How did Apple perform during 2019? This is what we aim to discern in this piece, taking a look at the company's big releases this year, and the positive developments, as well as the shenanigans and missteps, even downright chess. There was certainly a wave of action at the end of 2019 in terms of new Mac products, as you probably noticed. But did they really hit the mark? In short, we think so, but read on for a much longer and more in-depth answer. Please note that in this article we are mainly focused on the IT side of Apple, we are mainly referring to Mac, but we will also talk about business performance elsewhere, such as in the mobile domain.
Very large MacBook
Apple brought some rather pedestrian refreshments for its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops in the middle of the year, which was a disappointment to some. That said, Apple has taken much more decisive steps in other ways, saving the best for last with a larger 16-inch MacBook Pro due out in November that replaced 15-inch laptops, the more it killed. the 12-inch MacBook. So in 2019, Apple essentially redesigned its laptop lineup to consist of the MacBook Air, as well as the 13-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, and a year that would otherwise have been running smoothly. It ended beautifully. The great news with this 16-inch laptop is that we think it's simply the best MacBook Pro ever. The larger screen is impressive, and battery life is fantastic, which is an especially commendable achievement considering the performance of this machine. Additionally, Apple has fixed issues like the keyboard, removing the much-maligned Butterfly switches and replacing them with scissor switches; the result is the best keyboard experience we've ever had with a MacBook Pro. Unsurprisingly, the 16-inch laptop is still pricey, but at least the entry-level variant isn't more expensive than the older 15-inch model. inches. Overall, the 16-inch MacBook Pro has been a definite win for Apple this year; a cool jewel in the Mac laptop crown. But that said, the MacBook gremlins were left on the under-build ramp in 2019, including flaws related to the larger new model...
macbook gremlins
With the introduction of new MacBook models, it seems the inevitable complaints are popping up around various issues with these laptops, and 2019 was no exception in this regard. The 16-inch MacBook Pro might be a tasty game, but it could suffer from annoying flaws, namely ghosting with the screen and speakers that make unpleasant noises; for some owners, anyway. At least this latest problem has an incoming software fix, by all accounts. There were also issues with some 13 2019-inch MacBook Pro models shutting down unexpectedly. Apple admitted that these issues existed and thankfully provided a fix which we have detailed here. Another headache for Apple was the ban on theft on certain (older) MacBook Pro laptops that was implemented by airlines in the United States and around the world. It was after certain 15-inch MacBook Pro models were deemed a fire hazard by the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States. If you missed this and want to know more, here's everything you need to know about the MacBook Pro Flight.
Sales history
So how have Apple's machinations with the MacBook reflected in the company's actual sales numbers? Well 2019 has been a bottom up story in terms of revenue streams, IDC figures (Q3 - at time of writing) for the last quarter show Apple down 6% with their Mac sales (some issues according to the analyst firm). However, the previous quarter saw growth of nearly 10%, just behind high-end PC maker Lenovo. But once again, Apple's fiscal second-quarter numbers (reported in April) saw a minor drop in Mac sales, with issues around Intel processor supplies going bad (likely the same inventory issues). mentioned above by IDC, and this is potentially another reason for Apple to turn to ARM chips instead, which would be long overdue for Macs in 2020). Overall, therefore, things weren't great, but they weren't disastrous either, though now that Apple is no longer officially reporting unit sales of Macs, these are all 39-analyst estimates anyway, so be warned. Also keep in mind that the third-quarter numbers don't end until the end of September, of course, so they don't include the impact of Apple's new 16-inch MacBook Pro (which didn't launch) on sale only in mid-November. ). MacBook sales may have been just what we can get, so, but what about the iPhone? According to the latest figures from Gartner (for the third quarter), Apple has experienced a significant drop in sales of 12% in the smartphone market. IDC, on the other hand, found Apple dipping 0.6%, much less worrying. However, China worries about Apple, Huawei greatly increases its dominance; and it's a big market where Tim Cook's company can hardly afford to lose ground. However, Apple reportedly received more orders for the iPhone 11 than expected at launch, and an increase in phone orders as a result. Also, earnings (rather than revenue) remain particularly strong and well ahead of other manufacturers, according to another recent report, thanks to loyal customers in the United States, Europe and Japan.
Mac pro plus
At the end of the year, in December, Apple released its new Mac Pro. It's an incredibly powerful PC, and it's very cleverly designed to allow for modular upgrades and to be very easy to service (no matter what you think of the machine's appearance). . And when we say powerful, we mean really powerful: The 2019 Mac Pro can be spec'd up with a 28-core Intel Xeon processor, an 8TB SSD, and 1.5TB of ECC system memory (yes, 1500GB of RAM). Many titles revolved around the ridiculously high cost of the Mac Pro, and in fact, if you want the highest specs, you're going to pay well over $50,000. So yes, it is excessively expensive, but it is a machine for professionals, not for consumers, and we must take that into account. As a workstation that offers the kind of performance that high-end Mac Pros are capable of, it's competitively priced - it's all relative - although charging $400 for wheels on the machine seems pretty inexcusable. However, for the likes of pro videographers who need serious computing power, this is an excellent machine, and it comes with a very expensive Pro Display XDR that's just as premium (with a 32-inch 6K Retina display). Despite the expense and some well-noted pricing quirks, the 2019 Mac Pro is a definite win for Apple when it comes to the professional target audience. For those who really need power, this is a top-tier product that's seriously future-proofing in terms of fixability and scalability (and with something this expensive, the advantage of this can't be underestimated either).
Catalina Capers
After covering the major hardware moves throughout 2019, what about software? Apple released its annual update for macOS under the guise of Catalina, which was, overall, a solid version of the operating system that certainly added some useful new features. These include Sidecar, which allows you to extend the Mac display onto your iPad, essentially giving you a secondary display for nothing (assuming you already have an iPad, that is, let's say) and Voice Command which makes it easy to issue verbal commands on your Mac. Also, iTunes has been discontinued, replaced by Apple Music, Podcasts, Books, and TV—refined, powerful apps that offer so much more overall. Especially with the introduction of Apple TV, which allows macOS users to access the new Apple TV + subscription offer. Sure, the premium TV+ service was another major release from Apple in 2019, but it started out a bit shaky at least when it comes to releasing content that's pretty rare in a highly competitive field (but this is likely to change in the future, be fair). Either way, these new multimedia apps are definitely a welcome addition to Catalina. There wasn't much to hate with the latest version, aside from a few bugs, and probably the biggest problem for upgrading macOS users is that Catalina no longer supports 32-bit apps. This isn't really a problem for most software, but a minority using legacy apps that haven't switched to 64-bit have felt some pain. In general, there was nothing very exciting about Catalina, but it represented a decent step forward, and there was nothing to hold on to either.
Siri swipe
Apple stumbled upon a privacy bug in 2019 regarding its AI assistant (which now resides on the Mac and on mobile, of course, since 2016). In August, it emerged that contractors were listening to Siri's conversations, albeit anonymous recordings, with the aim of improving and better training the digital assistant. The problem is that these people were outside of Apple, and while the data could have been anonymized, apparently some very sensitive situations (such as sexual activity, even criminal transactions) occurred, and it would have been relatively easy to tell who the records belonged to. Honestly, Apple apologized for this matter and made it clear that this practice has ended, and third-party contractors will no longer be involved in the evaluation and improvement of the improvement. 39, Siri precision. Also, more generally, audio recordings will no longer be used, but rather anonymous computer-generated transcripts, and only for users who have consented to sample analysis (by a sample employee); Manzana). Finally, don't think Apple was alone in this practice, either: Microsoft also has employees and contractors listening in on Cortana interactions and indeed Skype conversations (and they always do, in accordance with current Microsoft privacy policy).
Final thoughts
2019 has been quite a positive and productive year for Apple, with some exciting new product launches, although we had to wait until the end of the year before we saw the really good stuff. By that we mean the 16-inch MacBook Pro that came in the midst of a redesign of Apple's entire line of laptops, giving us what we consider to be the best MacBook Pro of all time. product. And let's not forget the Mac Pro, which was also a big win for Apple; It's been a long time in the making, but it's worth the wait. While much of what's been written on this specifically targeted computer focuses on exorbitant prices, and things like these stupidly overpriced wheels have done little to help, this PC is actually a workstation proposition. competitive compared to its competitors. And it's been met with incredibly positive feedback so far, far from its intended audience (pro build types). MacBook sales, on the other hand, weren't all they could be, though that's not exactly a concern, and the numbers we're highlighting here don't include the impact of the recently launched 16-inch MacBook Pro. Perhaps more disturbing were some of the gremlins regarding the new MacBook Pro models and this airline ban. And we've seen some macOS security issues this year, as always, but nothing major, and certainly nothing more damaging than some security concerns from Apple, although the Siri privacy incident was a separate place in Apple's 2019. Overall, we have to conclude that 2019 has been a good year for Apple, seeing some interesting new initiatives with services like the introduction of Apple TV+, which is promising (even if it does suffer from somewhat monotonous initial programming). Apple needs to capitalize on this Mac momentum through 2020, where we could see even more significant changes, like the possibility of ARM-based machines we discussed earlier, and keep pushing with services like Apple TV and Music (the latter surpassing 60 million subscribers in June of this year), not to mention Apple Arcade. Throw in some more authentic innovation, maybe we'll finally see these AR glasses, or maybe some form of AR headset, and Apple's future could be rosy.- We selected the best and cheapest Apple laptops from our list of the best laptops