Apple To Upgrade MacBooks By June, Analyst Reveals
Apple's MacBook lineup is expected to bolster the tech giant's sales this year, with upgrades to the company's premium laptops and notebooks likely to arrive in the first half of 2016. According to Apple Insider, this bit of news comes from an investors' note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, Inc.
In the note, Kuo said that the MacBook lineup has experienced "solid growth" in the business sector and that sales are expected to accelerate with the introduction of the upgrades by June. Kuo did not specify which features of the current MacBooks will be improved nor which of the company's notebook lineups will be upgraded, though both Apple Insider and CNET suggest that Apple may be loading its next-generation MacBooks with Intel's new Skylake processor.
Skylake is Intel's followup to its Broadwell processors, which powers the latest-generation MacBooks. Announced in September, Skylake is said to halve the weight and thickness of laptops, triple battery life, and double laptop performance.
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According to CNET, the last quarter of 2015 saw a worldwide downturn in PC shipments, with all PC vendors suffering from sluggish demands. Apple was the only top computer manufacturer to benefit from the 2015 holiday sales, with a 2.8 percent growth in unit shipments.
Kuo's note also mentioned that the demand for new MacBooks will benefit Apple's offshore suppliers Casetek and SZS. This new note marks the first news from the well-connected Apple insider about new MacBooks coming out in 2016.
Apple last made changes to its MacBooks in March 2015, with the 12-inch MacBook and new upgrades for the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs with Broadwell processors and Thunderbolt 2 ports.
In November, a report from Economic Daily News indicated that Apple will be launching an improved MacBook Air lineup during the 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference. According to the Taiwanese publication, the 11-inch MacBook Air will be scrapped in favor of a new 15-inch model. Apple Insider notes that Economic Daily News has a "spotty track record" of Apple predictions.
