Apple Primes Partners for Surge in Mac Upgrades with macOS Ventura

The wide spectrum of new software and hardware unveiled by Apple on Monday is poised to accelerate Mac upgrades. Many customers will upgrade for the latest capabilities coming next month to the first MacBooks powered by Apple’s new M2 processor. More tacitly though, it appears Apple wants business customers to upgrade older Macs.

Apple’s new macOS Ventura, which it showcased at the company’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC), is for Macs shipped after 2017. Moreover, Apple will only push out a regular cadence of patches and security updates for its latest operating systems, noted Jason Dettbarn, founder and CEO of Addigy, which provides iOS and macOS device management software.

Previously, Apple supported Macs much longer than five years, Dettbarn told Channel Futures.

Addigy’s Jason Dettbarn

“They used to tout the life cycle of Macs and you don’t see them doing that anymore,” Dettbarn said. “They realized that they make a lot more money on iPhones because people refresh them every year or two. And it seems they want to do the same with Macs by reducing the life span.”

The shorter life cycles will prompt most businesses to upgrade to make sure their Macs are secure, Dettbarn added.

“If they’re going to maintain a security posture, businesses have no choice other than to get the newest hardware to maintain the latest operating system,” he said.

Mac and iOS Continuity

While Apple started enabling portability of apps across iOS and macOS in 2018, the newest wave of core iPhone and iPad features will appear in macOS Ventura and a new version of its Safari web browser. The company is designing new and existing features for iOS and macOS to work more consistently. Continuity Universal Handoff will allow users to hand off tasks, such as sharing tabs, Apple Mail and messages from one device to another. Airplay to Mac and SharePlay will let users run audio, video and Facetime from their iPhone or iPad on the Mac.

“This year, we focused on making the core things you do with macOS even better, delivering new ways to be productive and take advantage of the capability of your other devices with Continuity,” said Craig Federighi (pictured above on stage at WWDC), Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering.

Addigy’s Dettbarn anticipates the macOS will boost growth of Macs this fall, which already have been strong during the past year. Mac upgrades grew 25% among all Addigy customers, and even higher (48%) among those managed by MSPs, Dettbarn said. He believes that pace will continue.

“They’re definitely pulling a few levers to drive some serious Mac sales a little more aggressively than I’ve seen in the past,” he said.

Check out the slideshow above for some key announcements at WWDC relevant to channel partners.