Apple’s New MacBook Pro: Will it surpass its tipping point to become a successful product?
Apple has released a new MacBook Pro model, where the changes are “radical” compared to the model that has been used for years. The two main changes on the new MacBook Pro are, one, that there is only one connection port, and two, that the top row on the keyboard has been replaced by a virtual touch strip. For a consumer, the change that is most likely to cause an issue is the connection port, as it would require consumers to purchase adapters in order to connect devices with different connectors to the laptop, such as an iPhone.
This should be a concern for Apple, as in order for this laptop model to succeed in the market, it must reach a tipping point, where if the number of expected purchasers is higher than such tipping point, there will be an upward pressure for other consumers to purchase the laptop. If the fraction of consumers that buy the new MacBook Pro reaches the tipping point, the upward pressure on consumers would eventually lead to a higher equilibrium. This higher equilibrium is stable, and the fraction of consumers that will purchase the new MacBook Pro will remain relatively constant, and it can therefore be assumed that the MacBook Pro would remain in demand. However, if the fraction of consumers purchasing the new MacBook Pro laptops does not reach its “tipping point”, there will be a downward pressure pushing the market share for these laptops to zero, and the new model will fail in the market.
The new MacBook Pro is very expensive, especially with extra costs for additional adapters. Unfortunately, Apple does not alter prices for their products, but if they lowered the price of the new MacBook Pro, the tipping point would require a lower fraction of consumers, and it would be more likely for the new MacBook Pro to succeed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/technology/personaltech/apples-new-macbook-pro-fast-and-light-but-not-for-everyone.html?ref=technology