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Apple (AAPL) Acknowledges Issues in Latest MacBook Keyboard

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Per Verge, Apple (AAPL - Free Report) admitted that its butterfly keyboard mechanism continues to trouble a small portion of third-generation MacBook users. The company’s apology came in response to an article by Joanna Stern on The Wall Street Journal.

Notably, the presence of dirt inside the keys often leads to repetition of letters. At times, a letter does not appear when the corresponding key is pressed. Also, in some cases, the key(s) do not respond in a consistent manner

This comes after Apple promised to replace or repair faulty MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards free of cost for products having warranty up to four years last June.

While Apple’s flagship product, iPhone, is experiencing weak demand, sluggish PC market is also hurting MacBook sales. Notably, worldwide PC shipments declined 3.7% year over year in the final quarter of 2018, per IDC.

Apple Inc. Revenue (TTM)

 

Apple Inc. Revenue (TTM) | Apple Inc. Quote

Will Upgraded iMac Aid Growth?

Apple recently bolstered its iMac line-up, which is expected to deliver superior performance in terms of computing and graphics.  

The 21.5-inch iMac features 8th-generation quad-core, and for the first time, 6-core processors, which will help it perform up to 60% faster. Additionally, the 27-inch iMac, which can deliver up to 2.4 times faster performance, will be available in two variants (9th-generation 6-core and 8-core processors).

Notably, the iMac features Intel’s -core 9th-generation processors and Radeon Pro Vega graphics from Advanced Micro Devices.

Services Growth to Drive Momentum

Apple is increasingly banking on high-margin services business to drive top-line. The company unveiled a host of services on Mar 25 namely Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Credit Card and Apple Arcade.

Apple’s streaming service, Apple TV+, hogged the limelight as the company had earlier piqued investors' interest with its high-profile deals with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Aniston to name a few.

Notably, Apple TV+ will include original programming and content from other providers like Showtime, HBO and CBS Access in order to survive competition from players like Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) and Disney’s (DIS - Free Report) upcoming streaming service.

This apart, Apple’s efforts to grow revenues from the wearables market is evident as it is introducing features and software updates on Apple Watch.

This may help the company maintain its leadership position in the wearables market and boost services revenues. Notably, Apple enjoyed a dominant position in fourth-quarter 2018, with the help of its Watch Series, HealthKit and the Health app per IDC.

Apple currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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