Apple launched a new MacBook Pro, with an advanced keyboard and double the storage across all configurations.
Starting at Dh5,459, most models of the new laptop computer come with the tenth generation processors providing up to 80 per cent faster performance and a 33.02 centimetre retina display, the company said in a statement. Standard storage configurations have also doubled - to 256GB, 512GB or 1TB.
“We are adding the new magic keyboard, doubling the standard storage and boosting performance … making the MacBook Pro even better value for our customers,” said Tom Boger, the company’s senior director of Mac and iPad product marketing.
The new keyboard features a physical escape key, a touch ID for easy login and secure online purchases and a touch bar with contextual controls.
“Magic keyboard features a redesigned scissor mechanism for a comfortable and stable key feel … while the new arrangement for the arrow keys makes them easier to find, whether users are navigating through spreadsheets or playing games,” Apple said.
The magic keyboard was first introduced on a 40.64cm MacBook Pro in November last year.
The new scissor mechanism is much more reliable than the older butterfly mechanism that the company has used for the last few years, said Abbas Ali, managing editor of TechRadar Middle East.
"You also get the latest Intel tenth generation processors on the higher-end line-up, however, Apple is using older processors on the entry level MacBook Pro which is disappointing for a laptop in that price range," Mr Ali told The National.
Personal computers – including laptops, desktops and tablets – enjoyed a 0.6 per cent increase in sales in 2019 after seven consecutive years of decline, according to US-based research firm Gartner.
Global PC shipments totalled more than 261 million units last year, an increase of almost 1.5 million on 2018.
However, Apple, which launched a new Mac Pro in December – its first desktop upgrade in six years – did not benefit from this industry-wide growth. Its shipments declined almost 1 per cent in 2019, Gartner found.
The new MacBook Pro also comes with enhanced security through T2, Apple’s own custom-designed second-generation silicon chip. It checks whether “software loaded during the boot process has not been tampered with and provides on-the-fly data encryption” for everything stored on the drive.
In March, Apple unveiled the latest MacBook Air and iPad Pro models, with faster performance and increased storage, in an effort to attract new customers. It also launched its cheapest iPhone SE, at Dh1,699, last month.
However, with virus-led supply disruptions, it is unclear when Apple will launch any more new products.
Analysts have warned of a delay in Apple's 5G phone launch after the virus outbreak led to a halt in industrial activity in China - a key production hub for Apple.
The company reported quarterly revenue growth of 1 per cent, in three months to March 28, but did not provide a forecast for the rest of 2020 for the first time in more than a decade.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
