Apple ships over 1 million MacBook Airs in new notebook's first quarter
The streamlined and lightweight family of MacBook Airs introduced by Apple late last year are a hit with consumers, who combined to demand shipments of more than 1 million of the new notebooks during the fourth quarter of last year.
Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tells AppleInsider that his most recent checks in Asia indicate Apple shipped a total of 1.1 million of its 11- and 13-inch MacBook Airs during the three-month period ending December, making the new breed of ultra-thin portables one of the company's most successful Mac product launches ever.
Those figures are about 63% higher, or 400,000 units more, than the 700,000 units that Kuo had initially estimated. The figures also support an earlier claim by AppleInsider that the new MacBook Airs quickly grew to comprise more than a third Mac maker's notebook business in the fourth quarter, selling at a 1 to 2 ratio to the company's flagship MacBook Pro offerings.
For example, Apple, which doesn't break down its Mac or device sales by product family for competitive reasons, said it shipped just over 2.9 million notebook systems during the fourth quarter of 2010. At 1.1 million units, the new MacBook Airs captured a 40% slice of the company's notebook business and accounted for just over a quarter of its Mac business as a whole.
Sales of MacBook Airs remain robust during the current quarter but are tracking down about 40% from the levels seen in their introductory quarter to just shy of 700,000 units according to Kuo. However, he estimates the Cupertino-based company may still set a new Mac sales record during the quarter with strong sales of its new MacBook Pros more than offsetting the decline in MacBook Air units.
In particular, he said, discussions with Apple's suppliers indicate the company's build plans call for the manufacture of upwards of 4.5 million Mac systems during the three-month period ending March. At those rates, Apple is likely to stand out as the only worldwide PC vendor to report material growth on a quarter-to-quarter basis, he added.
Brisk sales of the new MacBook Airs only serve to fortify claims that the design of the new portables can be seen as a harbinger for the future direction of Apple's other notebook families, which are similarly expected to adopt smaller footprints and shed yesteryear technologies -- such as hard disk and optical drives -- by the second half of 2012.
Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tells AppleInsider that his most recent checks in Asia indicate Apple shipped a total of 1.1 million of its 11- and 13-inch MacBook Airs during the three-month period ending December, making the new breed of ultra-thin portables one of the company's most successful Mac product launches ever.
Those figures are about 63% higher, or 400,000 units more, than the 700,000 units that Kuo had initially estimated. The figures also support an earlier claim by AppleInsider that the new MacBook Airs quickly grew to comprise more than a third Mac maker's notebook business in the fourth quarter, selling at a 1 to 2 ratio to the company's flagship MacBook Pro offerings.
For example, Apple, which doesn't break down its Mac or device sales by product family for competitive reasons, said it shipped just over 2.9 million notebook systems during the fourth quarter of 2010. At 1.1 million units, the new MacBook Airs captured a 40% slice of the company's notebook business and accounted for just over a quarter of its Mac business as a whole.
Sales of MacBook Airs remain robust during the current quarter but are tracking down about 40% from the levels seen in their introductory quarter to just shy of 700,000 units according to Kuo. However, he estimates the Cupertino-based company may still set a new Mac sales record during the quarter with strong sales of its new MacBook Pros more than offsetting the decline in MacBook Air units.
In particular, he said, discussions with Apple's suppliers indicate the company's build plans call for the manufacture of upwards of 4.5 million Mac systems during the three-month period ending March. At those rates, Apple is likely to stand out as the only worldwide PC vendor to report material growth on a quarter-to-quarter basis, he added.
Brisk sales of the new MacBook Airs only serve to fortify claims that the design of the new portables can be seen as a harbinger for the future direction of Apple's other notebook families, which are similarly expected to adopt smaller footprints and shed yesteryear technologies -- such as hard disk and optical drives -- by the second half of 2012.
Comments
MacBooks Air vs. MacBook Airs.
At the expense of WhiteBook sales. Those weren't doing very well once the 13" MBP dropped in price. Ever since the 11" MBA, they've really been stagnant. I'm not sure the WhiteBook will be with us much longer.
Not that I think Apple will do it, but IMO the whitebook is more suited for a lower price like 799.
My 3-month old 13" MBA is a treat to use each time. I actually end up using it more than my 27" i7 iMac now. The SSD setup makes my MBA much faster for everyday use. Phenomenal machine.
Totally agree. It's the best computer I've ever owned. In everyday use (excluding gaming) it's the fastest, most responsive computer I've ever used too.
The only thing I miss is dual monitors when I'm docked.
Let the eternal debate begin!
MacBooks Air vs. MacBook Airs.
There is no debate for anyone with rudimentary English skills. The product name is ?MacBook Air? so you pluralize the end of the product name, not in the middle.
At the expense of WhiteBook sales. Those weren't doing very well once the 13" MBP dropped in price. Ever since the 11" MBA, they've really been stagnant. I'm not sure the WhiteBook will be with us much longer.
Not that I think Apple will do it, but IMO the whitebook is more suited for a lower price like 799.
Guys, why not call it a MacBook, it?s the only one in its category?
My 3-month old 13" MBA is a treat to use each time. I actually end up using it more than my 27" i7 iMac now. The SSD setup makes my MBA much faster for everyday use. Phenomenal machine.
The great sales of these, plus the lack of a case change for the current MBP update tells me that we?ll see a MBA-like redesign of the next MBPs. Which should mean a 2.5? space for a HDD/SSD, with a space for a mini-PCIe SSD card, but with a slim tapered design and the removable of the optical drive which could lead to an ≥ battery capacity and dGPU in the 13? model.
Also, they didn?t do any event for these last MBPs so maybe this will be the oddball 6 month revision coming in August/September, a month before the new iPods are launch, but with a proper event to show them off and how they are so well tied to Mac OS X Lion. Here?s hoping...
My 3-month old 13" MBA is a treat to use each time. I actually end up using it more than my 27" i7 iMac now. The SSD setup makes my MBA much faster for everyday use. Phenomenal machine.
Genuine question: Did you consider the 13" MBP with BTO 128GB SSD? or was size/weight the driving factor?
Not that I think Apple will do it, but IMO the whitebook is more suited for a lower price like 799.
I agree completely, and you're right Apple will probably not do it but I think dropping the mb to $799 would open the door to buyers that otherwise would not be able to experience mac osx and how wonderful it is.
If they can somehow retain their margins by leaving the hardware where it is, I think it's a great move.
There is no debate for anyone with rudimentary English skills.
We agree up to this point.
The product name is ?MacBook Air? so you pluralize the end of the product name, not in the middle.
MacBook is a noun. Air is used as an adjective. The noun gets the 's' and the adjective doesn't.
I want a 15" MacBook Air.
I agree completely, and you're right Apple will probably not do it but I think dropping the mb to $799 would open the door to buyers that otherwise would not be able to experience mac osx and how wonderful it is.
If they can somehow retain their margins by leaving the hardware where it is, I think it's a great move.
Yeah, of course lowering the price opens the door to new buyers, but neither you nor tipoo have made a case for this being advantageous for Apple. Are you sure they can still get a good profit at that price point? How are you sure that they aren?t selling as many as they can make at $999? If $799 is good then $599 is even better, and $399 is even better than that, and $199 is better still, which makes throwing out a number because you like the way it looks a fruitless way to form an argument for a company lowering their price.
When looking at an iMac, one should consider the largest screen available. When looking at a laptop, one should consider the lightest with the best battery power. The MBA's are powerful enough to handle 95% of the tasks users need now. Basic photo, music, video management, email and surfing the web. Look at the iPad2's ability to edit video. That is amazing.
Anyway, the "debates" here eventually get resolved by Apple. Remember how many people thought there was too much "overlap" with iPad, or glossy screens, etc., etc.
PS. I do think a backlit keyboard is needed in the MBA's. Perhaps in the next iteration. Perhaps the new 15" MBA will have the backlit keyboard and then it will "dribble" down to the others in the MBA line!
We agree up to this point.
MacBook is a noun. Air is used as an adjective. The noun gets the 's' and the adjective doesn't.
I want a 15" MacBook Air.
In your logic then it should be MacsBook Air because Book is an adjective describing the type of Mac it is.
PS: Look on Apple?s site, the category for their notebooks is called MacBook, but the product is called a fucking MacBook Air.
....a fucking MacBook Air.
'lax, Bro.
In your logic then it should be MacsBook Air because Book is an adjective describing the type of Mac it is.
PS: Look on Apple?s site, the category for their notebooks is called MacBook, but the product is called a fucking MacBook Air.
Now I *have* seen everything.
Totally agree. It's the best computer I've ever owned. In everyday use (excluding gaming) it's the fastest, most responsive computer I've ever used too.
The only thing I miss is dual monitors when I'm docked.
11" here and loving it. Of all the Apple computers I've owned over the years, this is my fav. For surfing, mail, word processing, spreadsheet and presentation work, I don't feel like I've sacrificed antyhing, yet the form-factor is tiny! And for me, Starcraft II plays as fast as any other computer of mine. Sure screen is small, but it's still a great experience.
We agree up to this point.
MacBook is a noun. Air is used as an adjective. The noun gets the 's' and the adjective doesn't.
I want a 15" MacBook Air.
MacBook Air is the entire name.
Do you buy Blu-Ray players or Blu-Rays players?