New MacBook Air and Mac Mini Models Driving Record Mac Sales for 3Q 2011

Business Insider reports on new sales data from market research firm NPD, as shared by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. According to NPD, Apple's U.S. Mac sales are up 22% year-over-year for the the first two months of the third calendar quarter of 2011, setting the company up to set a new record for quarterly Mac sales. The strong performance has unsurprisingly been driven by new MacBook Air and Mac mini models released on July 20th.

macbook air 2011 side
Wall Street analysts have been predicting Mac growth of 16% for the full quarter, and while Mac sales may slow slightly in September as Apple's product lines begin to age a bit and the back to school period winds down, the company is reportedly still on track to ship approximately 4.5 million Macs this quarter. Apple's current quarterly record for Mac sales was set in the holiday quarter last year with 4.13 million Macs sold.

NPD has also reported iPod sales down 16% year-over-year for the first two months of the quarter, which actually puts Apple at a slightly better pace than analysts had been expecting. Despite continued strong sales of the iPod touch, Apple's overall iPod sales have been declining for the past year or two as customers have turned more toward smartphones such as the iPhone as single-device options for their phone, music, and other portable media needs.

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
airtag purple

Apple's Website Lists AirTag 4-Pack at Shockingly Low Price [Updated]

Friday November 7, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price as a single AirTag. This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked. Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
ikea smart home devices

IKEA Debuts 21 HomeKit-Compatible Smart Bulbs, Sensors, and Controls

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:08 pm PST by
IKEA today announced the upcoming launch of 21 new Matter-compatible smart home products that will be able to interface with HomeKit and the Apple Home app. There are sensors, lights, and control options, all of which will be reasonably priced. Some of the products are new, while some are updates to existing lines that IKEA previously offered. There are a series of new smart bulbs that are...
Early Black Friday Deals 1

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals on MacBook, Apple Watch, iPad, and More

Saturday November 8, 2025 6:16 am PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Apple fitness plus feature

Future of Apple Fitness+ 'Under Review'

Sunday November 9, 2025 5:30 am PST by
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue. Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
maxresdefault

In-Depth iPhone Battery Experiment Pits Slow Charging Against Fast Charging

Friday November 7, 2025 1:19 pm PST by
HTX Studio this week shared the results from a six-month battery test that compared how fast charging and slow charging can affect battery life over time. Using six iPhone 12 models, the channel set up a system to drain the batteries from five percent and charge them to 100 percent over and over again. Three were fast charged, and three were slow charged. Another set of iPhones underwent...
apple watch se 3 always on

Apple to Remove iPhone-Apple Watch Wi-Fi Sync in EU With iOS 26.2

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:37 am PST by
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report. Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...

Top Rated Comments

applefan289 Avatar
185 months ago
A reasonably priced, headless desktop Mac with decent specs is selling well. Gee, who woulda thunk it*? :rolleyes:

* Just everyone on MacRumors who has been screaming for such a thing for years and being told it was impossible for Apple to produce.

Anyone else want Apple to make something like this again?

Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Photics Avatar
185 months ago
No... you fools... think of the optical discs! :p
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
applefan289 Avatar
185 months ago
I'm glad to see Mac sales on the rise, because I feel it is the best part of Apple's lineup of products.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yadmonkey Avatar
185 months ago
Love that the Mini is selling well. My dream Mac remains something headless between the Mini and the Pro, but I won't hold my breath for it.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DESNOS Avatar
185 months ago
Yeah, I will be hitting a road block in the future when my Mac dies and I have to buy a new one without a disc drive...burning CDs is very important to me for iTunes music, etc. I hope they still have the SuperDrive available in the future for the minority that wants to be able to use/burn discs.
I don't see any reason for them to discontinue the external drive, since you are very correct in that some people still have a use for optical media. Personally, my old computer + remote disk is enough for me as I rarely use it, and I think that tends to be true for most people nowadays, but it may never be true for everyone. Interesting fact: This old external floppy drive I had since 2001 still works just fine when plugged into my 2011 MBA. If Mac OS still has driver support for floppy drives, it'll probably always have driver support for CDs/DVDs too.

EDIT: Who the heck voted this down? This is why I don't like the new voting system. It adds a layer of anonymity to something already very anonymous (the internet). Plus, people are more likely to vote down than vote up, it's just how our brain works. If you agree with the post, then all is well. If you don't agree, then you must make your point. :p
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mentholiptus Avatar
185 months ago
Anyone else want Apple to make something like this again?

Image (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/Power_mac_g4_cube.png)

I still have mine!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)