All updates provided by the live stream via engadget and macworld
“This is my first product launch since being named CEO; I’m sure you didn’t know that. It is a pleasure to host you today. I love Apple. I consider it the privilege of a lifetime to have worked here for almost 14 years and I am very excited about this new role. I want to especially welcome you to this campus. This campus kind of serves as a second home for many of us.” It’s kind of like inviting you into our home.
This room, the Town Hall, has quite a history at Apple. Just 10 years ago, we launched the original iPod here, and it went on to revolutionize music. Just one year ago, we launched the new MacBook Air, which has fundamentally changed the way people think about notebook computers. Today will remind you of the uniqueness of this company, as we announce innovations from our mobile operating system to applications to services to hardware—and, more importantly, the integration of all of these into a powerful, integrated experience. It’s an extraordinary time to be at Apple.
A few updates: Apple has enormous momentum, evident no place more than retail stores. Just last weekend opened two stores in China: Hong Kong and Shanghai. Both are amazing and both have set new records. The Shanghai store is largest in Asia. Set a record for welcoming 100,000 visitors for opening weekend. By comparison, top store in LA did 100,000 visitors in one month, and they thought that was good. Amazing momentum here.
First store in Hong Kong.
One of the best opening days of our retail history. Tim showed a short video, illustrating the energy. “I think I’ve watched that 100 times.” Now six stores in China and are going to do lots more. Total is 357 stores in 11 countries and will continue to invest in more and more stores and raise the bar in retail.
“Our products are at the core of everything we do and responsible for the momentum we have.”
The Mac: Can’t talk about the Mac without talking about Lion. Walt Mossberg said it’s the best computer opearting system out there. “I don’t think I could have said it better.” For the first time, Lion was digital download only. Incredible. Results have been staggering: over 6 million copies of Lion have been downloaded. 80% more than Snow Leopard. Another metric, user adoption. Percentage of people that upgrade to new software. Took Windows 7 about 20 weeks to reach 10 percent of their installed base. Lion did it in two weeks—one tenth of the time.
At the same they announced Lion, they announced the new MacBook Air. Customers love it and competitors have been trying to copy it, but finding it’s not so simple. Wired magazine said “After years of hoping and searching, I’ve finally found laptop nirvana.”
MacBook Air is just a portion of line-up of Macintoshes, the best they’ve ever shipped. Customers have really responded. MacBook Pro and iMac are the #1 best-selling notebook and desktop in the U.S. Momentum is not limited to a model. Year-over-year growth for the PC industry, Mac outgrew PC market by almost 6 times. (23% to 4%). Every single quarter for 5 years, the Mac has outgrown the PC market. Now approaching 60 million users around the world (they have 58 million).
Market share has steadily increased, and in US retail, Macs now sell roughly 1 out of 4 PCs sold in store. For those who’ve followed Apple for a while, this number was in the mid-single digits a while ago. But, still 77% of people buying something else. Incredibly high ceiling, and a lot of room to go. That’s the Mac. Very very pleased with how it’s going.
Music. iTunes+iPod. Only 10 years ago that iPod launched, and it not only revolutionized the way people listened to music, but also the whole music industry. Reminded all of us how much we love music. Became a part of our lives. Across that period of time, iPod became the #1 music player in the world. Market share has been above 70% for a very long time. Over that time, have cumulatively sold over 300 million iPods around the world. To put it in context, it took Sony 30 years to sell 220,000 Walkman.
