My Cult of Mac colleague Buster Hein recently wrote that the new impossibly-thin, gorgeously Retina displayed MacBook “isn’t for you, it’s for the future” — meaning that it’s there to show us where the MacBook will go in the next few years, rather than being 2015’s “must own” notebook.
That may well be true, but according to supply chain sources, it’s still likely to make up a pretty sizeable slice of Apple’s overall Mac sales in the year to come.
Citing panel supply chains, the 12-inch beauty is expected to represent between 15-20 percent of Apple’s overall MacBook shipments this year: making it the single largest source of growth in the MacBook series throughout 2015 in the process.
In terms of numbers, it’s expected that around 450,000 12-inch MacBook shipments will take place in the first quarter of the year, thanks to limited production of Retina displays. In the second quarter, numbers will increase as LG Display takes over from Samsung (which provides the displays for the first batch of new MacBooks) as the leading maker of displays for the device.
Overall, Apple’s notebook shipments are expected to drop by one quarter sequentially in Q1, but then grow by 30 percent in Q2, representing the highest on-quarter growth in the notebook market.
The new MacBook may be one for the future, but it seems that for a large number of customers, the future is now!
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
27 responses to “New MacBook will drive Apple’s notebook growth in 2015”
By my estimates I would say by the time the laptop is not constrained, or at least by the end of the first year – it will make up more than 50% of all mac shipments. I think it will take a slice off the top of iPad sales, it will eat some of the macbook air sales, and it will bring in some brand new customers…. and potentially increase the per year shipments of macs by 33% to 50% after the first year and a half. iPad sales have slipped to 60 million units per year, many people buying keyboards and trying to use them for work instead of what they were designed for … consumption platform…. those will likely be pulled up to a laptop that is small and contains it’s own keyboard yet be lighter than an ipad and 3rd party keyboard (logitech). I estimate it will take at least 10 million out of iPad sales (though iPad sales will add some people – but drop overall).
Might as well incorporate the 12″ into a iPad and totally get rid of both and call it totally something different.
my biggest gripe with the MacBook is that it lacks the ability to have it plugged in to charge the battery, connect to a monitor and an external device.
For me, I would love it if it had at least one or two USB ports, at least one Thunderbolt port and a MagSafe port to charge the battery. My potential use would be as a dedicated music server where I would use USB to my stereo, a thunderbolt port to an external drive and then MagSafe port to supply a constant power. Why a MacBook? Because this thing has no fan, whereas most other Macs (PCs for that matter) have a fan and fans create EMI noise that can leach into the digital signal.
For the average person, I think it’s important to have the ability to connect to a monitor, plugged into the wall to recharge or keep a constant power supply, and an external storage device.
Without these abilities, it limits the type of use for the MacBook to just a more casual lightweight laptop with limited connectivity, which can inhibit sales.
Get a dock, there will be some out soon. For me the Macbook isn’t going to be powerful enough for my most demanding task so I got a stock 13″ Macbook Pro with 256 Gig SSD. The Force Trackpad is awesome. Many will find the Macbook to be all they need, but even my mobile needs are too demanding for it. I read reviews on the Yoga Pro 3 which has identical processor/graphics, RAM, and SSD size for the same price and the reviews are not pretty unless all you are doing is browsing, word processing, and watching video.
agreed, thee will be PLENTY of accessories and docks, that’s the real money maker here…the add-ons it’ll require….+1
“Without these abilities, it limits the type of use for the MacBook to
just a more casual lightweight laptop — ”
— which is exactly the point of this device. There’s a reason they call the MacBook Pro ‘Pro’.
The average person does not need an external monitor. This unit will hold a long charge so it doesn’t need to be plugged in all day, thus freeing up the port for mouse, storage, or printer.
Since people don’t print so much as they used to, not a big deal. Since storage is moving onto the cloud, not such a big deal. (If you need more storage, why oh why buy an SSD computer?) And a mouse isn’t really necessary with a trackpad, but if you insist, bluetooth mice are everywhere.
“my biggest gripe with the MacBook is that it lacks the ability to have it plugged in to charge the battery, connect to a monitor and an external device.”
Your biggest gripe has been answered! In fact, it was answered long ago. Everything you complain about regarding this new MacBook is already in •other• MacBook models, including •every• Air and •every• MacBook Pro. This model is not targeted to your needs. It is the first of Apple’s offerings to those who don’t need (or want) to be connected to power all day, who don’t need (or want) a lot of ports, who don’t need tremendous graphics or number-crunching power, and who want something smaller and lighter. See? Since you are not the target, just buy one of the other models. Simple.
Exactly.
“My Cult of Mac colleague Buster Hein recently wrote that the new impossibly-thin, gorgeously Retina displayed MacBook”
I will keep on reminding everyone that the New Macbook is not thinner than the Samsung Ativ Book 9 (2015) that was released at CES 2015. So why all the over the top claims about the new Macbook being impossibly thin? The Ativ Book 9 is .46″ thick, weights 2.09 pounds, and is running the same core M processor in an all metal casing with a lot more ports. It was release before the new Macbook too. Why are there always sites so willing to make it seem as if Apple is doing something that only they can do, when others have done it before them? Why all the embellishments?
As a person who owns the similar Asus ZenBook UX305, I couldn’t agree with you more on this Mac Myopia.
The problem is Windows sucks. Which is why I’m returning this Asus, kicking and screaming at the iRipoff that is the new MacBook.
For me Windows is great. To each his own. If I were able to completely remove OS X from the 13″ Macbook Pro, I would have had an Apple computer like yesterday. I suppose you can, but I do not want the pain of then having to jump through hoops to update drivers. Not the mention the track-pad is not optimize for Windows. There are 13″ Windows Machines, but from what I see they lack the power of the Macbook Pro 13″. If one knows of an exception, please let me know. I currently have a Dell XPS 13 (2015) that I am still evaluating.
I used to abide Windows is great. To each his own. I no longer do. It sucks as an OS and the support is non-existent.
I contacted Asus and Microsoft (via chat) to resolve a simple issue. Each pointed fingers at each other (nice) and then both suggested doing a restore. That’s sad, not great.
I encountered the simplest of errors over and over in a 2.5 year old OS. They should have been patched YEARS ago. I checked the web to make sure this newbie Windows user wasn’t the problem. Every error I found was a known issue and every fix was ridiculously complex… with the added thing it might not fix it after all.
Why Windows matters is because of the games and specialty software available for it. Windows in isolation is more than a decade behind OS X. And as many years behind itself.
Yeah. The hardware Windows sits on is inexpensive. But what’s the point when the system operates like a three year old.
You think it’s great that the OS highly recommends keeping a copy of ‘when the system worked fine’ in case an update or virus hoses the system? That’s Crazytown, buddy. Sure — OS X offers this feature via Time Machine — but any Mac user with half a brain knows they don’t NEED to backup their Mac in case an update ices it.
That’s because OS X works. Windows can’t manage to have a brightness button work on OEM hardware. It’s pathetic.
What sucks about it as an OS. Name me one thing OS X does better. I can document over an over that if you have an identically equipped Mac and PC (as in they all are using the same internal hardware with the only difference being the OSs), Windows out perform OS X performance wise. So take that argument of yours elsewhere. I have not found myself in a position where I needed software support from Microsoft or anyone else. I have had minor hardware failure from time to time, but that’s a hardware issue.
“Name me one thing OS X does better.”
Virtual desktops. It’s being officially introduced in Windows 10 presumably 2015. It’s been in Mac OS X since 2006.
I can name others but I’m not biting your redirection here. You’re attempting to change this discussion to ‘prowess’, the age old argument where PC kicks Apple’s spec butt.
I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about Window’s inability to present a coherent operating system onto itself. Anyone but a Kool-Aid drinking Wintelnut will admit that 8 was a confusing mess and that 8.1 isn’t much better.
Maybe it’s touch, maybe it isn’t. Five different ways to do things instead of one to two smart ways. This isn’t even open for debate. IT BECAME A FACT when manufacturers offered DOWNGRADES to Windows 7. It also became clear what a turd 8.1 is when Windows promises a free upgrade to 10 — what the entire media labels the long delayed ‘fix’ to Windows 8. Or “what 8 should have been” is also everywhere.
Only Windows users proudly DEFEND an OS that INSISTS YOU CREATE A RECOVERY DRIVE? Mac never does. Mac invites you to Time Machine… but most don’t need it. And if your Mac does become hosed for some reason, you can install the OS from the Mac. No external drive, no bootable USB — no NOTHING.
Owning the aforementioned Asus was ONE THING not quite working after ANOTHER. And it wasn’t newbie mistakes. I’d search the web for answers and discover they don’t quite exist… or if they do… they’re insanely complex and ultimately not reliable.
The strength of Windows are speciality apps, games, and hardware prices. No argument. The OS itself is diarrhea.
I never said a single thing about PC specs being better than Apple specs. All I know is in an age where both Mac and PCs use the same internals, if you place the equally spec PC against the equally Spec Mac with the OSs being the only difference between them, Windows out perform OS X. That was what I said above. I never said anything about PCs beating Macs on specs. Thank goodness for the days of equal components. We are now able to dismiss all the myths about OS X. Of course they live on in the minds of the brainwashed. It took me less than half an hour to get comfortable with Windows 8 for I never eat my school fee. The media I will argue had more of an impact on the reception of Windows 8 than Windows 8 itself. It is unbelievable the among of people I have run into over the 3 years of Windows 8 who just know it is bad, but have never used it even for a minute. In less than a day with Windows 8, I knew I wasn’t going back to 7. So like I said, to each his own. I can give you a laundry list of basic computing things that you have to jump through hoops just to do on OS X, but I will move on.
So I name ONE THING as requested and you ignore it. Then I name other things and you ignore them.
Buttchapeau.
Was that succinct enough for you?
What were the other things you named? If you look at your own post above, you talked about virtual desktop, and said you can named other things but won’t. So again, what were the other things. Glad to know the world runs on virtual desktop. By the way, am I able to just pull a flash drive yet from a Mac with out first having to take extra steps to avoid it (flash drive) from getting corrupted or the data on it lost? I can on a PC like forever. I can just pull it. Basic things like that keep people like me away. I have a list put together by someone else, many of which I can attest to, but I will move on. By the way, read carefully next time and stop claiming that I said things I did not.
Buttchapeau? Am I chatting with a 5 year old or an adult?
Who told you you can’t ‘pull a thumb drive’ from OS X? You don’t have to eject it! Windows offers the SAME …the silly green icon on the lower right to ‘eject disc’, it’s just not as obvious and EASIER to corrupt your date ‘jerking’ USB from Windows than OS X
I am ambidextrous, use em both every day. I can ‘honestly’ say, you’re completely ignorant to OS X itself (‘much more powerful and dynamic’ that made me laugh out LOUD! Maybe if you’re playing Halo all day and feeding spiders in your parents’ basement)
On topic…need to, put Windows on a Mac. Still the best Windows machines you can buy (unless you’re trying to hit frame rates incapable of being displayed on a 60Hz display). Period. It literally does EVERYTHING Better (OS X)! From media management to ‘pure speed’ w/PCIe SS storage systems, it’s parity with its hardware and controlled environment allow only VERY useful software to be supplied with the OS, and voluntary at that (iPhoto, iMovie, iWork suites, etc)
No Dell bloat
No ‘McAfee trial’ that you can’t run
No MS Office trials
No OEM bloat
No HiDPI scaling with a fart
Terrible track pads across the spectrum
Win 8/8.1 is an absolute JOKE other than its speed to boot (not use, just. Boot!)
No thunderbolt (other than specialized, expensive boutique vendors)
Crap support
Terrible resale
In MOST cases, terrible build quality
Not even CLOSE when it comes to continuity with your mobile devices ala Handoff
I’m sure I could write a 5,000 word essay on the positives of OS X in comparison with the ‘cons’ of using Windows as one’s OS of choice. But, if Halo, Metro, GTA, & COD is what you do to pay the mortgage …more power to ya
You’ll find when you get outta school — you’ve got to get a job.
Thanks LordQuad. Four things jump out as a recent PC user —
1. McAfee Trial. I first had to learn how to remove it, which isn’t a big deal but also wasn’t pleasant. But here’s where it got shockingly bad: I updated Adobe Flash — and it force installs McAfee BACK on your PC. Mind-blown.
2. You say no MS Office trials. I say free iWorks suite on top of that.
3
“What were the other things you named?”
Can’t complain about length if you skim. Again —
1. Mac doesn’t encourage users to create recovery drives. The system is THAT stable.
2. If you do hose your system, you can restore your Mac without a bootable usb, DVD, etcetera. It’s built in. All you need is wifi.
and if you read between lines
3. Apple Stores never offered to backwards migrate users to (say) Leopard because of how bad Snow Leopard was
4. Mac never offered it’s new OS for free because of how bad it felt for screwing users who tried the prior OS
That’s four things you didn’t address. Five if you count the Virtual Desktop thing, which I do since you asked me to name ONE. And you still haven’t admitted that it’s PATHETIC Windows is third in line behind Mac and Linux on this.
Using your approach, ‘glad to know your world runs of pulling flash drives out of USB slots’. Truth be told, virtual desktops are used far more often by Mac users. To the tune of daily, where I’m lucky if I remove a drive once a month. That aside —
— I’m still waiting for you to admit that 8 was such a disaster that PC makers offered free downgrades and Windows 10 had to be given away out of respect to abused users.
Go ahead. I dare you.
Not a BAD machine and some cool features but the price point sucks when you can get a more powerful model MBP retina for the same price…..
I suggest on this page that a 13 inch 1080p would be fine for that price point and this spec.
not when you can buy a more powerful Retina Pro for the same price……
not when you can get a more powerful base model Retina MacBook Pro for the same price it isn’t.
Apple’s current selection of laptops is really upsetting to this lifelong Mac user. It’s really all over the place and the very sort of confused selection Steve Jobs DESPISED.
We’ve entered the Intel Core M fanless computer age. Asus decided to celebrate it by offering a $699 ultrabook with a plenty sharp 1080p 13 inch screen and very close to this MacBook’s spec.
Apple decided to ‘force touch’ some bells and whistles into this MacBook to double the price. Sure, this will help them build more retail stores in China, and stockpile more money outside of America, but what in the hell ever happened to ‘the computer for the rest of us’?
We don’t need retina on a 12 inch display. That’s like having a 50 inch 4K TV set — POINTLESS. It’s not big enough to show you the difference. I’m telling you I’ve briefly owned this aforementioned Asus Zenbook and 1080p is beautiful enough people.
What we needed was a 1080p 13 inch fanless Intel Core M ‘MacBook’ (256 SSD/8 GBs RAM) for $999. This is essentially that Asus needlessly marked up — but I wouldn’t complain for Apple doing so.
The reason why I’m returning the Asus is Windows. I’ve been playing with Windows for months in VirtualBox. Frankly I prefer two Linux distros but I thought I’d ‘survive’ with Windows 8.1.
I made ‘Classic Shell’ alterations to the system and such to avoid the entire metro tiles fiasco, but at the end of the day, Windows kept screwing up basic things. I transferred some files from a Mac to this Asus, and Windows couldn’t stop asking me to be wary of them. There was a click box to do this and it wouldn’t take.
So many things like this are simply broken in Windows that Apple can ask what it wants for its computers. I had no idea Windows sucked THAT much. Function keys that don’t perform the function on them but secondary functions. Really Redmond?!? This is 2015. You’ve have 2.5 years to patch this crap.
So Apple leaves me no choice to get this MacBook as a replacement. Because the product I want simply doesn’t exist. Sigh.
WHERE”S THE NEW MAC PRO?!!
“New MacBook will drive Apple’s notebook growth in 2015”
Wow, this is in sharp contrast to headlines of just more than a week ago. I can’t count the articles that predicted a “Fail”, and “Terrible design” and “What, only one port??”
I believe this new MacBook will be a huge success as a computer that’s lighter, longer-lasting between charges, and less cluttered with ports that many portable users don’t need. Such users will probably appreciate that they don’t have to pay extra for processing power they don’t need as well. There are lots of other Apple portables that fit the needs of so-called “power users.” When it comes to marketing, Apple knows what it’s doing.