options in hopes that one of them will be shippable,’ a person familiar with the matter said,” says Bloomberg.

Apple: nothing wrong with Mac

Apple finally refreshed its MacBook Pro line this fall after what felt like more than two decades. Even though the Mac portables have finally received an update, its desktops are still lacking, says Gizmodo. The Silicon Valley giant has not updated the Mac mini since 2014 and the iMac since October 2015. Its Mac Pro has not seen a spec update since its launch in December 2013.

Many people are saying that Apple is facing real challenges in its Mac business, but the tech giant denies this. Apple, on the other hand, is assuring everyone that everything is fine, and great things are coming. We will have to wait and see if what the tech giant claims is true.

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