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Computer industry

Power Macs Outsell Intel PCs in the US

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Despite Intel's dominance in the PC market, Power Macs powered by the high-performance PowerPC RISC chip have outsold Intel PCs in the US, according to a report by Computer Intelligence InfoCorp. The report states that Apple has sold around 66,300 RISC-based machines in the US since their introduction in March, while retail sales of PCs using Intel's Pentium chip have totaled 40,900 CPUs in the same period. Worldwide, Power Mac sales since March have reached 200,900 units.

Key Takeaways:

  • Apple's Power Mac sales have outsold Intel PCs in the US by a significant margin, with 66,300 Power Macs sold compared to 40,900 Intel PCs.
  • Computer Intelligence InfoCorp reports that Power Mac sales worldwide have reached 200,900 units since March.
  • In Australia, Apple has confirmed sales of around 5,000 Power Macs since March, but it is unclear if this exceeds local sales of Pentium PCs over the same period.
  • Graham Penn, an analyst with the IDC market research group, predicts that Intel will outsell Apple by a factor of at least three to one in the US this year, with the margin potentially reaching ten to one.
  • The majority of Pentium sales are going into the home market, while a significant proportion of Power Macs are being sold into the printing and publishing market.
  • The PowerPC chip has won favor with publishing companies due to its ability to cut hours from certain tasks.
  • Apple aims to sell 1 million Power Macs in their first 12 months on the market and to replace all current Mac models with PowerPC models within two years.
  • Of Apple's three current Power Mac models, the basic 6100 is the most popular, accounting for 65% of total sales.
  • The 8100 Power Mac, with a monopoly on 20% of sales, is the high-end model and doubles the margins of Intel-based PCs.

Statistics:

  • 66,300 Power Macs sold in the US since March (Computer Intelligence InfoCorp)
  • 40,900 Intel PCs sold in the US since March (Computer Intelligence InfoCorp)
  • 200,900 Power Macs sold worldwide since March (Computer Intelligence InfoCorp)
  • 5,000 Power Macs sold in Australia since March (Apple Australia)
  • 50% of all Pentiums going into the home market (Graham Penn, IDC market research group)
  • 10% of the expected total Australian market of around 1 million PCs expected to be Pentium-based in the current year (Graham Penn, IDC market research group)
  • 1 million Power Mac sales target for Apple's first 12 months on the market (Apple)
  • 4 million Power Mac sales expected annually within two years (Apple)

Sources:

  • Computer Intelligence InfoCorp
  • Apple Australia
  • Graham Penn, IDC market research group
  • Intel Corporation
  • United States report by Computer Intelligence InfoCorp

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