“On the Mac mini and the Mac Studio, both of these are amazing platforms for AI and agentic tools,” Cook said on the earnings call in response to analysts’ questions. “And customer adoption is happening faster than we expected.”
The news comes amid another record-setting quarter for the company. iPhone sales were lower than expected, although demand for the iPhone 17 has been strong, and Apple’s subscription service business continues to grow.
Apple faced supply constraints Both iPhone and Mac product lines this quarter. The iPhone shortage is largely due to the limited supply of advanced chips that power the phones. But as Cook made clear, at least two different factors are driving Apple’s Mac business down: the rapid adoption of generic AI and unexpected demand for the company’s new, colorful and more affordable MacBook Neo laptops.
Mac sales are generally a fraction of iPhone sales — $8.4 billion this quarter, while iPhone sales are about $57 billion — and the Mac mini, in particular, is a fraction of that. But with the launch of the open-source AI tool OpenClaw earlier this year, Mac Minis began to gain popularity because they provide both enough power and a dedicated computing environment for agentic AI tasks.
Some eager customers have already been waiting for their Mac Mini for months. MacRumors reported in early March that Apple had stopped selling computer configurations that included 512 GB of memory. As of last week, the base model of the Mac Mini was completely sold out.
Cook and his soon-to-be successor John Ternes also discussed Cook’s transition from the CEO role later this year. Cook said on the earnings call that it is the “right time” to step into the role of executive chairman for “many reasons”, including that Apple is in good shape financially and its upcoming product road map is “incredible”. He called Turnus “a man of wonderful character and a born leader.”
Ternes then joined the call for a minute to reaffirm Cook as a business leader and reassure investors that he will take a similarly deliberate and thoughtful approach in leading the company. He also mentioned the company’s roadmap.
Both men had very little information about this reportedly very exciting product road map, but it is expected to include more… Road Macs.
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