Apple may launch cheaper 13-inch MacBook Air, 3 iPhones in 2018

It seems that Apple, just like how it did last year, is planning to launch three iPhones in 2018. The latest information suggests that talk of Apple killing the special iPhone aka the iPhone X this year was just a talk. According to reports, the Cupertino major is gearing up to announce a huge 6.5-inch OLED iPhone with dual-SIM support, while the other two iPhones will be slightly cheaper and are tipped to come with LCD displays. Along with the iPhones, Apple is also expected to launch a cheaper variant of the 13-inch MacBook Air in 2018, suggests KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

According to what Ming-Chi Kuo, a reliable analyst at KGI Securities, believes, and as first reported by 9to5 Mac, Apple is seemingly planning to release a new MacBook Air “with a lower price tag”. The company is expected to launch the new MacBook Air version fairly soon, which indicates that it may launch the Apple’s WWDC conference in June. The report suggests that we may see the upcoming cheaper version of the 13-inch MacBook Air going official sometime around the second quarter this year.

To recall, in 2016, the company decided to officially discontinue the 11-inch MacBook Air. While in 2017, Apple updated the 13-inch MacBook Air with a modest specs bump. Now with plans to launch a cheaper variant of the 3-inch MacBook Air, Apple is seemingly looking forward to boost its laptop shipment by at least up to 10 – 15 per cent this year.

Details on the upcoming cheaper version of the MacBook Air are sparse. Currently, Apple sells the 13-inch MacBook Air at a starting price tag of $999, which is roughly around Rs 65,059. This also means that the toned down version of the 13-inch MacBook Air, which is to launch this year, will be much cheaper than this, and should cost under Rs 50,000.

The KGI Securities analyst has also managed to gather some additional supply chain details about the upcoming iPhones as well as Airpods. The report suggests that KGI is “positive” on shipments of AirPods and also predicts that Apple may also bring a refreshed model of its existing Airpods in the second half of the year. On the other hand, as for the new iPhones coming this year, Kuo says that the entry-level 6.1-inch model of 2018 iPhone lineup will make for a strong year for suppliers such as Unimicron and Apple partners Wistron and Pegatron.

In addition, Kuo also notes that demand for HomePod has been “mediocre” as of now. Overall, the analyst notes that he holds a “neutral” view on the demand of the HomePod based on “shipping time.”