Apple unveils new-look MacBook Pro notebooks.
Fanswaitedmore than a year for the Cupertino company to refresh its notebook lineup
CUPERTINO — Apple on Thursday unveiled a refreshed lineup of notebook computers targeted at professionals in a bid to jump-start flagging Mac sales.
At least some of the new MacBook Pro computers feature an innovative touch-sensitive strip-shaped screen above the keyboard, in place of the traditional function keys. That area, dubbed Touch Bar by Apple, is designed to display different keys and functions depending on the programs owners are using or the activities they are doing.
But the new computers won’t come cheap. The entry level model, which doesn’t have a Touch Bar, will cost $1,500. Models with the new touchsensitive display will start at $1,800.
While the Touch Bar is an interesting innovation, those prices will likely limit the appeal of the new computers, said Bob O’Donnell, president and chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research.
“It’s a little disappointing that they start the line at $1,500,” O’Donnell said. “They really are focused on the high end.”
The new Macs were long in coming. Apple hadn’t refreshed the MacBook Pro lineup in more than a year.
The new notebooks, some of which will go on sale immediately, come as Apple’s computer business has been slumping amid a struggling overall market for PCs. In its most recent quarter, Apple shipped 4.8 million computers, which was down 14 percent from the same period a year earlier. By contrast, the overall worldwide PC market shrank 3.9 percent in the quarter, according to IDC.
It’s unclear whether the new laptops will limit that decline.
The company did not announce updates to any of its other computer lines, many of which are also getting similarly long in the tooth.
In addition to the new computers, Apple also announced a new video app for its Apple TV streaming device, iPhones and iPads. Dubbed simply “TV,” the new app, which the company plans to release in December, is designed to allow users to quickly find and tune in movies and TV shows from multiple video services.
The app will allow users to quickly restart videos they had paused, will suggest videos to watch based on their viewing history and will allow them to tune into live programming by simply telling Siri that they want to “watch” a station or event.
Users will also be able to use the app to resume watching programs on their television, say, that they had previously started on their iPads.
The app will be open to other companies that can connect their video apps to it. At the press event here, Apple showed the TV app connecting to HBO, Showtime and Hulu’s services.