Kuo: MacBook Sales Down 30% Amid No New Products for Remainder of 2023 - MacRumors
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Kuo: MacBook Sales Down 30% Amid No New Products for Remainder of 2023

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MacBook sales have dropped significantly amid Apple's decision to launch no new Macs for the remainder of 2023, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports.

MacBook Air 15 Inch Feature Teal
In a new post on Medium, Kuo claimed that MacBook sales as a whole are expected to be around 30% lower this year compared to 2022, reducing to about 17 million units. He highlighted that demand for the 15-inch MacBook Air has dropped substantially following the end of the back-to-school period, revising shipment forecasts down by approximately 20% or more.

In September, Kuo reported that Apple is unlikely to release any new MacBook models with the M3 chip this year. With no new product launches for the rest of 2023, Kuo now expects MacBook shipment momentum to be significantly lower than in previous seasons. He added that declining work-from-home demand and the waning appeal of Apple silicon and mini-LED displays are also driving MacBook sales down.

Kuo believes that one reason for Apple choosing to withhold the launch of any products is to clear inventory ahead of new releases next year. Apple apparently expects the M3 series of chips to boost Mac sales in 2024, but Kuo says this is yet to be seen.

In a previous report, Kuo seemed skeptical of new MacBooks with M3 chips boosting sales. He warned that demand for these devices might still be "below expectations" due to a "lack of growth drivers." Kuo was essentially saying that Apple will no longer have the growth catalysts that it did over the past few years, such as a pandemic-driven work-from-home boost in demand or the newness of Apple silicon, which spurred many customers to upgrade from Intel-based Macs. However, given Mac and iPad sales already significantly declined in 2023, Apple will at least have more favorable year-over-year sales comparisons in 2024.

Tag: Ming-Chi Kuo

Top Rated Comments

L
Light Focus
33 months ago
I'm not sure but I think 8+256 base config in 2023 and insane upgrade cost will put some people off
Score: 73 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J
Jim Lahey
33 months ago
I imagine most buyers are getting sick to the back teeth of being mugged off with the extortionate extra costs of choosing something other than decade-old memory and storage options. Made worse by the drop in read/write performance of a single 256GB chip vs. the parallelism of 512+
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
6
6787872
33 months ago
too much money for ram/storage specs from 15 years ago
Score: 52 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
abatabia
33 months ago
There’s only so much mileage to be gotten out of these minor spec bumps before it might affect things. Also the M1 Mac’s were that good. My M1 MBA is my favorite MacBook of all time.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
StoneJack Avatar
StoneJack
33 months ago
1. Generally, economy is bad everywhere in the world, so pc sales are tanking everywhere,
2. M1 and M2 are still very good CPUs, no need to upgrade to M3 very soon,
3. Relatively costly with meager starting 8/256 offer, compared to Windows/Linux/Chromebook/Samsung Dex offerings.
4. End of pandemic, gradual return to offices, computers bought in the pandemic era are still good,
5. iPhone and iPads with USB-C are becoming powerful enough to replace PC and Macs in some cases,
6. No AAA gaming on Macs yet
7. Newer OS versions do not offer anything substantial new,
8. Slow progress of M chips.

Generally, I think these are the factors, influencing the Mac sales right now.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
R
Rradcircless
33 months ago
Terrible economies across the world, with Apple’s premium pricing? And releasing new models every year? Everybody already has a MacBook or don’t want to invest in one right now.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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