AppleInsider Staff
Apple's latest notebook may need some time to meet the lofty sales bar set by its siblings, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, as the relatively high price and unconventional port arrangement could temper demand at the outset.
The all-new MacBook's single USB-C port may be a sticking point for some consumers, Kuo said in a Wednesday morning note to investors reviewed by AppleInsider, as the ecosystem surrounding the diminutive connector is still in its nascent stages and the need for expansion dongles may prove inconvenient. This, combined with its high starting price relative to the MacBook Air and expected constraints on supply, may mean that Apple could sell as few as 450,000 new MacBooks in the first half of this year.
That would represent just a sliver of Apple's overall Mac sales, which are likely to top 10 million for the first two quarters of 2015.
Apple's latest MacBook packs a single USB-C port along with a headphone jack, a 12-inch Retina display, 8 gigabytes of RAM, and a new Intel Core M processor into a package less than half as thick as the already-svelte MacBook Air. It also includes a brand new keyboard and clickless "Force Touch" trackpad that borrows technology from the Apple Watch.
The new device starts at $1,299, compared to just $899 and $999 for the 11- and 13-inch MacBook Airs, respectively. Those laptops, which were given updated internals earlier this week, do not boast Retina displays.
Despite potentially weak initial sales, Kuo believes that the new MacBook is likely to find increased success down the road as the USB-C ecosystem matures and consumers begin to refocus on buying thinner and lighter devices.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Oliver Haslam
187 Comments
Kuo is full of it. The MacBook Air was a smash, mainly due to the lightness.
Sad that they weren't able to invent a USB-C connector using MagSafe. One of their absolute best inventions and it's now discarded. Too bad...
I needed a retina computer that was thinner than the RMBP but could be upgraded to I7... This new lineup is really disappointing for me. They could've easily out a retina display into the air but they decided to make a brand new line.. Zzz
Demand is high. Plenty of questions by customers here. I guess we'll sell much more 12" MacBooks being sold than MBAs. (If anything, it's the surviving MBAs that hinder the new MB.)
The screen is too small, quite simply. A laptop should be at least 13". I think Apple should offer 13", 15" and 17" sizes only.