There haven’t been a whole lot of recent rumors about Apple’s next MacBook update, but with Intel’s new Haswell processors already shipping to manufacturers, and set to launch very soon, it appears that new MacBooks could launch within the next few months.
According to a new report from DigiTimes, Apple’s quarterly MacBook shipments are likely to grow 10% over the current quarter – and part of that increase will be due to the launch of new Macs based on Intel’s new chips. The report notes that Apple is currently working through their excess MacBook inventory, and that new Haswell-based models are set for production in mid-May.
Apple’s MacBook shipments in the second quarter are expected to grow 10% sequentially as the company has almost finished digesting its excess inventory and should start placing new orders in mid-May, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
The orders in May are expected to be mainly Haswell-based models, the sources noted.
At first glance, this appears to conflict with comments made by Tim Cook during Apple’s recent quarterly conference call, suggesting that things would be quiet at Apple for most of this year – but it’s quite possible that Cook was mainly referring to new products. If the new Haswell-based MacBooks are launched as a refresh to existing models rather than as new redesigned models, they may not have figured into his comments.
It’s also worth noting that, even if brand new redesigned MacBooks are launched in May or June, Apple would still seem to be moving at a slower pace than normal due to their lack of hardware releases over the past six months or so. All in all, the report actually seems likely to me – Apple does tend to be pretty fast to adopt Intel’s latest chips in the MacBook line.
Prior reports have suggested a June launch for new MacBook hardware, with some reports, including one from the highly-accurate and well-sourced analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, have suggested that Apple will likely unveil significant redesigns for their MacBooks as well, and will possibly offer only Retina-equipped MacBook Pros moving forward. A revamped MacBook Air, possibly with a Retina display, has also been claimed as being set for a launch in the third quarter.
Could we see new MacBooks in time for WWDC – or perhaps new models introduced at the event? It’s certainly a possibility – and given that MacBooks haven’t been updated in a while, I’d go so far as to claim it’s actually quite likely. In addition to the new, faster Haswell chips, updated MacBooks are also expected to feature new Thunderbolt controllers with 4K support, as well as super-fast 802.11AC WiFi capabilities.
