New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS): At a time when the demand for high-end, premium laptops is witnessing a surge in the country as business and creative professionals stay home, Apple which has gained substantial ground with its Mac laptops in India is set to witness a keen interest for the newly-launched MacBook Air especially from new consumers, according to industry watchers.
Apple saw a very strong double-digit growth for Mac in its June quarter globally despite early supply constraints and India is no exception.
According to industry experts, the customer response to the new MacBook Air with Magic Keyboard has been extremely strong in the country as not only those who are on the Mac ecosystem but also new consumers have shown keen interest in the premium offering.
"The big contributing factors are super fan following and impeccable loyalty towards Apple Mac laptops. People into gaming, creative designing, video editing and other content creators like in the field of social media are hooked to Mac laptops and MacBook Air with Magic Keyboard is a fantastic choice for them," Jaipal Singh, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India, told IANS.
The new 13-inch MacBook Air starts from Rs 92,990 in India and offers faster performance with 10th-generation Intel Core processors and Intel Iris Plus Graphics, twice the storage capacity, 13-inch Retina display with True Tone technology, Touch ID, Force Touch trackpad and nearly an all-day battery life.
According to Singh, Apple has done well in the Mac segment and the Indian users are looking forward to upgrading to the new device for one big reason: Magic Keyword.
The new back-lit Magic Keyboard uses a refined scissor mechanism that locks into the keycap at the top of travel to mitigate wobble and provide a stable key feel. The keys sit visibly higher and also feel more substantial.
An Apple-designed rubber dome sits underneath the keycap and delivers a responsive and satisfying key press by preserving more potential energy than in previous designs.
All this ensures a never-seen-before comfortable and quiet typing experience.
The new Magic Keyboard also features an inverted-T arrangement for arrow keys, making it easier to navigate through spreadsheets or play games without having to look down.
A recent survey of consumers from 451 Research measured customer satisfaction at 96 per cent for Mac globally.
About three out of four customers that are buying the Mac are new consumers.
"Indians are investing more on premium, light/thin laptops and the premium segment is witnessing an uptick in the work-from-home environment. Laptops with better specs and reliability are seeing a great demand and MacBook Air is only going to supplement this," said Singh.