Apple to Launch a Cheaper Macbook and AI Headphones in 2018

TechApple to Launch a Cheaper Macbook and AI Headphones in 2018

Apple to Launch a Cheaper Macbook and AI Headphones in 2018

Brace yourself to an industry-disruptive news: according to the website 9-to-5, a cheaper new 13-inch Macbook is planned to be sold during the second quarter of this year. According to the notorious Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is working for KGI Securities, Apple has reviewed its strategy and would like to aim to compete with Premium versions of Chromebooks, as well as to attract consumers who have been buying Windows laptops.

Apple hope to surge sales by 15%

While Macbooks and Apple prices have always been criticized to be way above the market average and thus restricted the clientele to a very small portion – the peak was reached when IphoneX was announced to be sold at $1,000, Ming-Chi Kuo says the laptop should be the size of a 13-inch Macbook version.

Several media remind the consumers on how Apple used to have more affordable price tags in the late nineties, with the colorful Ibook, for example. Kuo reportedly said to the website Macrumors.com that he forecasted total shipments of MacBook models to grow up by 15% year-on-year in 2018, versus a 5% year-on-year decline for the notebook industry, up from 16 million units in 2017.

While the famous analyst does not reveal any public planned retail price, he justifies this new product launch by the stagnation of the Macbook Air model, which has not been updated for three years.

Targeting a younger clientele

While Apple products have been for years the pageantry of the riches, Tim Cook’s new strategy seems to attract a new kind of audience in his nets: the millenials. While the younger crowd is now about to start studying, those born in the early 00’s seem to appear to be one of the biggest business opportunities for the apple brand who wants to become again the leader amongst the college student community, just like in the early 00’s. While predictions around the price are buzzing online, the IT news website 9-to-5 might have the most relevant price prediction: between $600 and $750.  Aside from the internal upgrades, specialists forecast a new display that should be revealed within weeks.

Airpods and new Iphones, Homepod “mediocre”

Last but not least, some other new products are coming along: Apple should launch artificial-intelligence and augmented-reality based headphones soon called “Airpods”.

Shipments should start on the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest, as Primax and SZS are providing the material. Also, three new Iphones should be launched in the upcoming months with larger batteries, after largely mediatised complaints from consumers worldwide. IPhoneX sales are said to be “bad”, selling only 15 million units compared, against the 20 million the brand was hoping to sell.

Apple total Iphone sales have been weak too, with 52 million against the 55 millions units planned for the past year.  HomePod’s future remains quite uncertain, have the sales of Apple’s smart speaker has been “mediocre”, said Ming-Chi Kuo on 9-to-5.

While Apple’s yearly Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) usually happens in June, Apple-afficionados are hopeful that more details will be shared in the next three months, turning Apple into a more affordable brand for a larger crowd.

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