DigiTimes reports that Apple is off to an aggressive start with its new MacBook Air models, having already pushed out 400,000-500,000 units in June and continuing with strong production through at least the end of August. Sources within Apple's supply chain also indicate that Apple is shooting for total notebook shipments of 13-14 million in 2011, with the possibility of hitting 15 million units.

Shipments of Apple's just released third-generation MacBook Air from the supply chain already reached 400,000-500,000 units in June and the volume is expected to remain strong throughout July and August, according to sources from Apple's upstream supply chain.

The sources estimated that Apple's MacBook series sales will reach 13-14 million units in 2011 and may even reach 15 million units, while adding that Apple is the only vendor that has provided a full shipments forecast to the first quarter of 2012 as the IT industry is being rather conservative about the overall demand in the second half of 2011.

Apple shipped 2.75 million notebooks during the first calendar quarter of 2011, and followed that up with 2.79 million in the second quarter as announced on Tuesday, putting Apple's total notebook shipments at roughly 5.55 million for the first half of the year. Consequently, it would take a very significant acceleration in shipments for Apple to push toward that 15 million mark by the end of the year, although the company's back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons remain ahead of it and the new MacBook Airs are likely to drive further sales growth.

macbook air 2011
Last year, Apple shipped 3.9 million notebooks in the first half of the year and boosted that rate by 30% in the second half of the year to 5.1 million notebooks, for a total of just over 9 million notebooks shipped in 2010. If Apple was to again boost its notebook shipments by 30% from the first half to the second half of this year, it would reach approximately 12.75 million units for 2011. So, Apple would need to have "back half" unit growth of 35-55% to hit this year's full-year target range and more like 70% growth to reach the full 15 million units.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Top Rated Comments

King Flamez1 Avatar
162 months ago
lol most companies have trouble designing products customers would buy, Apple has trouble keeping up with it's awesomeness
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Retrofire Avatar
162 months ago
my only beef of the current macbook air, is that they did not up the GPU. Yeah the new one can perform slightly better than the 320m. But I wanted something better. the new processor is great, along with everything else. But that was the deal breaker for me.

The MBA is not a MacBook Pro, AFAIK. So what do you expect? How do you cool a high performance GPU in a MBA?

I do believe these slim laptops are the future, Intel also talked about slim laptops being the future. But until they beat the previous generation, I do not yet want one.

They beat the previous generation. It is not our fault, that you ignore the published benchmarks.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
*LTD* Avatar
162 months ago
Truly an impressive product. It has been imitated by others with zero success. Can't touch it.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DerApfel Avatar
162 months ago
I'm still mourning for the polycarbonate MacBook (I know it was the ugly stepchild of OS X but it was just perfect for the average college student).

I'll stop whining, though. The MBA + Thunderbolt Display combo is pretty rad and where I'm heading in September.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AAPLaday Avatar
162 months ago
The MBA is the best notebook in the world
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
162 months ago
I just hope Air orders don’t become backlogged like iPads did!

I’m in a self-imposed waiting period before letting my credit card out to play, and when I do, I won’t want to wait :)

I love the size/weight (I’d never go back to bulkmonster laptops) and the Core i5/i7, but I’m most looking forward to the SSD performance. Down with spinning platters!

I still can’t believe Apple can sell an ultracompact this cheap with these specs. I went to Dell to try to configure something similar, and it was WAY more expensive—and much bulkier, and made of creaky plastic. And it was the best I could get. (An 11” Alienware + SSD, to be precise. The specs were still not a match; each had some benefits: better gaming GPU on the AW, better trackpad and Thunderbolt on the Air, etc. But getting anywhere near an Air from other companies seems to cost through the roof, even if you don’t add any software bundle to match Apple’s, and even if you think Windows is truly a value match for Lion. How do people pay that non-Mac tax?)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
anker new xmas 1

Anker's Cyber Week Sale Enters Final Days With Up to 60% Off Sitewide

Friday December 1, 2023 12:05 pm PST by
Anker's Black Friday/Cyber Week event is entering its final days this weekend, and it's still offering up to 60 percent off sitewide. There are also a few "mystery boxes" that can include hundreds of dollars in savings, if you're willing to risk not knowing what you're buying ahead of time. All of these sales will end on December 3. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you...
General Apps Messages

Green Bubbles on iPhone to Gain These 7 New Features Next Year

Thursday November 30, 2023 9:00 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will finally support RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting later next year. This change will result in several improvements to the messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices. RCS will become the new default standard for messaging between iPhones and Android devices, but these conversations will still have green bubbles like...
top stories 2dec2023

Top Stories: iOS 17.1.2 Released, NameDrop Misinformation, and More

Saturday December 2, 2023 6:00 am PST by
Apple employees are back to work following a Thanksgiving break, and that means this week saw a number of new operating system updates for both public release and beta testing. This week also saw some misinformation about Apple's new NameDrop feature making the rounds, while Apple and Goldman Sachs appear to be on the verge of a break-up in their Apple Card and savings account partnership,...
instagram messenger

Instagram and Facebook Messenger Chats to Disconnect This Month

Tuesday December 5, 2023 1:57 am PST by
Meta has revealed plans to end Instagram users' ability to chat with Facebook accounts later this month, rolling back a feature that it introduced over three years ago. In September 2020, Meta (then Facebook) announced it was merging its Facebook Messenger service with Instagram direct messaging, allowing Instagram users to chat with Facebook users and vice versa using the same platform....
iphone 5g mmwave

Apple's Work on 6G Connectivity Already Expanding

Monday December 4, 2023 7:00 am PST by
Apple's work on implementing 6G cellular connectivity on its devices appears to be ramping up, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple is increasingly turning its attention to 6G, even amid its widely reported difficulties developing a custom 5G cellular modem. In 2021, the first highly specific Apple job...