Apple rolls-out new MacBook Air for Dh4,199

Consumers can place orders through Apple's website or app

Starting with 256GB of storage, new MacBook Air allows customers to store even more movies, photos and files. Courtesy Apple

Apple rolled-out the latest MacBook Air, with faster performance and increased storage, on Wednesday as it looked to attract new customers.

Priced Dh4,199, the new laptop computer delivers up to two times faster performance and a graphics performance that is up to 80 per cent quicker, the company said in a statement.

“Today we are giving it [MacBook Air] a huge update, with two times faster performance, the new magic keyboard, double the storage and a new lower price,” said Tom Boger, Apple’s senior director of Mac and iPad product marketing.

The MacBook Air has 256GB of storage and comes with a touch ID for easy login and secure online purchases.

MacBook Air's latest update comes as laptops find renewed appeal amongst consumers.

Personal computers – including laptops, desktops and tablets – enjoyed a 0.6 per cent increase in sales in 2019 after seven consecutive years of decline, according to US-based research firm Gartner.

Global PC shipments totalled more than 261 million units last year, an increase of almost 1.5 million on 2018.

However, Apple, which launched a new Mac Pro in December – its first desktop upgrade in six years – did not benefit from this industry-wide growth. Its shipments declined almost 1 per cent in 2019, Gartner found.

The new MacBook Air is already available to order on Apple.com and through the Apple Store app. It will be available in stores when they reopen next week, the company said. Last week, Apple closed all of its stores outside Greater China until March 27 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The new Macbook Air has a 33.02 centimetre retina display that delivers over 4 million pixels and millions of colours.

The new machine also comes with the T2 security chip, the company’s own custom-designed second-generation chipset, which checks that software loaded during the boot process has not been tampered with.

Apple also announced a new iPad Pro on Wednesday, which is reportedly faster than most Windows PC laptops, the company said in a statement.

“The new iPad Pro introduces advanced technologies never before available in mobile computing,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing.

“Combining the most advanced mobile display with powerful performance, pro cameras and pro audio, this is another huge leap forward for iPad. There’s no other device in the world like the new iPad Pro,” he added.

The launch of other new products is less certain as supply chains are disrupted due to the coronavirus outbreak. Analysts have warned that there could be a delay in Apple's 5G phone launch after the virus outbreak led to a halt in industrial activity in China - a key production hub for Apple.