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At its product launch event on October 30, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced critical updates for two of its Mac product lines. The Mac mini, Apple's small standalone desktop, had not experienced a real upgrade since October 2014 and the company's MacBook Air, its range entry-level, had hardly changed since March 2015. for a slight increase in the specifications of the least expensive model.
Let's look at what Apple has brought to the table with these updates and what they could ultimately mean for Mac business activities.
Source of the image: Apple.
a breath of fresh air
The latest Apple MacBook Air boasts a multitude of upgrades. The design of the case is new and a little more refined than the model of the previous generation. Its new screen is much sharper than the old one and, according to the company, it supports "48 percent more color than the previous generation".
The screen also uses IPS technology instead of TN technology used in the latest generation of MacBook Air displays, which results in better viewing angles.
Beyond that, Apple has upgraded the processor, going from one Intel Fifth-generation Core processor with a 15-watt power rating and an eighth-generation Core processor with a 7-watt TDP. Performance and energy efficiency should be improved accordingly.
The company touted the SSDs in the new MacBook Air, noting that they are "up to 60% faster than the previous generation" and that their sizes reach 1.5 terabytes (TB), compared to 512 Go to the maximum. old models.
Apple has also added its Touch ID fingerprint recognition technology, which the company previously included in its line of high-end MacBook Pro laptops, a new keyboard and a new Force Touch trackpad. The system also supports Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, which is an upgrade to the Thunderbolt 2 supported by older MacBook Airs.
The company also pointed out that the MacBook Air's speakers are "25% more powerful with twice as much bass as the previous generation for a more dynamic range and richer sound".
The key point is that the old MacBook Air had become quite outdated and that these new systems seemed to be doing a solid job of upgrading the lineup.
Mac mini becomes serious
Apple has also redesigned its Mac mini desktop. Previous models used Intel's fourth-generation Core processors – virtually anecdotal chips at this stage – and, to make matters worse, they used low-power chips for laptops.
The new models are totally different animals. They use eighth-generation Core Intel processors for desktop computers with four- and six-core processors, enabling systems to deliver up to five times faster performance than desktop PCs. the previous generation ".
They can be configured with up to 64GB of system RAM (up to 16GB in previous models) and can hold up to 2TB of flash storage. According to Apple, the system "abounds with advanced ports, including four Thunderbolt 3 ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI video audio and Ethernet up to 10 [gigabits per second]. "
The new Mac mini seems to be a very good product that should reinvigorate consumers' interest for the line.
Impact on Apple's business
I see two potential impacts of these products on Apple's Mac business. The first is that Apple could see an improvement in unit shipments, as newer systems are much more convincing than their increasingly obsolete predecessors. Indeed, the systems could help Apple to take market share in the personal computer market.
In addition to the potential acceleration of unit shipments, these systems could also help Apple to increase the average selling price of its Mac, which the company has managed to achieve with its range of products for iPhone and which should do without its range for iPad.
From a certain point of view, Apple's new MacBook Air starts at $ 1,199 and is available in configurations of up to $ 2,599 for 16GB of RAM and 1.5TB of storage. Apple's previous MacBook Air, according to AppleInsider, has exceeded $ 1,549.
Apple's new Mac mini starts at $ 799 and rises to $ 4,199. The old Mac mini started at $ 499, and although Apple's website for this line of products has disappeared (so I can not tell you how much an optimized version of the old Mac mini costs), I imagine that the ceiling price this product was significantly lower than $ 4,199.
Investors must absolutely monitor the performance of Apple's Mac business in the coming quarters.
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