Pro Tools Expert conducts a number of polls to gauge the temperature of certain elements of the Pro Tools community. 3 years ago we ran one poll and asked the question ‘What Do You Use For Pro Tools PC Or Mac?’

The first poll was run in 2016 and gave the following results;

2016 Results Of Poll

2019 Results Of Poll

We ran the poll again asking What Computer Platform Do You Use For Pro Tools - Windows Or Mac?

Shocking Results

To say we were shocked by these results is perhaps an understatement. Looking at the results the numbers of Mac and PC Pro Tools users has effectively flipped in position in around three years. We knew there were some Pro Tools users feeling aggrieved by Apple’s lack of progress on a pro Apple Mac but we never expected the numbers to show such a change.

The General State Of The Mac Market

According to 9-5 Mac Mac sales are down 13% in 2018 compared to the previous year;

“Year-on-year, Mac sales were 3.7M last quarter against 4.29M the same quarter last year … that’s 13% down year-on-year.

Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, painted an even starker picture;

Is The Rising Cost Of Macs A Real Answer To These Results?

It’s hard to cite the rising cost of Macs as a factor when considering those being asked are Pro Tools users, arguably one of the most expensive DAWs on the market and often reliant on even more costly HDX hardware. So suggesting Pro Tools users are price sensitive is perhaps an unwise explanation.

Is The Lack Of A New Mac Pro The Answer?

A more reasonable answer may be the lack of Apple offering what many regard as ‘pro’ machines for the Pro Tools user. Pro Tools users are one of the only user groups who use PCIe cards, which require more conventional chassis to use. As Avid haven’t really made significant progress in offering their pro hardware in ways that utilises more up-to-date protocols such as USB-C and Thunderbolt for HDX users, Pro Tools users are stuck between a rock (Avid) and a hard place (Apple).

Early responses to the new Mac Mini are showing positive feedback from pro users and so it will be interesting to see the results of this poll next year. By this time next year there may be a new Mac Pro and greater adoption of Mac Mini, only time will tell.

Have You Gone From Apple Mac to Windows PC?

Have you made the switch, if so then we would be interested to hear your reasons. Conversely if you are continuing to use an Apple Mac then let us know why.