[NewsPoster]

In what CEO Tim Cook called the "best ever" quarter for the Mac, Apple's Mac lineup overall jumped a remarkable 25 percent in a single quarter to 5.52 million units. Making the event more noteworthy is the fact that the growth was achieved prior to any notable refreshes. Instead, what appears to be driving the increase in Mac sales is volume in emerging markets, such as China - where Macs were up 54 percent year-over-year. Price cuts and great back-to-school sales also contributed to the jump.

Cook told analysts during the quarterly conference call on Monday that Macs now have the highest global marketshare they've had since 1995. The new sales record, up 21 percent year-over-year, shatters the old one, which was set in the September quarter of 2011 with 4.9 million Macs. "The back-to-school crowd voted, and the Mac won," said Cook on the strength of Apple's notebook sales, which were as usual the top-selling category. He and CFO Lucas Maestri also noted - repeatedly - that Mac growth in all regions far exceeded industry estimates for PC sales.

Price cuts on popular models such as the MacBook Pro and Air may also have played a big role as well. In conjunction with retailers such as Best Buy, it was routine to see savings of $150 -- and sometimes much more -- on MacBook Pro and Air prices. Students in particular could expect to find $200 to $350 off retail with a little digging, and the MacBook Air in particular saw its entry-level model's price cut to $899, putting it much more in competition with the best-quality ultrabooks in the Windows market.

The iMac, too, saw a price cut over the summer, with the base model reduced to $1,099 -- the same price as the sole remaining non-Retina MacBook Pro model. Noting the success of this, last Thursday Apple notably offered a budget-level starter Mac mini as part of its revamp of that product, bringing the entry price down to $499 for the first time in years.

CFO Lucas Maestri told analysts that Mac sales are up an overall 46 percent year-over-year in emerging markets, including China's 54 percent y-o-y growth. Recent figures from IDC may have foreshadowed the good news on Mac sales, as it recently moved the Cupertino giant into fifth place among worldwide PC manufacturers for the first time ever. The analysis firm said that Apple grew to a worldwide share of 6.3 percent, an increase of nine percent year-over-year. Were tablets counted as "computers," Apple would likely move to the number-one position.

[climacs]

I'm loving this news. AAPL is only up a little bit in after-hours trading, I feel like it should be WAY up. Just imagine how good 1Q2015 is going to be (holiday shopping season including the bulk of iPhone 6 purchases). I guess I read too many clueless comments from ADS sufferers on other websites but this is the best way to counter whatever bile they have to offer.

[climacs]

I'm also really tired of ADS sufferers making the fact-free allegation that Macs are way overpriced. This argument is as outdated as is the notion that the NFL has a 'black quarterback problem'. Once upon a time, there was a significant "Apple tax". These days, Macs are priced very competitively with equivalent PCs, especially when you consider the free software that comes with them. iPhones and iPads do come at somewhat of a premium, but when you consider the superior build quality and fantastic product support that comes with them, it's easy to see why so many people prefer them over Android or Windows equivalents.

[Charles Martin]

As far as I am aware, iPhones are priced at around the same price as other premium smartphones, but with subsidy/contract and without. You have a point about iPads, but I prefer to think of the modestly higher prices as the "bigger app market" tax, the "no tracking for ad money" tax and the "no malware" tax. All those "taxes" really add up!

[climacs]

what really impresses me is that iPhone users had to wait quite some time for the larger screen, and wait they did. For the most part they did not jump to Android phones to get that big screen. That speaks quite a bit to the loyalty of iPhone users.

[climacs]

I just got my iPhone 6 last week and it is a huge step up from the 4S. I'm nearly 50 and while my vision is still very good, I got tired of squinting at the 4S. The 6 is noticeably faster, thinner and lighter. Those of us who skipped the 5 and 5S/5C have been rewarded for our patience :-)

[Charles Martin]

I'm afraid I have to wait for the "6s" or whatever Apple will call next year's model, but I look forward to it and am still very happy with my 5s.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by climacs 

what really impresses me is that iPhone users had to wait quite some time for the larger screen, and wait they did. For the most part they did not jump to Android phones to get that big screen. That speaks quite a bit to the loyalty of iPhone users.

Actually, many *did* jump ship to Android.

And a lot of them are switching back.

Anecdotal evidence (from a friend of mine who manages an Apple reseller that also sells Android hardware) indicates that many of the iPhone 6/6+ early adopters are Android switchers.

Samsung's profitability is done.