October 2019 • Macworld 111FEATUREfour million. Keep this in mind when you consider
that the Mac is now only roughly 10 percent of
Apple’s overall business: back when the Mac
was 80 percent of Apple’s business, Apple was
selling less than a fifth as many Macs per quarter
as it is in 2019.2004: Rise of the iPod
2004 was an inflection point for Apple. After the
introduction of the iPod in late 2001, sales built
slowly until late 2004, when they shot up like
a rocket. The fourth financial quarter of 2004
is actually the moment before the iPod rocket
exploded. It is, in fact, the last quarter in which
the Mac was the majority of Apple’s business.
(That’s right – the Mac has been a minority
component of Apple’s overall revenue for 15 years.)
The revenue mix in late 2004 was 52 percent
Mac, 23 percent iPod, and 25 percent other
products. In the fourth quarter of 2002, Apple sold
836,000 Macs, more than it was selling five years
earlier. But it also sold two million iPods, a number
that would double in the next year.
Apple was growing overall, too. The growth in
iPod sales meant that Apple generated $2.35 billion
in revenue – but only $106 million in profit. Apple’s
explosion in profit growth was to lag behind its
explosion in revenue growth, at least a little bit.2009: The iPhone takes off
In 2009, the Mac was doing better than five years
earlier, and by a lot – Apple sold 2.6 million MacsOctober 2019 • Macworld 111FEATUREfour million. Keep this in mind when you consider
that the Mac is now only roughly 10 percent of
Apple’s overall business: back when the Mac
was 80 percent of Apple’s business, Apple was
selling less than a fifth as many Macs per quarter
as it is in 2019.
2004: Rise of the iPod
2004 was an inflection point for Apple. After the
introduction of the iPod in late 2001, sales built
slowly until late 2004, when they shot up like
a rocket. The fourth financial quarter of 2004
is actually the moment before the iPod rocket
exploded. It is, in fact, the last quarter in which
the Mac was the majority of Apple’s business.
(That’s right – the Mac has been a minority
component of Apple’s overall revenue for 15 years.)
The revenue mix in late 2004 was 52 percent
Mac, 23 percent iPod, and 25 percent other
products. In the fourth quarter of 2002, Apple sold
836,000 Macs, more than it was selling five years
earlier. But it also sold two million iPods, a number
that would double in the next year.
Apple was growing overall, too. The growth in
iPod sales meant that Apple generated $2.35 billion
in revenue – but only $106 million in profit. Apple’s
explosion in profit growth was to lag behind its
explosion in revenue growth, at least a little bit.
2009: The iPhone takes off
In 2009, the Mac was doing better than five years
earlier, and by a lot – Apple sold 2.6 million Macs