MacBook unlikely to surpass 450,000 in sales during 1H15, says report

The new 12-inch MacBook recently announced from Apple that is set to be released on April 10 is unlikely to see more than 450,000 in sales during the first half of 2015 due to limited demand for notebooks coupled with slowdowns in production of Retina display panels, according to Taiwan-based Tech News.

The report quoted findings from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and further revealed that in addition to weak demand for notebooks in the first half, there has been a slowdown in Retina display production from the two main panel suppliers LG Display and Samsung Display.

Production has been off to a slow start and a reported 160,000 units have only been assembled so far by Quanta, using panels from Samsung Display. Mass production is expected to pick up in April, however, when LG Display will start producing 120,000 displays for the device per month.

Initial supply of the MacBook will be limited but will pick up throughout the first half, the report added.