Amidst all the euphoria surrounding the launch of Apple Watch, Apple's (AAPL, Financial) new 12” Retina display Macbook unveiling went almost unnoticed. The product was unveiled by Apple CEO Tim Cook in the Apple Watch launch event on March 9. Let's quickly catch upon some of its intricate details and what are the close rivals in the same tech space.
The Macbook
The new Apple Macbook is another beautiful product offering from Apple. Apple is claiming it to be the lightest Macbook so far. The latest Macbook from Apple comes in Gold, Silver and Space Gray colors.
The new Macbook weighs only 2 lbs. The 12” retina display is packed with a resolution of 2340 X 1440. Despite being ultra thin, ultra light and being almost as small as an iPad, the new Macbook supports a battery life up to 9 hours, which is 35% higher despite the slimmer body of the new Macbook. It also supports a full size keyboard, which again is 34% thinner. It has a feather touch track-pad which delivers a responsive uniform click. The track pad is equipped with sensory technology which can pass back vibrations to coordinate with the visuals on the screen, which adds to the sense of touch. The single multi-use USB-C 3 port on the left side is provided for charging as well as speedy data transfer and video output. The new Macbook 12 inch is packed with Apple’s OS X operating system. It works seamlessly with other Mac and iOs devices.
In its obsession to create an ultra thin, ultra light, small and yet a power-packed configuration, Apple has given a miss to some important elements in the new Macbook. The SD slot has been sacrificed. So now, to get your pictures and videos on the new Macbook, you will have to connect via an external USB cable.
The new Macbook will sport a price tag of $1,299 and is expected to hit the shelves by the second week of April.
Market reaction
Despite the reduced interface points, Apple’s latest Macbook release has impressed the techies and gained brownie points with the tech analysts who are expecting it to add to the sales volumes and profit numbers in a sizable proportion due to the sheer ticket size per unit sale as compared to the low margin iPhone. The actual litmus test will happen once the product hits the shelves.
Apple is also expected to launch an upgraded version of the iPad which will be bigger in size and targeted towards adding the professional users to its ambit. Though Apple has not made any revelations yet, the street expects to see the next new launch somewhere towards the middle of the next quarter.
Competition
The new offering from Apple already has some challengers. Dell Incorporated’s (DELL, Financial) XPS 13 has an impressive configuration to challenge Apple. Samsung Electronics Company Ltd.’s (SSNLF, Financial) 12 inch Ativ Book 9 and Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) Surface Pro 3 are also good contenders in their own might. So it will be interesting to watch the new age laptops battle for the top stand.
Effect on Apple stock
After the unveiling of the Apple Watch and the new Apple 12" Macbook, the stock price rose by an insignificant amount of $1. The mixed reviews about the Apple Watch appears to have cast a shadow over the impact on Apple sales and stock prices. Both the products will hit the shelves in the next financial quarter. They might prove to be cash cows or may repeat the iPod success story, which took some time to catch the customer imagination.
Conclusion
Apple is too big to be written off by the fate of one or two of its products. Therefore, minor variance in the stock price will not overshadow the strong fundamentals of the company. The stock guidance would remain at a ‘Hold’ / ‘Buy’.
