Report: Mac's not getting much attention within Apple


Bloomberg:

Interviews with people familiar with Apple's inner workings reveal that the Mac is getting far less attention than it once did. They say the Mac team has lost clout with the famed industrial design group led by Jony Ive and the company's software team. They also describe a lack of clear direction from senior management, departures of key people working on Mac hardware and technical challenges that have delayed the roll-out of new computers.

I think one big issue is the desktop industry in general. The past few years the conventional desktop space has seem to have taken a backseat to mobile devices. On top of that, the work with conventional desktop hardware has been towards portables/laptops. Rather than push performance higher, the emphasis has been towards power consumption and miniaturization.

So, while Apple can do things like smaller and lighter designs with better battery life, year to year CPU and GPU performance gains are slight because that's Intel and AMD are pumping out. Not to mention, seems to be pumping out at a slower pace.

And then, Apple does have to prioritize development. Mobile is still racing forward with a lot of pressure to refresh every year, even if exterior design is unchanged like with the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7.