Microsoft unveiled a host of new and interesting products this year, but it looks like Apple might be poised to overtake the Windows juggernaut in 2017. This prediction comes courtesy of Gartner, the market research firm. According to Gartner, shipments of Windows devices will taper off gradually in 2017, leaving room for Apple’s MacOS and iOS devices to catch up to their Windows counterparts in 2017 and 2018. That may be good news for Apple, but according to Computer World, it isn’t good news for the market as a whole.
The sales numbers quoted by Computer World illustrate that Apple could likely catch up to and overtake Microsoft in total device sales in 2017, but it will be part of a larger downward trend for the global devices market.
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Gartner research analyst Ranjit Atwal stated unequivocally that the global market for mobile devices is “stagnating,” and that the “PC Market is just reaching the bottom of its decline.” It’s a pretty gloomy outlook for the global market as a whole, predicting a global decline and a period of stagnation from 2017 to at least 2019. Though there could be a silver lining, for one part of the world anyway. According to Gartner’s numbers, shipments of mobile devices are up in Asia, and throughout the Pacific region.
Microsoft will be hit hard by the sales slump, Gartner predicts, with most of its product lines dependent on the shipment of Windows 10. With PC sales down globally, Windows 10 just isn’t moving into as many hands as Microsoft would prefer, despite strong showings in late 2016 with the Surface Studio and upcoming Creators Update.
Apple, on the other hand, has a more diversified slate of products on its hands, and despite facing criticism for the frankly underwhelming MacBook Pro refresh, Apple mobile devices are likely to enjoy a slight uptick in 2016 and 2017. Gartner predicts Apple will ship 27 million more devices than Microsoft by 2019.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.