Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is said to be planning a major overhaul of its MacBook Pro. Per a Bloomberg report, the company is already in advanced stages of testing the new notebooks. If it is indeed true, this will be the first critical upgrade to the device in the last four years.
The Bloomberg report states that the newer MacBook will not only be thinner and faster but will come with a number of innovative features like a touch screen display, fingerprint sensor, higher-performance graphics capabilities and USB-C technology. The highlight of the upgrade, according to the report, is the replacement of conventional function keys with a secondary display screen on top of the keyboard.
Apple it seems is leveraging its software capabilities to provide more value to its consumers. This new screen will most likely use Organic Light-Emitting Diodes and is designed to give more specific function control to users. The screen will display different commands based on the task performed by the user. This will be a significant shift from the conventional user habit but it leaves a lot of space for Apple to innovate. For instance, Apple will be able to add more features and improvise the functions with software updates.
The company will also be using advanced graphics chips to meet high-end requirements like video gaming. For this, it will likely use graphics cards from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) or Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) .
In fiscal 2015, Apple generated about 10.9% of its total revenue from Mac. The company has also unveiled its latest software update for Mac named Mac OS Sierra, which will also have integrations for its voice assistant, Siri.
After consistent growth in Mac market share in 2014 and 2015 (despite dwindling PC sales across the globe), the last quarter was marked by a noticeable weakness. This overhaul might just be the thing that the company needs to revive its position in the PC market. Moreover, a longer iPad replacement cycle also bodes well for the company’s Mac sales, more so as near-term iPad sales are expected to remain sluggish
In the absence of any official notification, it is hard to determine a timeline for the launch of the new device. However, Bloomberg stated that it will probably not be ready for launch at the time of the company’s Sep 7 event.
Apple currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the broader tech space is Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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