Re:Video Pros Moving from Mac to Windows for High-End GPUs
by snuxoll on Friday February 24, 2017 @11:30AM
(#13725065)
The question is whether the licensing fees + revenue from the app store would be enough to offset Apple's ludicrous hardware margins. Their market is shrinking, but it's still a profitable line of business for them since, just like the iPhone, their margins are way higher than the competition.
Another one to chime in that I don't consider this crazy...any more.
It didn't work the first time around partly because the cloners had much smaller volume and could therefore always scoop Apple on the most profitable high-end gear, which didn't have component availability.
The licensing model was always a gamble, with the hope that the loss of margin would be offset by an increased base. The problem was that it was "bet the company" stakes at the time, and when it didn't quite work out as hoped they had to shut it down or shut down the company.
Now the Mac line in general and the pro line in particular is a sufficiently insignificant part of the overall business that they could afford the gamble.