Apple Unveils New Macs, TV App
October 27 2016 - 2:50PM
Dow Jones News
Apple Inc. introduced new versions of its Macintosh personal
computers Thursday, betting that smaller, thinner models and a
touch screen on the keyboard will reverse declining sales.
At an event at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, Apple
unveiled new versions of its MacBook Pro laptops. The new models
include Apple's TouchID fingerprint reader, which has been included
on its iPhones since 2013. The new models also replaced the
so-called function keys at the top of the keyboard with a new
screen called Touch Bar that will offer different functions as
different software is used.
The new machines marked the first major upgrades of some Mac
computers in several years. As the product line aged, Mac sales
have fallen. In Apple's recently completed fiscal year, Mac sales
totaled $22.8 billion, down 10.4% from a year earlier.
Ahead of the Mac presentation, Apple unveiled a new video app
that allows users to access and watch shows and movies from
multiple apps on Apple TV, iPhone and iPad.
The app, called TV, helps users keep track of what programs they
are watching and find the next show in that series. In addition,
Apple showed off a feature that allows users to use its
voice-controlled assistant Siri to find live news and sporting
events across their apps.
The TV app will be available in December as free software
updates for Apple TV, iPhone and iPad customers in the U.S. Live
tune-in with Siri is available today, Apple said.
Meanwhile, Macs have been losing ground to other personal
computers. Market researcher Gartner Inc. said Mac unit shipments
declined 11.3% in the second quarter, compared with a 5.1% decline
for the rest of the market. The decline in Mac sales accelerated in
the third quarter, falling 17%, Apple said Tuesday.
Analysts said Apple needed to give consumers reasons to upgrade
their machines. "Apple's available market is pretty much
saturated," said Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa. She noted that
Macs generally cost more than other PCs. "Apple is not for
everybody."
Introduced in 1984, the Macintosh was the defining product of
the company that Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built.
Over the past nine years, however, it has been eclipsed by the
iPhone, which now accounts for 63% of the company's revenue. In
2007, the former Apple Computer Inc. dropped the word "computer"
from its name.
The Macintosh made up just 12% of Apple's revenue during its
most recent quarter. Still, if it were a separate company, it would
rank 124th on the Fortune 500 list, bigger than such stalwarts as
Starbucks Corp. Southwest Airlines Co. or Eli Lilly & Co.
George Stahl contributed to this article.
Write to Robert McMillan at Robert.Mcmillan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 27, 2016 14:35 ET (18:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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