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Appleinsider explains why Macs don’t support Nvidia GPUs
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[Craig Seeman] “So we should see a mass exodus of CUDA dependent software from the Mac platform since they are such an insignificant player? After all, why bother developing for such an OS. Or perhaps macOS is important enough that they’ll improve support for AMD as you say Adobe is doing.”
Each company is going to decide what’s a better use of their time and resources (developing for Metal because Apple gives them no choice or dropping Mac support so they can keep focus with Nvidia), but if it looks like Apple will block Nvidia indefinitely I wouldn’t be surprised to see companies dropping MacOS (or just maintaining a token presence while shifting primary focus to Windows). Apple is already a bit player in many/most computing areas (hence the 7% marketshare) so it’s not like they are indispensable (generally speaking).
Weird how Apple drops support for the two most widely used GPU APIs in order to force people to adopt their Mac-only, proprietary API yet some how everyone else is the problem.
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[Andrew Kimery] “Apple is already a bit player in many/most computing areas (hence the 7% marketshare) so it’s not like they are indispensable (generally speaking).
Weird how Apple drops support for the two most widely used GPU APIs in order to force people to adopt their Mac-only, proprietary API yet some how everyone else is the problem.”
and still every Agency and Production Company that I work with still use them as their primary computer so they must be doing something right!
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[Steve Connor] “and still every Agency and Production Company that I work with still use them as their primary computer so they must be doing something right!”
And everyone in Hawai’i knows a surfer, but that doesn’t mean surfing is equally as popular across the entire U.S. ????
Since the 90’s Macs have historically been very overrepresented in creative fields compared to their overall market share. On a related note, over the last 10yrs or so the amount of Mac users I’ve seen grumbling about Apple’s offerings, building Hackintoshs and/or switching to Windows entirely has steadily increased. But Apple will still make money hand over fist even if they lose hundreds (or even thousands) of Mac users so they probably aren’t too concerned about it. As has always been the case, they make the products they want to make, not necessarily the products customers want them to make.
In some necks of the woods there is a common lament about Avid remaining so popular mainly due to institutional inertia and I think a similar argument can be made for Macs in creative industries. As video production continues to democratize and grow we’ll see more and non-media more companies building their own in-house teams and it will be interesting to where companies that have no legacy/baggage land. Assuming of course they don’t ask their Mac-centric editor friends what platform they should go with. ????
For example, when I’ve worked for established media companies covering the video game and esports realms I’ve worked on Macs, but when I’ve worked for the game companies themselves I’ve worked on PCs (since the gaming world is PC-centric).
My default is still to go with Macs, but I know a lot of that is my comfort level with the systems, workflows, and ‘helper apps’ I’ve grown accustomed to over nearly two decades. Switching platforms would certainly present a learning curve in a few areas, but maybe that, in and of itself, should be a compelling argument to switch…
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[Andrew Kimery] “Switching platforms would certainly present a learning curve in a few areas, but maybe that, in and of itself, should be a compelling argument to switch…
“If Mac’s don’t offer what you need then of course switching is the best option, but at the moment, for me there is no reason to switch. I wouldn’t hesitate to though if I felt it would benefit my work..
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[Craig Seeman] “Apple was 4th in hardware sales. Apple sells computers, not the OS. While fairly far behind the top three Lenovo, HP, Dell they don’t sell any lower priced the others do. I suspect Apple does very well in its price bracket. “
As you said, it’s not about annual unit shipments but annual revenue. According to some data, Apple’s revenue from Mac sales isn’t that much less than Lenovo, HP or Dell’s annual revenue from PC sales.
This also explains why Apple doesn’t “kill off the Mac” in favor of iPhones. While Macs contribute a small % of Apple’s annual revenue, if the Mac division was a separate company it would still be larger (by annual revenue) than McDonald’s, Starbucks, or Qualcomm. Apple’s current Mac revenue is larger than Oracle’s total revenue was in 2010.
Apple trailing 12-month revenue from Mac sales: $26 billion (source: Statistica.com)
Lenovo 2017 revenue from PCs, tablets, games and smart devices: $30 billion (source: annual report)
HP quarterly revenue from PC division 1Q2018: $9.4 billion (vs Apple Mac revenue for 1Q2017: $7.2 billion)
Dell quarterly revenue from PC division 1Q2018: $10 billion (vs Apple Mac revenue for 1Q2017: $7.2 billion) -
Great thread. Thanks for everyone’s input.
For me the real barometer of future computer trends is looking at what kids want to purchase. I have teenagers and when they were young, the devices they craved were ipods, iphones and ipads. The Apple mystique had fully permeated our culture and kids perceived Apple as the definition of cool.
But my son who is almost 16 just shared with me a parts list from PC Part Picker that he researched and he’s getting very excited to build a custom PC. Most of his friends also have custom PC’s. The obvious reason is for gaming but this younger generation is also getting a taste of what the PC world has to offer – i.e., freedom of choice and I think that freedom will be something that they will want going forward.
People can argue forever about how big Apple’s business is and how relevant they will remain but it’s simply undeniable that Apple is first and foremost a phone company. They are also a computer company but that part of the business is large but technically still niche and the trend that I see all around me is that they are becoming even more niche.
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[greg janza] ” Apple is first and foremost a phone company. They are also a computer company “
I consider the iPhone a computer that fits in your pocket, that you can also make phone calls on.
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[Tony West] “[greg janza] ” Apple is first and foremost a phone company. They are also a computer company ”
I consider the iPhone a computer that fits in your pocket, that you can also make phone calls on.”
And the iPad is now getting competitive with some smaller laptops. Consider there’s now an external keyboard and pencil making it almost like a Wacom style computer.
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[greg janza] “Apple is first and foremost a phone company. “
I too would disagree.
Apple is now mostly a digital communications enabler.
That description is consistent with phones, laptops, desktops, and all the various services they embrace, including the content creation and content initiatives everyone is expecting.
Heck, it can even embrace the long rumored “Project Titan” vehicle initiative, since transportation feels like it’s becoming just another connected comminication hardware touchpoint.
My 2 cents.Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
Bill, you’re right about Apple services being a growing part of the overall but as this chart shows they remain primarily a phone company.
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