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New MacBook Pro models include high-end versions with Touch Bar screen

By Robert McMillan 

Apple Inc. introduced new versions of its Macintosh personal computers Thursday, betting that smaller, thinner models and a touch screen on the keyboard will reverse declining sales.

Apple refreshed its MacBook Pro laptops, adding a thin touch screen on top of the keyboards of some models. Users can slide and touch the bar to edit photos, navigate the web or authorize online purchases.

At an event at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, Apple introduced three new MacBook Pro models, including high-end versions of its 13-inch and 15-inch systems that come with the Touch Bar screen. The company also unveiled a new lower-cost 13-inch MacBook Pro, which doesn't have the Touch Bar, as a replacement device for MacBook Air users.

The touch-screen models include Apple's Touch ID fingerprint reader, which has been included on its iPhones since 2013. It will allow users to complete online payments and log into applications with the touch of a finger, forgoing passwords in many cases.

The new models shifted Apple's PC line further to the high-end, even as low-cost computers using Alphabet Inc.'s Chrome operating system gain market share. The average base price of a Mac laptop is now just over $1,600. Previously, it was less than $1,300.

Apple didn't refresh the lower-cost MacBook Air line, and said its 11-inch MacBook Air would now only be available to education customers.

It also didn't introduce new desktop Macs; Apple hasn't updated its desktop Macs in more than a year.

The absence of new desktops may not be a problem for Apple this holiday season as consumers increasingly use laptops as their primary home-computing device.

"There are very few reasons now why anybody would need a desktop Mac," said Jan Dawson, an analyst with Jackdaw Research. "Most people who are in the market for a Mac will be pretty happy."

Analysts said Apple needed to give consumers reasons to upgrade their machines. As Apple's product line aged, Mac sales have fallen over the past year. In Apple's recently completed fiscal year, Mac sales totaled $22.8 billion, down 10.4% from a year earlier.

Macs have been losing ground to other personal computers. Market researcher Gartner Inc. said Mac unit shipments declined 11.3% in the second quarter, compared with a 5.1% decline for the rest of the market. The decline in Mac sales accelerated in the third quarter, falling 17%, Apple said Tuesday.

"Apple's available market is pretty much saturated," said Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa. She noted that Macs generally cost more than other PCs. "Apple is not for everybody."

Apple shares were down nearly 1% as of 4 p.m. trading Thursday.

Among the new MacBook Pros, the 13-inch basic version starts at $1,499 and is available now. A 13-inch version with the Touch Bar and Touch ID starts at $1,799 and will be available in two to three weeks, Apple said. The 15-inch version, also with Touch Bar and Touch ID, starts at $2,399 and will be available in two to three weeks.

Introduced in 1984, the Macintosh was the defining product of the company that Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built. Over the past nine years, however, it has been eclipsed by the iPhone, which now accounts for 63% of the company's revenue. In 2007, the former Apple Computer Inc. dropped the word "computer" from its name.

The Macintosh made up just 12% of Apple's revenue during its most recent quarter. Still, if it were a separate company, it would rank 124th on the Fortune 500 list, bigger than such stalwarts as Starbucks Corp. Southwest Airlines Co. or Eli Lilly & Co.

Ahead of the Mac presentation, Apple unveiled a new video app that allows users to access and watch shows and movies from multiple apps on Apple TV, iPhone and iPad.

The app, called TV, helps users keep track of what programs they are watching and find the next show in that series. In addition, Apple showed off a feature that allows users to use its voice-controlled assistant Siri to find live news and sporting events across their apps.

The TV app will be available in December as free software updates for Apple TV, iPhone and iPad customers in the U.S. Live tune-in with Siri is available today, Apple said.

--Geoffrey Fowler and George Stahl contributed to this article.

Write to Robert McMillan at Robert.Mcmillan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 28, 2016 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)

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