Comments on: Apple's Market Share Is Bigger Than You Think

By: How Not To Underestimate Apple’s Market Share | The Virtual Circle

How Not To Underestimate Apple’s Market Share | The Virtual Circle — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:20:27 +0000

[...] couple of years ago I wrote a posting entitled; Apple’s Market Share Is Bigger Than You Think. I doubt if Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO, read that piece, or if he did, he was in denial [...]

By: Partners in Grime

Partners in Grime — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:42:06 +0000

“Owners that don’t understand the [virus] problem often simply buy a new PC.”

If they take their PC to a shop to have it virus cleaned, the cost of labour soon makes a new PC appealing.

By: Microsoft: The “Bootleg Apple” Strategy and Why It Will Fail | HaveMacWillBlog (aka Robin Bloor’s Blog)

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:13:34 +0000

[...] was the Intel switch that set Apple on a solid rising growth curve. (To get a sense of this read: Apple’s Market Share Is Bigger Than You Think and The Sound of Breaking [...]

By: Matt Balara - Freelance Designer » Blog Archive » I Would Love to Love Spore

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:14:53 +0000

[...] for Mac versions) stuck in 1998? Note to EA: Apple’s US home computer market share seems to be around 8%. Do you really want to inconvenience and irritate that many potential customers? All you’d have [...]

By: Robin Bloor

Robin Bloor — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:20:41 +0000

A further factor is the virus problem. PC performance degrades over time but does so quite quickly if virus infected. Owners that don’t understand the problem often simply buy a new PC.

By: Jeff Stelling

Jeff Stelling — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:57:49 +0000

“Mac users replace their computers a lot less frequently (i.e. greater obsolescence in Windows PCs leads to more PC sales)”

Alternatively, PCs are cheaper so people are more willing to discard old ones. If Macs cost more, naturally people will replace them less often.

Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between.

By: Robin Bloor

Robin Bloor — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:26:09 +0000

Later figures suggest that Mac market is outgrowing the PC market by a much higher factor (10 to 15). More than 50 percent of Mac buyers are switching away from the PC – even though the Mac is more expensive (except at the top end of the range.)
So the disparity is growing and you seem to think that these consumers don’t believe that the Mac is a far superior product. What is your alternative theory?
a) They think the Mac’s inferior but they’re happy to pay more and buy it anyway.
b) They think it’s fairly equal, but they’re happy to pay more and buy Macs anyway.
c) They feel sorry for Steve Jobs and are behaving charitably.
d) All these buyers are mentally incompetent and need help.

By: skeptical

skeptical — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:04:45 +0000

“Apple actually has a 100% market share (of the Mac market) and the Home Mac market is outgrowing the Home Windows PC market by a factor of about 3 or so, indicating that consumers have concluded that it is a far superior product. ”

I just wanted to address this point. Is it really a fair comparison to try and compare a market in a growth stage with a market that’s in a mature stage?

To say consumers have deemed the mac to be the “far superior product” based on the growth rate is sensationalism at its finest.

Those PC users who do not switch because they believe the PC to provide superior utility do not affect the growth rate because they are already included in that market share. You can’t deny the growth, but you can’t claim the Mac “far superior” based on that and actually believe that is what consumers believe. Some yes, a majority, not a chance.

Other factors not considered is the growing number of PC users who do not purchase a PC from a store and build their own machines. I will likely never buy another “brand name” PC again, the last time i did was in 2002.

By: Partners in Grime

Partners in Grime — Sun, 18 May 2008 18:08:18 +0000

Excellent analysis. I think you’re correct that Apple’s market share will accelerate. People are just beginning to grok Mac.

By: Apple: Dragged Kicking and Screaming Into Business Computing? | HaveMacWillBlog (aka Robin Bloor’s Blog)

Tue, 13 May 2008 16:53:14 +0000

[...] to why this is happening. Enthusiasm for the Mac is clearly skyrocketing in consumerland (click here and here if you want more details) so it’s clear where the pressure is coming from. The [...]