Writing for PC Mag, the controversial John C. Dvorak says that Apple should spin off the Mac into its own company. Sorry, but that’s a bad idea — and it certainly won’t happen.
The pundit says that Apple hasn’t made any major updates to its Mac laptop line-up in over a year. And with personal computer sales flagging, the “computer division of Apple will eventually become a genuine albatross around the company’s neck,” he says.
“So it’s better off as a standalone company focused on computers, pretty much like it was pre-2001 when the iPod showed up,” writes Dvorak. “The new Mac company would be assured success by contracting with Apple for access to the Apple stores for its primary sales channel. It could also contract with Apple for the use of its industrial design team. If Apple maintained the majority of the shares of the new company, it could roll out an IPO and add the value of its shares as an asset while writing off the loss of the division. Maintaining majority ownership would prevent any third party such as Google or Microsoft from acquiring the company. Thus the current Mac mavens, who hate any alternative, would see almost no change in the milieu.”
There are several things wrong with this argument. One: while overall personal computer sales are “flagging,” Macs have gained global market share for 35 out of the last 36 quarters. Two: you can bet on seeing major new Mac laptop announcements before the holiday shopping season. Three: I fail to see how that spinning an “albatross” division off into its own company would have any benefits, since the new company would be making moribund products — by Dvorak’s reasoning.
What’s more, the Mac is the second most profitable hardware division at Apple — after the iPhone, but before the iPad (which is interesting if we’re in a “post-PC” world). Finally, as evidenced by the recent Worldwide Developer Conference announcements, Apple is further integrating its widespread ecosystem by making the Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and the Apple TV all work more closely together.
So, nope, the Mac and macOS will remain an integral part of Apple for a long time to come.
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