Surprise! Apple devices are the most sought after this holiday season

[Scorpus]

Surprise, surprise! A recent survey from Parks Associates has revealed that Apple desktops are the most sought after this holiday season, displacing Dell, the previous leader for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Cupertino's attractive all-in-ones also managed to beat HP, Acer and Asus, which placed third to fifth respectively.

Apple's dominance in consumer electronics shopping preferences doesn't end with desktops. The company topped the charts in tablet preferences (beating Amazon, Samsung and Microsoft) as well as in streaming media devices, where the Apple TV was more sought after than options from Roku and Buffalo.

Surveyed customers also put Apple at the top of their smartphone, laptop, MP3 player, and surprisingly, home router preferences. Only in areas where Apple doesn't compete did it not top the charts: Sony's game consoles were the most sought after this holiday season, as were Samsung's TVs and Amazon's e-book readers.

John Barrett, a director at Parks Associates, notes that while Apple is the most preferred brand in a number of categories, "consumers can still change their minds". Last year more people said they would buy an Apple TV than a Roku, but after surveying actual purchases, more people bought a Roku.

Parks Associates survey, fielded in the fourth quarter of 2014, covered 2,500 households in the United States.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/54926-surprise-apple-devices-are-the-most-sought-after-this-holiday-season.html

 

[RH00D]

In other news, people are easily duped by marketing and perception.

 

[madboyv1]

Welp, that's the marketing monstor that Apple is in full stride. At first I was somewhat surprised that Apple was on their survey as the most sought after desktop platform, but stricktly speaking the "average consumer" rarely ever looks at desktops anymore. When they do, it often happens to be the AIO desktops, to which Apple does quite a good job in designing.

While I don't use AIO's personally, if I had to it'd probably be an Apple, for the gorgeous screens they put in them, unless someone else can match on that regard.

 

[cliffordcooley]

In other news, people are easily duped by marketing and perception.

I probably could be, but not by Apple!

 

[mosu]

It looks like tech doesn't pay these days, too much money spent the wrong way.Sad...

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

I find it hard to believe that normally 4 out of every 5 PCs sold runs Windows, but now all of a sudden Macs is what everyone wants.

Oh, I see... they didn't compare Apple to Windows PCs, they compared Apple to Dell, HP, Asus, Acer etc. individually and by asking what's 'cool'. THAT's how Apple becomes more popular. It's popular by 'coolness' not by sales.

This works with everything else too... Apple is more popular than Samsung, HTC, LG, and Motorola, but it's not like the iPhone is outselling Android.

I guess this doesn't matter except the line in the above story ...

Apple's dominance in consumer electronics shopping preferences doesn't end with desktops.

Makes it sound like they're dominating the market in sales, when really they're just dominating in 'what people think is cool.' Dell sells almost twice as many computers as Apple, and yet Apple is 'dominating.' hmmmm

 

[pmcardle]

I find it hard to believe that normally 4 out of every 5 PCs sold runs Windows, but now all of a sudden Macs is what everyone wants.

Oh, I see... they didn't compare Apple to Windows PCs, they compared Apple to Dell, HP, Asus, Acer etc. individually and by asking what's 'cool'. THAT's how Apple becomes more popular. It's popular by 'coolness' not by sales.

This works with everything else too... Apple is more popular than Samsung, HTC, LG, and Motorola, but it's not like the iPhone is outselling Android.

I guess this doesn't matter except the line in the above story ...

Apple's dominance in consumer electronics shopping preferences doesn't end with desktops.

Makes it sound like they're dominating the market in sales, when really they're just dominating in 'what people think is cool.' Dell sells almost twice as many computers as Apple, and yet Apple is 'dominating.' hmmmm

My thoughts exactly. A good stat would be comparing desktop OS's sold. Apple's OS has only one brand, Apple. MS OS has numerous brands. Just another BS story in my opinion. BTW... I own Apple devices and they don't live up to the hype! I'm switching back to the MS platform so I'm out of the Apple controlled ecosystem.

 

[davislane1]

I wouldn't call this surprising at all, considering Apple only sells premium products. Being the most "sought after" product is only a complement to how well marketing does their job. And, as we all know, Apple's marketing team knows exactly how to play the game.

 

[9Nails]

Most people realize that the most expensive sought after things aren't always the best or most practical. Still that doesn't stop us from ranking them as what we want.

I'd be curious as to what they actually buy.

 

[Guest]

Nothing like brand loyalty, eh? Too bad it doesn't actually translate into sales.

 

[Chuck Cortes]

I have to agree with MilwaukeeMike. Being a techie guy most people I know who own Apple products buy it for one of three reasons, 1) they are cool by everyone's standard so they must have it too 2) they believe its 100% safe against viruses or hackers and 3) because they already have other Apple products they have to stay in the ecosystem. None of these tell me that they buy it because its better, in the end most of them are completely ignorant to the tech they own, have no idea how to use most of the features and assume they will be better off with their products. But to be honest most people I know have Windows PCs even though they have an iPhone.

 

[Guest]

Do you people just look for an excuse to slam Apple at every point? While some of the things that you all say are true for why people buy Apple products, it doesn't mean they're ignorant or they're wrong for their purchase decisions. It's personal choice.

Nevertheless, I prefer the PC I personally built, but I also have Apple products that I enjoy using as well. They work great and OSX is a great OS, although Windows 7 is still my favorite.

Overall, Apple has helped push technology forward and the competition from Android and the other PC makers should only make things better for us consumers.

 

[Guest]

The hold weekly meetings every tuesday at midnight around a bonfire with the apple logo in it.

 

[Ultraman1966]

I detest Apple because when you buy their products you are stuck with their hardware if you invest into their ecosystem. For MS Win and Android, at least you can go to other manufacturer if you are unhappy with their products. Monopolies are bad and that's why Microsoft has stagnated for decades but the new Apple cult could make things even worse.

 

[Guest]

And of all the options available to you, who exactly is forcing you to buy apple products to create this "monopoly"? Just wondering...

 

[tipstir]

Listen people don't know better then to spend more on apple, of course you don't see much PC stores around. Microsoft stores are very limited. SONY stores are pretty much empty. I have one near me here in the fancy town center (aka the mall) were a few stores down is Apple store is pack. Most of the people seem to hang out in Apple store all day long with it's bright lights as they don't at the SONY store it dim lights and smaller space.

Apple line more style and grace where the Microsoft line is more like NASCAR Pit Crew.

 

[Mister_K]

Apple line more style and grace where the Microsoft line is more like NASCAR Pit Crew.

phahah epic statement of the week! haha +1

Recently I was pressured into nearly buying an iPhone for the sole reason of "its better, better build quality, cool, everyone has one" mentality however I prefer my big screen, expendable storage and swappable battery (went with S4, although HTC 1 and Nexus are godly). Point being, people are like that

Apple laptops do seem pretty beastly, I am am not sure if there are many comparable in terms of specs/display quality. However, the desktop side is simply appalling.

 

[Railman]

I would not want to have an AIO for myself as I prefer to build my own PC, but my wife purchased the Apple desktop for herself. Having used it on occasions I found myself impressed with it as it does seem to work very smoothly and has a good display.

It is by far the most stylist of designs so I can understand the attraction. It is expensive but I must admit that a traditional PC does look out of place in a living room. That alone justifies the price tag. Actually Apple hardware may be expensive but the software is more reasonable than MS. My wife does not use her Apple for complicated work.

 

[Blue Falcon]

The Apple haters are hilarious. While I am not a fan of every product they make, the 13 inch MacBook Pro with Retina for $1299 is a pretty good deal. I can't think of many PC laptops that are better if you look at the high resolution screen, excellent built quality and combination of size/weight vs. the price.

As far as phones go, based on AnandTech's, GSM Arena and other testing, the iPhone 5S has one of the best combination of CPU/GPU. Despite the processor being only a dual core, it easily outperforms the Samsung S4 and trades blows with the Samsung Note 3.

One part Apple haters do not understand is that you can resell your Apple products for a lot of $ compared to standard PCs and Android phones. For example, if you are in the U.S. / Canada, you can resell the iPhone through Amazon Trade-in or Craigslist/Kijiji/back to the carrier and even 2 years later get $200-300 for your phone. On a contract, that means the iPhone hardware upgrades end up being free!

If you live in other parts of the world, you can sell an iPhone for $250-300 3 years after when a flagship $600-700 Android phone will fetch maybe $150-200. In the end, the cost of owning Apple products isn't that much more expensive once you take into account real cost of ownership which if you have half a brain must consider the resale value when it's time for you to upgrade.

 

[VitalyT]

I was battling with myself for the longest, whether it is worth upgrading my 2011 Macbook Air to something newer. After 2 month of trying to think it through I decided to go to the shop and see all 3 products with my own eyes (air 13", pro 13" and pro 15"). It was 2 weeks ago since I bought the new Pro 15" (top-spec), and I now use it more than my desktop. Web browsing is more enjoyable on the retina screen than it is on a bigger desktop screen. It is every bit as good as my old macbook air, only much better. I don't think apple products are overhyped. They are as good to use as their looks.

 

[St1ckM4n]

My wife does not use her Apple for complicated work.

Here's the problem. Why are you paying twice the cost of a nequivalent Windows machine, for someone that doesn't use it much and not for complicated work? Why not just buy a $400 laptop? Or, heck, a $250 Nexus 7 tablet?

"I'm important and I must have this thing that I have no idea about, but it looks good. Plus I can brag about it!"

 

[Guest]

Blue Falcon said:
The Apple haters are hilarious. While I am not a fan of every product they make, the 13 inch MacBook Pro with Retina for $1299 is a pretty good deal. I can't think of many PC laptops that are better if you look at the high resolution screen, excellent built quality and combination of size/weight vs. the price.
As far as phones go, based on AnandTech's, GSM Arena and other testing, the iPhone 5S has one of the best combination of CPU/GPU. Despite the processor being only a dual core, it easily outperforms the Samsung S4 and trades blows with the Samsung Note 3.
One part Apple haters do not understand is that you can resell your Apple products for a lot of $ compared to standard PCs and Android phones. For example, if you are in the U.S. / Canada, you can resell the iPhone through Amazon Trade-in or Craigslist/Kijiji/back to the carrier and even 2 years later get $200-300 for your phone. On a contract, that means the iPhone hardware upgrades end up being free!
If you live in other parts of the world, you can sell an iPhone for $250-300 3 years after when a flagship $600-700 Android phone will fetch maybe $150-200. In the end, the cost of owning Apple products isn't that much more expensive once you take into account real cost of ownership which if you have half a brain must consider the resale value when it's time for you to upgrade.

The only thing that's hilarious is that you would spend $1,300+ on a 13" laptop.

Fact is that I can get a windows laptop for <$1,000 with double the specs, and be able to spend the extra few hundred dollars on an external monitor, maybe some nice headphones, a chair for my office. Unless you are into digital graphics there is no need for the "Retina Display" level specs, and even if you were to be in that field of study there would be very little difference in the end-product.

One part that Apple lovers don't understand is that your Apple product breaks before you can resell it, and everyone that pretends there's "Absolutely no issues with my iPhone" until a new one comes out then there are "So many problems I just HAD to wait on line and buy a new one". You know why it sells for more? BECAUSE YOU PAID MORE. If I paid $0 for my Droid 4, and you paid $300 for your iPhone, I don't understand how you can be proud of reselling your phone for $250-300 (Which is BS) and I can get at least $50-100. The cost of ownership? You mean the $100 per year Apple care that doesn't cover your screen, yet my $60 a year coverage that does cover the screen?

For all the smart people that buy Apple products (I'll give them that, the majority of Apple lovers do seem to be quite educated) their common sense level drops to an all time low when it comes to defending the wasteful spending of money.

 

[VitalyT]

There is another side to this coin, beside it being a very nice toy and all...

If one wants a power-house development machine, it is hard to beat the new 15" Macbook Pro. The insane SSD speed, 16GB of RAM and decent graphics (GTX 750M) will chew nicely through any load. I regularly use Visual Studio 2013 and VMW, and I know I wouldn't be able to get this kind of powerful laptop for much cheaper. Maybe a little cheaper, but not much, unless you go for some real bulky and crappy look'n feel ones, like a DELL mobile workstations... This is where the little premium is well justified.

By the way, Apple has just updated their Bootcamp, making installation of Windows 8.1 real easy and painless, is what I used just couple days ago.

 

[Railman]

My wife does not use her Apple for complicated work.

Here's the problem. Why are you paying twice the cost of a nequivalent Windows machine, for someone that doesn't use it much and not for complicated work? Why not just buy a $400 laptop? Or, heck, a $250 Nexus 7 tablet?

"I'm important and I must have this thing that I have no idea about, but it looks good. Plus I can brag about it!"

You don't understand women. There is no equivalent Windows machine. My wife was going to buy a Mac Air as she wanted a machine with a keyboard but went for the desktop as the monitor was better. She was not interested in a tablet even the iPad.