Has Apple forgotten that it has a Mac lineup?

Apple's Mac and MacBook lineup is, frankly, a disgrace. I can't think of another top-name brand demanding a premium price for hardware that is so outdated.

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Apart from the MacBook, there's nothing in Apple's computer range that I'd recommend buying right now. Everything is either old and crusty (5K iMac), or very old and crusty (Mac Pro), and you'll be throwing away top dollar for technology that is, by the standards of the fast-moving tech industry -- ancient.

Just how bad is Apple's lineup? Here's data collated by MacRumors on how long it's been since the different lines were updated (correct at time of writing):

MacBook - 177 days

iMac - 366 days

Retina MacBook Pro - 513 days

MacBook Air - 584 days

Mac mini - 728 days

Mac Pro - 1,029 days

MacBook Pro - 1,584 days

Everything in that list is marked as a "Don't Buy" by MacRumors except for the MacBook, which has a "Neutral" buy rating.

And remember that these aren't cheap systems that you can pick up for a couple of hundred dollars. Mac mini aside -- which starts at $499 -- you need to have close to $1,000 to even think about buying a Mac.

And that ancient Mac Pro in the listing above, that antique has a starting price tag of $2,999.

It's like Apple has totally forgotten that it has a Mac line at all, and has instead been focusing on the iPhone and the Apple Watch (the only two Apple products in the MacRumors buyer's guide that have a "Buy Now" rating).

Apple truly has become a one-trick pony (the Apple Watch really is too small to count at this stage).

Predictably, this stale offering is having a negative effect on sales. According to Gartner, Q3 shipments of Macs have declined 13.4 percent compared to the year-ago quarter.

Gartner

The year-ago quarter is significant because it was Apple's best Mac quarter ever, with sales peaking at a record 5.7 million. While we'll have to wait a few weeks for official numbers from Apple, if sales have fallen by this much it would indicate that Apple has dropped the ball and been unable to keep Mac sales momentum going, and that the company is more reliant on iPhone sales than ever.

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