KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo via MacRumors:
We expect Apple (US) to roll out the new MacBook Air with a lower price tag in 2Q18. We forecast total shipments of MacBook models will grow 10-15% YoY in 2018 (vs. 0-5% YoY decline for the NB industry), up from 15.5-16mn units in 2017. While Quanta, Radiant, Catcher and SZS are likely to benefit from strong shipments momentum, SZS also stands to benefit from increased market share and a higher ASP.
While the internals of the MacBook Air haven’t been substantially improved since 2015, I think it is safe to bet that the 13-inch, non-Retina notebook is still selling quite well. I would love to see Apple shave some off of its $999 price point and move beyond the Broadwell CPUs the machine uses, but my guess we’ll get one or the other, if anything.