Microsoft to overshadow MacBook Air and dominate ultrabook market, says report
- TAGS:Macbook Air, Microsoft, mobile, ultrabooks
- IT TOPICS:Devices, Hardware, Laptops & Netbooks, Macintosh, Mobile, Operating Systems, Windows
The MacBook Air today is king of the hill when it comes to lightweight "ultrabook" laptops. But that dominance is about to end, with Windows-based ultrabooks taking the lion's share of the market in 2012, and two-thirds of it by 2013.
That's the conclusion of a report from Brian Marshall of International Strategy & Investment Group, which says that MacBook market share of ultrabooks will plunge from 89% in 2011 to 46% in 2012, and 32% in 2013.
That doesn't mean that MacBook Air sales will decline -- in fact Marshall predicts that sales will grow from 6.3 million in 2011 to 8.4 million in 2012 and 10.4 million in 2013. But the ultrabook market overall will grow dramatically, and Windows-based devices will grab most of that market, with MacBook Air growing far more slowly than its Windows competitors. By 2013, he says, Windows-based ultrabooks will see 21.6 million in sales, with 10.4 million sales of MacBook Airs.
This spells trouble for Apple. These days Apple is built, to a great extent, on blockbusters, cutting-edge design breakthroughs that dominate their markets, like the iPod and iPad. That's the only way it can achieve its remarkable growth rate. The kind of growth the MacBook Air will see over the next several years can't sustain that.
Without Jobs at its helm, it's not at all clear that Apple will be able to continue its remarkable run. The dramatic decline of the MacBook Air's market share, if predicted correctly, may be a harbinger of things to come.
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