14 DAY TRIAL // As to the recent Mac hardware upgrades, MacsimumNews cites an “Underwhelming” response on behalf of the analyst community. Researchers also weighed in on the laptop vs. desktop equation, while almost every voice suggested Apple doesn't know what "low price" really means.
“I don’t think this is a big deal,” said Brian Marshall, an equity analyst with Broadpoint AmTech. “We expected this to happen at Macworld … It’s nice to see the consumers are getting higher performance products at equal or lower price points. I think, over time, hardware is deflationary in nature, so we’ll see those prices come down.”
An analyst with Technology Business Research chimed in saying, “No surprises. This is exactly what you’d expect from Apple, more stuff for the same price. But for anyone expecting them to be a little more price-conscious, it’s underwhelming … Another thing they’ve done across the entire line is to equip it with fairly hefty graphics. They did that not only to be competitive, but also because when Snow Leopard launches, there will be the opportunity to make a bunch of applications run much faster … I don’t think Apple is getting the price thing,” said Ezra Gottheil. When asked for his overall impression of the refresh, Gottheil concluded, “'Underwhelming,' that's how I'd put it.”
Gottheil added that Apple seems to be losing interest in desktops, as sales are focused in the portable segment.
“That might have been one of the driving causes for the delay in getting them out,” Gottheil added, regarding the desktop refresh. “This does seem like a long wait for a set of not-really-newsworthy upgrades,” he said. “But at the same time, desktops are so yesterday. If the market is moving to notebooks, the market is moving to notebooks, and nothing Apple can do will change that.”
Yair Reiner, Oppenheimer analyst, said that “Nothing earth-shattering here but in a time when price and value are of increasing significance the refresh definitely puts Apple at the head of that comparison.” The report also includes a statement coming from Calyon Securities analyst Shebly Seyrafi, who believes that “[Apple] increased the performance but didn’t lower the price. I question whether that is the right business move in today’s environment where I think customers want lower prices.”