Bye Intel, Hello Apple.
Silicon With the high-end product line, Mac Pro, now transitioning to its proprietary M2 Ultra chip, Apple's Mac lineup has completely abandoned Intel chips.
The transition from Intel to Apple Silicon took roughly three years. With impressive performance reviews, Apple's in-house System on a Chip (SoC) has swayed numerous Windows users to switch to Mac. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, mentioned that about half of the Mac sales in the second quarter came from users new to the Mac ecosystem.
During the second quarter earnings call, Cook noted that Apple was thrilled to have completed the shift to Apple's own chips for its entire product line last quarter. This move drove a surge in upgrades and drew a significant number of new customers. Almost half of Mac buyers this quarter were first-time users. Reports also highlighted that Mac's user satisfaction in the U.S. reached 96%.
Sales data indicate that the comprehensive adoption of Apple Silicon has been a resounding success for Apple. In the second quarter of 2019, Apple sold 4.077 million Macs, capturing 6.3% of the personal computer market. This number surged to 5.3 million units in the same quarter this year, seizing 8.6% of the market share. Achieving these numbers, especially when giants like HP and Dell are undergoing layoffs amidst a generally sluggish consumer electronics market, is undoubtedly commendable for Apple.
The advantage of Apple's in-house SoC lies in its ability to control both hardware and software. Apple can integrate specialized accelerators into the SoC to maximize performance for specific applications. Moreover, they can tailor software precisely for these SoCs, reducing the number of bugs and optimizing the user experience. Furthermore, without having to pay Intel for CPU costs, Apple can further enhance its profit margins.
In the second quarter of this year, Apple's personal computer business performed notably better than competitors like Lenovo, Dell, and Acer. However, Cook stated during the earnings call that the downturn in the consumer electronics market might persist for a while. He anticipates double-digit declines in revenues for both Mac and iPad in the third quarter, especially for the Mac.
