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Comment by tertius | Hacker News Reader

At this point? The Mac has not been one of their main products for almost a decade.

I don't disagree, but there was a definite tonal shift in how it was handled shortly after Cook took over. Jobs seemed to recognize that the Mac was a tool used by their pro/developer userbase that helped make not only the App Store the envy of Google and Microsoft in terms of the variety and quality of the software available, but as a big draw for the deep-pocketed developer community as a whole. Cook doesn't seem to get that, a problem that was on flagrant display when they unveiled the Macbook Pro last year, with a gimmicky input mechanism no one wanted, and no first-party displays to go with it.

In other words: It was a niche product and always has been, but that niche has played a large role in the success of iOS. It should be one of Apple's primary concerns to keep them happy.

I think we agree here on the importance of the Mac.

I don't know how real the difference between Jobs and Cook is regarding the product line. They worked together for a long time and what you're saying seems like the romantic apple media. True to a degree probably though.

Jobs had the vision, Cook had the business smarts to make it happen. Since Jobs passing, Apple has frequently felt like a rudderless ship. Cook is a great manager and a great businessman, no doubt at all, but he doesn't have the passion Jobs had and it shows.

Pretty much, Jobs thoughts on sales/marketing people driving companies more relevant than ever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AxZofbMGpM

You mean the platform where iOS development happens? I beg to differ. Just because iPhone, maybe the biggest consumer phenomenon the world has ever known, is bigger than the Mac, does not mean the Mac is not one of their "main products".

10 years ago is when Apple started to neglect the Mac Pro, and the Mac Mini is embarrassing, but the rest of the line has been doing great in sales and attention from Apple save a few missteps here and there.

The sales numbers compared to their main products is tiny.

> You mean the platform where iOS development happens?

Yes, that one. I doubt "iOS developers" can keep Apple alive.

> The sales numbers compared to their main products is tiny.

In q3, mac sales represented ~12% of revenue which is greater than the iPads ~11%. I wouldn't exactly call it tiny.

Yes, and it is also important to remember that "tiny", when referring to an Apple product line, means "if it were a freestanding company, it would be in the F500".

They're also very expensive products. I'd look at numbers sold over 5 years.

And yes, I guess tiny is not a good word, still very small.

> and the Mac Mini is embarrassing

Embarrassing is an understatement, I'd say it's overtly consumer hostile https://d2w9rnfcy7mm78.cloudfront.net/1000779/large_7cbe8b3f... 2012 Mac Mini on the left; 2014 Mac Mini on the right. The unscrewable bottom was one of the championed features when this design initially launched

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