Well known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities has published a new investors note, giving us a look into the Mac line for 2017. Kuo says all Mac notebooks will be updated this year to Intel’s Kaby Lake processors, in addition to a 15-inch MacBook Pro with 32GB of RAM.
During CES 2017, Intel announced its new 7th generation Kaby Lake processors and Kuo believes that he 12-inch MacBook will be the first Mac computer to come with the new chipset. Mass production will kick off in Q2 and the device will have a 16GB RAM option.
Also, in early Q3, both the 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pros will be upgraded to the Kaby Lake processors.
Finally, Kuo says Apple will add a new configuration to the 15-inch MacBook Pro lineup that will offer desktop-class 32GB of RAM. The new machine will use desktop memory in an effort to satisfy its top-end users.
In terms of growth, Kuo predicts that Mac shipments will grow in 2017 and cites production delays as the main reason for slow growth in 2017 as demand for the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is “better than expected.”
Unfortunately, the 13-inch MacBook Pro without Touch Bar is performing worse than Apple expected. Because of this, Apple plans on cutting the price of the machine in order to improve sales, Kuo says.
