Apple (AAPL) Analyst Kuo Sees 2 New MacBook Pro Models With All-New Design in Q3

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TFI Asset Management, believes Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) will launch new MacBook Pro models in the third quarter of this year with an all-new design form factor.

Amid the accelerated digital transformation and a structural shift to notebooks from the traditional PC stations, Kuo expects total MacBook shipments to grow significantly by 25–30% year-over-year to 20 million units in 2021.

“Benefited from the replacement demand of new models, we predict that the total MacBook shipments will significantly grow by 25-30% YoY to 20 mn units in 2021 (vs. 10-15% YoY to 16 mn units in 2020). We estimate that the all-new design MacBook Pro models will account for 60–70% of overall MacBook shipments in 2021,” Kuo wrote in today’s note.

Given that the new models are likely to be equipped with higher thermal specifications than the existing 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air units, Kup argues that the heat pipe sector is facing will continue to benefit from overall shipment growth.

“We predict that the two all-new design MacBook Pro models will use the heat pipe thermal design of the existing 16-inch MacBook Pro. Their specifications are significantly better than the current 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Therefore, heat pipe suppliers will benefit from two strong drivers, including the growth of end product shipments and the upgrade of specifications.”

On iPhones, Kuo says that the latest data points towards Apple aggressively testing the vapor chamber (VC) thermal system for its flagship smartphone.

“Our latest survey indicates that Apple is still aggressively testing the VC for iPhone. We believe that high-end iPhone models need to be equipped with VC for higher thermal requirements due to their stronger computing power and faster 5G connection speeds in the future. The iPhone's critical reason not to adopt VC is because of its reliability test results that cannot meet Apple's high requirements. Still, we are optimistic about the VC reliability improvement schedule and expect that at least high-end iPhone models would be equipped with VC in the near future,” concludes Kuo.

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