The New Year has not heralded great news for Apple. The Cupertino-tech giant's shares plunged below $500 Tuesday amid recent reports of weaker-than-expected demand for Apple products. However, there are some reasons to cheer for iDevice fans, as the company reportedly has a lot to offer this year.
KGI Securities' analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, has come out with his Apple hardware predictions for 2013, which include a bevy of new iOS and Mac product releases. Kuo, who has a very good track record for predicting future Apple products, has pinned his hopes on the new line of products in bringing market dominance back into Apple's hands.
According to Kuo, Apple will bring a low-cost iPhone 5 to the smartphone market in 2013 in addition to an upgraded iPhone 5S, second-gen iPad mini with Retina display, a redesigned fifth-generation iPad and all-Retina MacBook Pros among others. Here is a detailed take, as reported by Mac Rumors, on the major products predicted by Kuo.
iPhones: The analyst expects two iPhone variants to make an entry in 2013. The recently reported low-cost iPhone 5 will hit the market sometime in June or July. The inexpensive version of its flagship product is predicted to be a slightly revamped new design iPhone 5, which will be available in six colors, thanks to a slightly thicker (8.2 mm vs. the current 7.6 mm) plastic chassis. The next-generation iPhones 5S is expected to see a launch at around the same time much similar to the current model, but will have a slew of new features including a built-in fingerprint sensor, A7 system-on-a-chip for improved performance, improved camera and a smart LED flash.
iPad and iPad mini: According to the analyst, Apple will bring Retina display to iPad mini. Both devices, the full-size iPad and iPad mini, are expected to have an update during the third quarter of the year. The fifth-generation iPad will have a lighter frame and will feature a more refined look, taking a cue from the narrow bezels seen on the iPad mini.
MacBook Pro and MacBook Air: Apple is expected to end its non-Retina stint with MacBook Pros and the year 2013 will see an all-Retina MacBook Pro lineup. It's further estimated that Apple may slash the prices for power-up demand and would bring in a design tweak for the thinner Retina MacBook Pros. However, the Retina Display may not come to the 2013 MacBook Air lineup due to its relative thickness. MacBook Air will upgrade to Intel's forthcoming Haswell platform sometime in the second quarter of the year.
Desktops: Kuo predicts that the iMac machines will upgrade to Haswell platform in the fourth quarter but he does not see the possibility of Retina Display coming to iMac and Mac mini lineup in 2013.
iPod touch: According to the analyst, the company will likely retire the fourth-generation iPod touch this year, and will unveil a revamped 8 GB fifth-generation version with no rear camera at $199.
