The analyst who imagined that Apple will release a thinner iPhone he now imagines that Apple will give up to produce the MacBook Pro with a 17-inch screen. The main reason behind this decision would be the low sales of the laptop, which in the US has a starting price of $2500 in the Apple store. The analyst claims that Apple would have sold 3.1 million Macs in Q2 2012, but only 50.000 of them would be Mac Book Pros with a 17-inch screen, the figure being 30 times lower than the one recorded for MacBook Pro sales with a 13-inch screen.
Apple's Mac business in 2Q12 will be boosted by several factors. Three of which are: (1) Mountain Lion, which integrates iOS features with Mac OS, Apple TV's interaction function, will be launched in June; (2) upgrading to Ivy Bridge; and (3) back-to-school demand. We forecast Apple will sell 5.32mn units of the Mac series (up 28.5% QoQ and 35.2% YoY) in 2Q12, making it the main growth driver. We also predict Apple will roll out a fully new MacBook model in early 3Q12, boasting strong performance and easy portability by combining the advantages of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
While adding new products, Apple is likely to stop making the 17" MacBook Pro this year due to falling shipments, in order to maintain a lean product line strategy.
Of course, this is not the only explanation offered by the Chinese analyst because he claims that Apple would launch a new MacBook model that would offer performance similar to that of the Pro, but would offer the portability of the Air. With estimated sales of 1.1 million units in Q2 2011, the MacBook Air ranks second in the list of Apple customers' preferences, and the launch of an intermediate model would certainly attract a number of customers who did not want an Air because it did not offer performance good, but they couldn't afford to buy a more expensive Pro.
Removing the 17-inch version from sale is somewhat logical considering that the laptop is expensive and was bought mainly by those who work with audio/video editing software, so it was not intended for the mass of people. Of course, it is not known if Apple will finally take the decision to remove the product from its offer, but the theory presented by the analyst is interesting.
