Is Microsoft Sliding Into Consumer Irrelevance?
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Microsoft just can't sell laptops or phones according to a new Foss Force article. Of course, Foss Force is going to try to make that point, but it is poignant that they feel that they can easily make it. Just being able to say it with credibility shows how weak Microsoft is compared to where it has been historically.
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I really wonder if consumers ever really cared about Microsoft? It was quite literally the only choice for a long time. Sure there's been unix and linux for a long time and of course Macs (Apple) but Windows came on the cheap hardware.
That all changed with the iPhone followed by the iPad. While else devices don't (or at least didn't) directly compete with a Windows machine, they started the avalanche that we have today.
Look at Google and Chromebooks. I don't think people really care who makes their device as long as IT WORKS and all of their old stuff works on the new stuff.
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If you've ever sold stuff you'll be familiar with the "appliance" mind set - imagine yourself going to buy a dishwasher or something you don't give a toss about.
With Apple, it seems that they sell more on a lifestyle / design basis. Helps that they're typically expensive as well, this raises the bar for who can afford it and makes it a status symbol.
For Microsoft they really don't have any of that, they just make the "stuff" that lets your computer do stuff, y'know? -
Laptops are moving away from being computers and becoming mobile devices. Microsoft doesnt do well with mobile devices , so its not a surprise their sales are slipping.
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@Dashrender said:
I really wonder if consumers ever really cared about Microsoft? It was quite literally the only choice for a long time. Sure there's been unix and linux for a long time and of course Macs (Apple) but Windows came on the cheap hardware.
What era are you thinking of? I can't remember any time when Microsoft was the cheap choice.
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Is Microsoft Sliding Into Consumer Irrelevance?
No.
Chromebooks are low cost, low spec devices, which isn't an area Microsoft is even competing in, so comparing sales figures is meaningless. I'd buy a $200 Chromebook from Amazon, but I'd go to a physical shop to buy a $600 Windows laptop. I think Windows still dominate overall sales, don't they?
Plus, Windows still dominates the gaming market, and as long as that remains, their devices will still be relevant.
I imagine if Windows 10 is good a lot of people will be replacing their ageing Windows 7 laptops this coming Christmas.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
Chromebooks are low cost, low spec devices, which isn't an area Microsoft is even competing in, so comparing sales figures is meaningless.
What's important is that it is an area where Microsoft has been extremely aggressive for years and has failed. Microsoft tried to make a netbook OS, it tanked. They now are offering their OS for free on this hardware, but are getting few sales. This category is now the largest consumer computing category after phones. So the top two consumer categories are both being lost my Microsoft even though they are throwing tons of money and effort at winning those areas.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
Plus, Windows still dominates the gaming market, and as long as that remains, their devices will still be relevant.
They do, that is true, but the rate at which they are losing ground there is unprecedented. It's their last stronghold and it is slipping fast.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
I think Windows still dominate overall sales, don't they?
Only if you eliminate the big categories and look solely and smaller niches like large format laptops and desktops. Overall, no, Windows is no longer the overall leader in consumer or business categories. Windows still leads in business, not consumer, traditional laptop and desktops.
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Oh. You got any figures? Who is leader in consumer computers now then?
Even if Windows computers & tablets don't dominate sales, I think you have to recognise that most people already have a Windows computer whilst tablets are relatively new. So you'd expect a massive intitial growth in tablet sales, followed by a tailing off as people are slow to replace their existing tablets (just like they are slow to replace their existing PCs).
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@scottalanmiller said:
Windows still leads in business, not consumer, traditional laptop and desktops.
Not in consumer laptops and desktops? What's leading there then?
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@Carnival-Boy said:
So you'd expect a massive intitial growth in tablet sales, followed by a tailing off as people are slow to replace their existing tablets (just like they are slow to replace their existing PCs).
I'd agree with the explosive growth, but I think the overall sales will stay high as well. I think this because of a few factors. 1 - they are or at least can be much cheaper than a laptop/desktop. 2 - as more services become available and easy to use on tablets, fewer people will replace their laptop/desktop and move solely to a tablet.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
Oh. You got any figures? Who is leader in consumer computers now then?
Linux has been for some time. It dominates all major markets now. Has for a while. With the latest leap in Linux Chromebooks to the top of the charts for laptop sales, the largest consumer traditional category is going to Linux now too, not just the larger selling subsets of it. Linux actually took the low cost laptop market from Microsoft like six years ago, but this is moving more and more into the mainstream laptop market too.
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@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Windows still leads in business, not consumer, traditional laptop and desktops.
Not in consumer laptops and desktops? What's leading there then?
Linux. The one that we already see with the three top selling models this Christmas
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@Carnival-Boy said:
Even if Windows computers & tablets don't dominate sales, I think you have to recognise that most people already have a Windows computer whilst tablets are relatively new. So you'd expect a massive intitial growth in tablet sales, followed by a tailing off as people are slow to replace their existing tablets (just like they are slow to replace their existing PCs).
I agree, but what people are seeing is a huge surge of tablets replacing PCs, too. Don't forget that. That is a major trend. Microsoft is having not only issues holding onto the deployment of their OS to their primary market devices, but seeing their entire primary market evaporating as well. PCs are not just seeing longer cycles than every before, but they are being completely replaced by lower cost, simpler devices that don't run Windows and are replaced many times more frequently.
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@scottalanmiller said:
Linux has been for some time. It dominates all major markets now. Has for a while. With the latest leap in Linux Chromebooks to the top of the charts for laptop sales, the largest consumer traditional category is going to Linux now too, not just the larger selling subsets of it. Linux actually took the low cost laptop market from Microsoft like six years ago, but this is moving more and more into the mainstream laptop market too.
O rly? I'd need to see some stats on that! And not just Amazon sales.
All I could find is this from last September:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2687742/mac-and-chromebook-sales-erode-windows-pcs-retail-share.html
That says Macs had 26% share, Windows 68.4% and Chromebooks a measly 4.5%. Now if Chromebooks have overtaken Windows in the 3 months since those figures were calculated then fair enough, but I think you've got you Linux Tinted Glasses on. -
@Carnival-Boy said:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2687742/mac-and-chromebook-sales-erode-windows-pcs-retail-share.html
That says Macs had 26% share, Windows 68.4% and Chromebooks a measly 4.5%. Now if Chromebooks have overtaken Windows in the 3 months since those figures were calculated then fair enough, but I think you've got you Linux Tinted Glasses on.You'll notice that they conveniently left out entire categories, like laptops that were not Mac, Windows or Chromebook. The entire standard Linux category, the one that was leading the shipments of lower cost laptops not too long ago, was completely left out of that number.
Problem is, Linux sales are not reported through those "sales" channels, whereas Chromebooks are. Using the word "sales" or using "reported sales" is a common tactic by vendors like Microsoft to show market dominance even when they have a small piece of the market.
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@scottalanmiller said:
You'll notice that they conveniently left out entire categories, like laptops that were not Mac, Windows or Chromebook.
They're saying Mac, Windows and Chromebook have 98.9% market share, so I guess Linux laptops have somewhere between 0 and 1.1%.
I don't know a single person who has a Linux laptop. You're really saying that Linux laptops represent the majority of laptop sales and the media is just ignoring it? Exactly which "sales" channels are all these consumers buying their Linux laptops? Do you have any figures at all?
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We Consult with clients on new equipment here are NTG's stats for 2014:
Laptops:
Windows Laptops: 341
Chrome: 6
MacBooks: 97
Linux: You can order these through HP and yes we have offered them but Not One client even considers them as a real option. IT guys always ask us to look into them but bosses win on this one.Tablets:
Windows (this includes surfaces): 10
IOS: 62
Android: 10This is based on what clients requested for their environments. Not sure how many of these got ordered (as we do not resell this kind of hardware).
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@Carnival-Boy said:
I don't know a single person who has a Linux laptop. You're really saying that Linux laptops represent the majority of laptop sales and the media is just ignoring it?
You live in the UK. You are not likely to see what the majority of laptop purchases are. Most laptops are not purchases in the first world, where Windows is dominant.
I've seen the opposite, though, even in the US. I've only seen about one person purchase a Windows laptop in the last five years. Everything else has been Linux.
