More than one in four Apple notebooks sold in October were MacBook Airs, according to figures from research company, NPD and Morgan Stanley.
The share, 28%, is a significant rise from the first six months of 2011, when the Air accounted for only 8% of Apple notebook sales. Since then, the Air has been updated with faster processors, better graphics and a Thunderbolt port. The figures show that the Air’s share of Macbook sales rose from 8% to 22% immediately after the update. It’s been rising steadily since.
Recent reports suggest that Apple sees the Air’s slim chassis, solid state storage, and lack of optical drive as a template for its entire notebook line-up. And a Digitimes said this week that Apple’s component suppliers have recently fulfilled an order for a small number of parts for a 15in ultra-thin notebook.
‘The new MacBook is expected to appear as early as the second quarter of 2012, according to sources from the upstream supply chain,’ wrote Digitimes. ‘Estimated by the product planning, mass shipments of the notebook device will start in March and could be cataloged in either the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro line.’
