BW: Apple's Schiller sees opportunity for Mac with Windows 7 launch
One week from today, Microsoft will try to shake the stink of Vista. BusinessWeek reminds the world that Microsoft is set to launch Windows 7 on October 22nd. I've got the day free, since all of my invitations to Windows 7 launch parties seem to have been lost in the mail.As the spotlight shifts toward Redmond, WA, Apple Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller says that Apple sees "a very good opportunity" in the Windows 7 noise, in an interview with Business Week's Peter Burrows.
While no one expects Windows 7 to be as poorly received as Vista, the new operating system will mark the first time in a long while that millions of PC owners will start looking seriously at replacing existing machines, especially with so many PC-people having skipped the purchase cycle when Vista came around.
And there's where Apple gets them. Or tries to, anyway.
Apple is likely to aim new ads at PC users, trying to pull them to the Mac side in the coming days. The ads will probably hit familiar points, such as the susceptibility to malware worn by Windows, and extra programs buyers get with a Mac out of the box, like iMovie and GarageBand.
The pains of upgrading could also play into an Apple onslaught. Windows XP users will reportedly have to back up all their files to an external drive, reformat their PC, install Windows 7, then reinstall all of their old programs, assuming that the old programs are compatible and that they have all of their old CDs. So much work could leave PC owners ripe for the picking, in Schiller's estimation. "Any user that reads all those steps is probably going to freak out," says Schiller. "If you have to go through all that, why not just buy a Mac?"
Schiller's leap assumes that people will be trying to install the new OS on old hardware, something Microsoft is not assuming. Parri Munsell, Microsoft Director for Consumer Product Management, says, "For the vast majority of people that get Windows 7, most will move to new hardware."
Getting people to the stores might work in Apple's favor. Enderle Group principle analyst Rob Enderle thinks so, saying, "It could very well be a tide that lifts all boats. Windows 7, with a lot of marketing dollars, is going to drive a lot of people into stores. The extra traffic could actually help Apple." At the same time Enderle believes Microsoft has a better product this time around, saying, "Windows 7 is good. It doesn't have the problems Vista did, so (for Apple) gaining share gets a lot tougher." [Then again, that's Rob Enderle's opinion. –Ed.]
There's also concern that price will play against Apple. Years of hearing how much more expensive Macs are than PCs may cause potential buyers to shy away from Apple's machines. The average cost of a Windows PC is between $500 and $600 while the average price for a Mac is around $1,500, though there are more expensive PCs and less expensive Macs than the averages suggest. Still, price is seen as a vulnerability for Apple. While rumors have swirled for months that lower priced Mac laptops and desktops are on the way, they remain just rumors.
At the end of the day Schiller seems confident in Apple over the long haul, because while Mr. Softy may have a new OS, he's still Mr. Softy. "We've been through these transitions before, and no matter how you look at it -- it's still Windows," says Schiller. "When all is said and done, the Mac picks up share a bit at a time."
Schiller's leap assumes that people will be trying to install the new OS on old hardware, something Microsoft is not assuming. Parri Munsell, Microsoft Director for Consumer Product Management, says, "For the vast majority of people that get Windows 7, most will move to new hardware."
Getting people to the stores might work in Apple's favor. Enderle Group principle analyst Rob Enderle thinks so, saying, "It could very well be a tide that lifts all boats. Windows 7, with a lot of marketing dollars, is going to drive a lot of people into stores. The extra traffic could actually help Apple." At the same time Enderle believes Microsoft has a better product this time around, saying, "Windows 7 is good. It doesn't have the problems Vista did, so (for Apple) gaining share gets a lot tougher." [Then again, that's Rob Enderle's opinion. –Ed.]
There's also concern that price will play against Apple. Years of hearing how much more expensive Macs are than PCs may cause potential buyers to shy away from Apple's machines. The average cost of a Windows PC is between $500 and $600 while the average price for a Mac is around $1,500, though there are more expensive PCs and less expensive Macs than the averages suggest. Still, price is seen as a vulnerability for Apple. While rumors have swirled for months that lower priced Mac laptops and desktops are on the way, they remain just rumors.
At the end of the day Schiller seems confident in Apple over the long haul, because while Mr. Softy may have a new OS, he's still Mr. Softy. "We've been through these transitions before, and no matter how you look at it -- it's still Windows," says Schiller. "When all is said and done, the Mac picks up share a bit at a time."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Stephen Irwin said 10:40AM on 10-15-2009
"No matter how you look at it, it's still windows." Haha, that's the truth.
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Joel said 10:54AM on 10-15-2009
Apple could rock the boat with a Friday or Monday announcement of the new iMac lineup......
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Christian said 12:25PM on 10-15-2009
Change "could" to "will" and change "Friday or Monday" to "Wednesday."
Jordan said 5:31PM on 10-15-2009
Even if they did, it wouldn't matter. Apple updating the lineup means a few hardware bumps, but same prices - if not 50 dollars less. Where as there's still PCs with better hardware, for less. Customer walks into a store, they've heard good things about Windows 7 and see cheaper hardware, what do you think they choose to purchase?
Galley said 10:55AM on 10-15-2009
Apple needs to advertise the hell out of iLife and iWork; great products not available on a PC.
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Jordan said 11:23AM on 10-15-2009
Well seeing as iwork is a crappy version of office (a suite used by 99% of the world btw), and ilife is just a bunch of gimmicky programs with no REAL functionality, only retards would fall for that advertising.
FNG said 12:37PM on 10-15-2009
"only retards would fall for that advertising."
sounds like apples customer base to me.
gib said 3:18PM on 10-15-2009
"Apple needs to advertise the hell out of iLife and iWork; great products not available on a PC."
Completely agree. As a lifelong Apple fanboy, I personally am getting sick of the "Get a Mac" ads. They started as clever, and were designed to show off features like iLife. During Vista's troubles, they have only focused on Vista being crap... The series turned snide, unfunny, and mean. It is like they became negative political messages.
Apple should start over, get back to basics, and promote things they are doing right, not what perceptions they have the competition is doing wrong. As much as I hated the "I'm a PC" ads, that annoying little girl making photos was right way to customers.
Jason said 10:59AM on 10-15-2009
I think Apple should throw their own Windows 7 Party by lowering system prices.
Oh, and upgrade Aperture to v3 while they're at it.
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Hoo B said 11:05AM on 10-15-2009
Agreed - aside from all the obvious (easy to use, stable, no virus, looks awesome, genius bar) - iLife for free and iWork for $100 is huge. Your average user doesn't need much more. And it all works, integration is so tight.
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Swimatm said 11:05AM on 10-15-2009
Can't wait till Windows 7 comes out! It is a truly great OS.
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oedipus said 11:15AM on 10-15-2009
I think Apple really could pull some numbers if they update their hardware line-up. Quad core processors have been out for awhile now and almost every PC has a BluRay option with better graphics cards (specifically the 9400M), but we have yet to see anything on the desktop line come from Cupertino to compete on a hardware basis. The Mac Pro is still a great workstation, but sadly the Mini and iMac just aren't worth the money anymore imho.
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George Allen said 11:29AM on 10-15-2009
haha I loved that quote too - "no matter how you look at it, its still windows". I don't entirely agree with the implication, but I thought it was still hillarious :)
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Jordan said 11:23AM on 10-15-2009
"If you have to go through all that, why not just buy a Mac?"
Because you're going to have to go through all that with a Mac too. So why not save yourself a thousand dollars?
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Quinn Taylor said 12:13PM on 10-15-2009
Yes, and if you're not a Mac fan, why not kindly troll elsewhere?
The ironic part is, migrating data to a new Mac is just as easy as migrating data to a new PC, if not slightly easier. Plus, you can create a boot camp partition and retain everything from the old PC if buying new software titles is too much outlay.
I'll be very interested to see the marketing blitz in action and the outcome it has when the market speaks.
ThePengwin said 8:11PM on 10-15-2009
@Quinn Taylor: How is that a troll? its pretty much the truth.
"The ironic part is, migrating data to a new Mac is just as easy as migrating data to a new PC, if not slightly easier."
That can be debatable. because it will take a new user a few minutes to understand the differences in the filsystem and menu layout from windows and mac.
"Plus, you can create a boot camp partition and retain everything from the old PC if buying new software titles is too much outlay."
To do that they have to:
1. Buy a mac.
2. Buy, or reuse windows.
3. Install windows on a mac, essentially making it exactly the same as a new PC, with OSX tacked on the side.
I dont see why a normal user is going to go through all the trouble to get a mac to install windows on, rather than getting a new windows PC.
I would like to see how they market this however. Apple cant slam 7 the way they did vista because it would mainly be them saying bad things, most others are positive about 7.
andy said 11:57AM on 10-15-2009
@jordan exactly what i was thinking.
someone who's still using a PC since Vista days is likely pretty happy with it, and knows there way round it. If they think their hardwares getting out of date and in need of new computer, why on earth would they then think to go and pick up a Mac? If he's saying the leap from XP to win7 will be a bit big for some, the jump from XP to SL is gonna be way too much!
I priced up a current Mac pro with as close a spec to the PC i bought 15m ago - £2900 compared to £1300! That is the jump that most people won't be able to get past!
With that in mind, I'm very happy to know that next week, £100 will buy me a nifty performance boost on my still very capable PC, that thank God, is "still windows".
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Tom said 12:13PM on 10-15-2009
The Mac Pro is a workstation class machine. Most people don't understand or need the benefits of one in a home environment. Unless you bought a workstation for £1300, the comparison isn't likely very valid.
Your PC would have been better compared against Apples consumer desktop line, the iMac. Though your use of £ suggests you are in the UK, and sadly Apple's international prices have never been terribly comparable.
For your particular situation, no, it probably doesn't make sense to jump. But Phil's comments were more aimed at PC users hanging on to older then 3 year systems still running XP. The jump to Windows 7 is going to be painful for them in either case (Either install 7 on the old hardware with no direct upgrade path, or buy a new box and move files over). Transitioning to the Mac isn't going to be any more painful.
Now if Apple wanted to be really serious, Snow Leopard's Migration Assistant should be extended to migrate user data off Windows machines. Then they could advertise an easier upgrade path from XP to a modern OS then what Microsoft provides.
Aaron said 1:04PM on 10-15-2009
So your desktop you purchased was a dual socket Xeon architecture?
Actionable Mango said 2:47PM on 10-15-2009
Well the problem is that most PCs are middle-of-road mid towers. The mini and iMac are too specialized, so to not lose basic capabilities like having expansion slots, a switcher has to jump up to the Pro.
If Apple really wants to shake things up, they need something between the mini and the pro with expansion slots. I know people have been clamoring for this forever. Since Apple doesn't do this, I assume there is some business reason to not listen to your customers.