Apple demotes Mac to ‘just a device’ as Mac OS X becomes OS X

by Kenny Hemphill on June 7, 2011

Apple confirmed yesterday what many of us have suspected for several years: that the Mac is no longer its focus.

In a throwaway remark that was almost lost among the endless demonstrations of Lion and iOS 5 features, Steve Jobs proclaimed: ‘We’re going to demote the PC and the Mac to just be a device.’ And, to underline that, in red, with several asterisks either side, Mac OS X became just OS X. It’s the first time since System 7 in the mid-nineties that the word ‘Mac’ hasn’t featured in the name of the operating system. And though it was a move made quietly, without any announcement, it’s a significant one.

It follows Jobs’ declaration during his announcement of the iPad 2 that we are now in a ‘Post-PC’ era. For Apple, of course, that’s a post-Mac era. That doesn’t mean that Apple will stop making Macs anytime soon, of course. As Phil Schiller pointed out yesterday, the growth in Mac sales in the last few quarters has been staggering, well ahead of the market and the envy of Apple’s competitors. But that kind of growth can’t continue indefinitely.

IDC also made an announcement yesterday. It said that it had reduced its growth forecast for worldwide PC shipments from 7.1% to 4.2% for 2011 as a result of the impact made by smartphones, tablets, and the Kindle. It did say that it expected the market to recover and growth return to double digits in the coming years, but its explanation sounded more like vague hope than cold, hard analysis.

Apple’s strategy now, as laid out in its announcements yesterday, is to manage the transition from desktop and laptop computers to mobile devices. That doesn’t mean abandoning the Mac altogether, just accepting the fact that most of its customers have never, and will never, use one.

Tagged as: iOS, Lion, Mac, mac os x lion

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  • jamesrs

    I wouldn’t over egg this remark. What he was talking about was the end of the Mac as digital hub strategy, that he first outlined over 10 years ago, and which he hopes that the iCloud will now replace. I don’t really think the Mac is more or less important to Apple as a result of this, and iOS devices have been the largest part and fastest growing part of the business for quite some while. OS X is the driver of all Apple’s products and removing the Mac from the name is probably more about acknowledging its centrality than diminishing the importance of the Mac, whose market share and sales are still growing impressively. Apple’s ambitions for the Mac have always been to make it the best, rather than the best selling PC, and they are probably pleased that the Wintel world has all problems that being the default choice for business brings with it, such as commodification and support for all legacy apps in any new OS iteration.

    All in all I don’t think this signals any real change

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