Apple Inc. (AAPL): Could Rise of Touchscreen Notebooks Harm Cupertino?

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In addition to its control over the tablet market, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s lineup of Mac computers has performed well over the years. Does this mean that things will stay the same well into the future? Definitely not. After all, there is plenty of competition spanning a variety of markets in which Cupertino is competing.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) to be Added to Several WisdomTree ETFsSomething to keep an eye on is an increase in the popularity of touchscreen notebooks. This is a market that is picking up steam, and one that could bite into Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share depending on the direction in which it heads in the years to come.

A recent piece by Digitimes touched on this: Touchscreen notebook proportion expected to rise to 40% in 3Q13.

This is a huge increase for a market that many did not think would make it very far. Here is what the article had to say:

“As vendors will launch more touchscreen notebooks, the proportion of notebooks sold in the Taiwan market with touchscreens is expected to rise from 10-15% in the first half of 2013 to 40% in the third quarter, according to local retail channels.”

Does this means that the same will hold true in other markets throughout the world, such as the United States? Of course not. But does it mean that this could happen? Definitely.

It is interesting to note that people are taking an interest in these devices. For many, this is the best of both worlds. They have the power and size of a notebook to along with the touchscreen capabilities of a tablet.

While Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is not likely to get involved in the touchscreen notebook market, the Cupertino based company will focus its energy on fighting off these competitors by continuing to release the best notebooks and tablets possible.

Here is some more information from the same piece, showing where things stand right now:

“Touchscreen notebooks have already become the focus of PC brand vendors after Microsoft released Windows 8 in October 2012, but because of issues such as poor touch panel yields and costs, touchscreen notebooks’ unfriendly prices have caused the devices to have trouble attracting consumers, and only achieved limited sales during the period between the end of 2012 and early 2013.”

Fortunately for these companies, things have turned around in 2013 with the “price gap between touchscreen and non-touchscreen notebooks” dropping to 10 percent.

This may mean something big for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) or it may mean nothing at all.

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