Apple Blames Low Mac Sales on iMac Supply Constraints

newimacToday's quarterly results call revealed that Apple's Mac sales are down 16% compared to last year. Apple sold just 312,000 Macs per week compared to 371,000 per week during the same time period a year ago.

Peter Oppenheimer noted that Apple has experienced significant constraints on the new iMacs, and was only able to ship them during December. Without these constraints, he says, Mac sales would have been higher.

IDC estimates the global personal computer market contracted by 6% during the December quarter. We introduced the new 13-inch MacBook Pro retina display as well as our stunning new iMacs in October. As we projected a quarter ago, we were significantly constrained with respect to the new iMacs and were only able to ship them for the final month of the December quarter. We believe our Mac sales would have been much higher absent those constraints.

Apple was only able to provide 3 to 4 weeks of inventory, below its target of 4 to 5 weeks. Apple's newest iMacs have been plagued with production issues, mainly due to a new lamination process used for the displays.

Cook further addressed this in the Question and Answer section.

The best way to answer this is to look at the previous year. The difference is $1.1 billion from last year. iMacs were down by 700k units year over year. As you remember, we announced new iMacs late in October. Announced they would ship in November and December. Did ship by those dates. Limited weeks of ramping on those products during the quarter. Significant constraints on the iMac at the end of the quarter. Sales would have been materially higher without those constraints. Tried to share this on the conference call in October.

If you look at last year, we had 14 weeks in the quarter last year. 13 weeks this year. Channel inventory was down from the beginning of the quarter by more than 100k units. Didn't have the iMacs in channel. These factors bridge more than the difference between this year's sales and last year's.

Cook also mentioned a few other minor factors, including the weak PC market and the impressive sales of the iPad. Apple sold more than 23 million iPads, and Cook said that some cannibalization was almost certainly a factor.

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Air Colors Thumb 2

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air Rumored to Come in These 9 Colors

Friday July 11, 2025 12:30 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will be available in a total of nine color options, according to new information coming out of Asia. The iPhone 17 Air's expected color options. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean blog Naver, accessory manufacturers are now producing camera protector rings for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air in colors to match their...

Top Rated Comments

blackhand1001 Avatar
163 months ago
I'm glad there's a company like Apply betting big on risky new design and manufacturing technologies... sometimes getting burned (like these low iMac supplies) and sometimes succeeding in a big way (milled aluminum casings across the board).

It's easy to just make whatever has worked before. But without this kind of innovation and risk-taking, we'd lose out on a lot.
Those risky design techniques on the imac provided no benefit to the user at all. Small form factors may pay off in laptops since they are portable but for desktops they only add to the price and reduce performance and provide nothing in return. Thats the problem with apples desktop line. It sacrifices far too much in the name of form-factor. The benefit of a thinner or lighter laptop is apparant as you carry that machine around. The benefit of something like the mac mini or imac being smaller or thinner is pretty much nothing. Heck most people would be happy with a mid tower since they aren't spending extra on a form factor they don't need. This is why you no longer see apple machines all over public schools like they used to be. Its not cost effective to deploy a mac desktop lab when you can buy 400 dollar dell optiplexes that perform just as well and don't have heat issues.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lifeinhd Avatar
163 months ago
If they had a new Mac Pro, would be even higher :rolleyes:
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JamonBull Avatar
163 months ago
I'd also say that the insanely high price for a retina MacBook Pro (with decent hard disk space) is as larger factor in the sales drop. If they introduce Haswell models with a price drop this year plus revamped Airs I'm sure sales will rebound.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
simonb76 Avatar
163 months ago
Somehow I could see that coming considering most people are tight with their money in the present economy.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marlor Avatar
163 months ago
They lost one iMac sale from me.

When I realised I couldn't open the machine to change the hard drive, I bailed on my purchase of a 27" model. That's basic maintenance - like changing the oil on your car. The iMac is like a sleek car with no access to the engine bay.

That said, I bought a Mac mini instead. It's a joy to open and maintain (with the right tools).
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
163 months ago
I'm glad there's a company like Apply betting big on risky new design and manufacturing technologies... sometimes getting burned (like these low iMac supplies) and sometimes succeeding in a big way (milled aluminum casings across the board).

It's easy to just make whatever has worked before. But without this kind of innovation and risk-taking, we'd lose out on a lot.

(PREDICTION: someone will forget that we're talking about display lamination, and ask how "innovative" I think it is to make a DVD player optional :p I'll answer now: I think it's not innovative, merely a good move.)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)