Apple's MacBook Pro, the company's newest model for power users, is generating vastly more revenue than the company's ultralight laptop that debuted a year and a half ago, an e-commerce tracking firm says.
The MacBook Pro revenue in its first five days has reached 78 percent of last year's MacBook, Slice Intelligence said Tuesday. In addition, the new Mac has generated nearly four times that of Microsoft's Surface Book challenger since its debut a year ago.
That may sound like great news for Apple, but there likely was pent-up demand for the new MacBook Pro since it's gone years without a major redesign.
And shoppers showed a willingness to switch to Windows-powered machines during the long wait, Slice found. Among those who bought an Apple laptop in 2014, 40 percent bought another brand since, Slice said. The firm bases its statistics on the behavior of a panel of 4.4 million online shoppers. It tracks online sales only.
The new MacBook Pro is smaller and lighter, with a starting price of $1,499. Higher-end models feature a touch-screen strip called the Touch Bar instead of function keys at the top of the keyboard. Critics don't like its lack of old-style but still widely used rectangular USB ports.
