Apple to unveil new laptops on November 10

The iPhone maker is expected to roll out new products using its own silicon chips after ending a 16-year-old partnership with Intel

Apple's Mac Pro on display during the Worldwide Developer Conference in San Jose in June last year. AFP

After rolling out new iPhones, iPads, smartwatches, subscription services and home pod in the last two months, Apple has “one more thing” to unveil at a November 10 virtual event.

Market analysts expect the Cupertino-based tech giant to launch three new laptops that include a 33-centimetre MacBook Air and two different MacBook Pro models (33cm and 40.6cm). The company is expected to launch an Apple laptop with its own Arm-based silicon chips, ending a 16-year partnership with Intel. These will be similar to chips that Apple uses for iPhones and iPads.

"Presumably Apple had this event planned anyway irrespective of the poor reaction to its Q3 numbers but for Apple investors it could offer some welcome distraction," said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group. "Enthusiasm in Apple stock was muted in first reaction to what is probably the first MacBook powered by its own chips rather than Intel."

Apple's share price closed 0.083 per cent down on Monday to $108.77.

Apple's processor is slated to be faster than Intel's and prolongs battery life, according to industry experts. Intel processors rely on complex sets of instructions, whereas the Arm technology uses only one cycle to execute a command.

Apple said it would make the transition to its own chip at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. It said the complete transition could take up to two years.

"The first thing this will do is give the Mac a whole new level of performance," Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, said in June.

This will also give Apple more control over its personal computer segment, allowing the company to better align its software and hardware like it does with its iPhones.

"iOS and iPadOS applications will be able to run natively on MacOS in the future, making it easier for Apple's 23 million developer partners to create applications across all Apple products," Katy Huberty, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, wrote in a note to investors earlier this year.

In parallel, South Korean rival Samsung has started the mass production of components for the new smartphones in the Galaxy S21 series, according to a media report.

Samsung is expected to launch a new line-up of its premium Galaxy S series smartphones in January, the first major release by the South Korean firm next year.

Traditionally, Samsung is known for releasing the S series phones in February but the company is planning an early launch in 2021 to stay ahead of its rivals and secure more market share, industry analysts said.