Apple released its latest computers and tablets last week, almost simultaneously with its share price falling by 7% as the market reacted to its latest results. The fall came in response to Apple’s flat smartphone sales figures after the latest iPhone release.
This suggests that Apple is not able to grow sales due to low innovation levels and resultant low consumer motivation to buy the latest devices. Despite this, the company’s computer upgrades have been welcomed by those who use the previous generations.
The new MacBook Air is the first update to the computer in almost four years. The latest edition has received a few adjustments from the previous generation.
The MacBook Retina Display quadruples the number of pixels, compared to the previous generation, while the display size has been bumped up from 13 to 13.3 inches, due to the aluminium bezel being replaced with a thinner black glass bezel, similar to the rest of the MacBook line.
A TouchID fingerprint sensor and butterfly keyboard keep the MacBook Air in line with the rest of the MacBook Pro line. Type-C ports replace most other ports, including the MagSafe charging port and Thunderbolt 2 ports.
The new Mac mini also received its first update in almost four years, introducing major hardware upgrades.
With quad- or 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core CPUs, the Mac mini could be anything from an affordable office Mac to a powerful video rendering computer. A T2 chip transcodes – live conversion – HEVC video up to 30 times faster than if they were transcoded on a typical mid-range CPU.
Connectivity is the name of the game with the new Mac mini. From left to right, it sports a 10Gbit Ethernet port, 4 USB Type-C ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, 2 standard USB 3 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The latest iPad Pro gets a new screen, maximising design, which now resembles the latest iPhone.
The TouchID home button has been removed to make room for more screen real estate, and FaceID has been added as the facial recognition method. Wireless charging is included within the edge of the iPad to charge the new Apple Pencil by magnetic attachment. A new A12X processor makes the new iPad Pro around 2 times faster than the previous generation.
Overall, under the hood of these devices, Apple seems to be driving innovation more than over the past years. However, this does not seem to be enough to satisfy investors looking for a big bang.