Malcolm Owen
Apple's flurry of January launches may be the company's last major releases for some time, with a lack of inbound new products expected for the second quarter meaning there could be quite a few months to wait for something new to surface.
Apple's unexpected January launches covered a number of areas, including the revival of the HomePod, the introduction of the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, an updated Mac mini, and new 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro units.
However, Apple's decision to launch so early in the year may dampen expectations for spring launches, which could mean no hardware introductions in March or the second quarter.
In 2022, Apple's spring launches included the 5G iPhone SE, the Mac Studio, and the Studio Display. According to Mark Gurman's "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, "there is no equivalent stream of new products coming in Q2 this year."
The early launches are apparently going to help make the Q1 results seem "a bit less painful" than they could've been. Wall Street is now apparently expecting Q1 revenue of $122.2 billion, which is a small decline and far from a "disaster," while Q2 is anticipated to be flat at $97.5 billion.
With Apple set to announce the critical holiday quarter earnings on February 2, it is likely that more opinion and reasoning behind the launches will be offered by CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri as part of the usual analyst conference call.
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14 Comments
Both iMac and Studio should have received M2 by now. Those are premium products. With MBP 13 and mini - the two low-end products on M2 (and the mini using M2 Pro) iMac and Studio are in need upgrades this quarter. What could be the reasons for Apple to let their premium desktop products stay on old tech?
We’ll, there is the rumored announcement of the VR/AR headset in the Spring, with detailed developer sessions at WWDC. Perhaps they wanted to “clear the deck” to get ready for this
Also, iMac and Studio updates are likely for the Spring. To be done before they announce the Mac Pro at or around WWDC
Other candidates for Spring updates: AirPod Max, XDR Display, MacBook Air 15”, Classic Music App
It's just stating the obvious that all they have left is an iMac refresh and an iPad Air refresh. Both are functioning now as ways to draw down their M1 inventory? Neither would be "new products" so press releases and a colorful, fun video would do. Note that May 21 will be the two year anniversary of the release of the M1 iMac.
I think it's interesting they still have the M1 (7-core GPU) MacBook Air on sale, alongside the M2 Air. It wouldn't be surprising if the iMac went the same way, with the M1 (8-core GPU) iMac on sale beside the M2 iMac. If the M2 iMac were to have M2 Pro/Max as well, then it could step into that role (clearing M2 inventory) in the future, after M3 rolls out.
If anything, all Gurman’s prediction really says is that the Mac Pro and Mac Studio refresh(es), while likely to be introduced in Q2 at WWDC, won't be available until later in the year. Same for new or refreshed displays, and of course the reality device. None of it will go on sale in Q2.
I don’t think the rest of the quarter will be quiet.
Seriously. These suggestions have no basis in reality. Launching upgrades involves significant work, it’s not something casually tossed out to tame the markets like a sales promo. The Jan upgrades are the tip of the iceberg, and we will see they were necessary to get out of the way to rationalise the product line for whatever comes next.