Apple had its Q2, 2018 earnings call on Tuesday. While for shareholders it brought mainly good news, it had little to offer Mac customers. In fact, the whole Mac line-up was once again basically ignored by Tim Cook and his colleagues when they discussed future revenue plans.
It has to be said that these earnings calls usually just involve the CEO summarising profit margins, earnings, market share and similar issues – although they normally also shed some light on future plans.
With WWDC so close and rumours of a new MacBook Air, however, many people expected to at least hear something about future plans for the Mac. They got nothing more than a couple of casual remarks about this old stalwart.
For instance, when responding to a question about the company’s plans for China, Tim Cook said: “Mac gained share there as well. Watch is getting some traction there. Services is doing extremely well. Several catalysts. I’m very pleased with the results that we were able to show during the quarter.”
Brushing off the Mac in this manner should not surprise many people. In spite of plans for a new iMac Pro and Mac Pro, Apple seems to be losing its appetite for building computers. It continues to sell outdated and under-powered devices such as the MacBook Air for ridiculous prices, and it infrequently updates hardware.
The company hasn’t even updated the MacBook Air’s product page, which still refers to components that are now anything but newsworthy.
Few people would have expected Tim Cook to announce a new range of MacBooks, but even the slightest amount of recognition might have gone very far in addressing the fears of Mac owners who are currently considering upgrading their devices – or to switch to a different brand altogether.
Has Apple finally forgotten the product that made it famous?