Is OS X becoming just a hobby for Apple?

Stephen Withers
Monday, 29 August 2011 16:16

Opinion and Analysis

Steve Jobs famously described Apple TV as a "hobby". Is OS X being relegated to similar status?

Although Apple is still seeing decent growth in terms of volume and revenue from its Mac business, it's been clear for some time that the iPhone (and related devices) is where the action is.

Last quarter, Apple's Mac revenue was almost $US4.4 billion. That was dwarfed by iPhone revenue (which includes carrier payments and accessories) alone, at $US13.3 billion.

To look at it another way, Mac-related revenue was a whisker over 20% of the total. That doesn't tell us anything about profitability, but even though Apple executives have indicated that the iOS devices are lower margin than more traditional products, they are clearly very profitable for the company.

User response to OS X Lion has been varied, with some going so far as dubbing it "Apple's Vista". Regardless of how well it has been received in some quarters, the new version of the Macintosh operating system has come in for an unusual amount of criticism. "I'll sit this one out" has become a much more common refrain than we're used to seeing.

Some commentators have suggested the explanation lies in a lack of personal attention by Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January. But the problem could be further down the totem pole.

Page 2: The case of the missing SVP.