Will Apple’s iMac Be The Holiday Underdog Answer?

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) desktop computers have seen dismal sales lately, but the new iMac lineup is expected to help provide a dramatic boost to shipments in the holiday quarter.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo estimated in a research note to clients that Apple’s fourth-quarter desktop shipments will fall 79 percent from the year ago period to 264,000. Kuo, who had previously predicted the new iMac line to arrive in September, cut his shipment forecast by more than 63 percent because of its late launch. Kuo said his supply chain checks had indicated a September launch date for the computer, but that the company was forced to delay it after experiencing low display lamination yields.

Apple has been a huge winning stock pick for Wall St. Cheat Sheet Newsletter subscribers. Don’t waste another minute — click here and get more of our CHEAT SHEET stock picks now.

However, Kuo is confident of sales getting back on track in the holiday quarter on the back of the newly announced models. The analyst predicts strong demand to spur a quarter-on-quarter growth of 434 percent. The new computers will hit stores in November. Overall, Kuo estimates iMac shipments to reach 1.4 million for the year, representing a 5 percent decline from a year ago.

The new iMac integrates the display and all components into a single unit and is 5 millimeters thick at the edges. The 21.5-inch and 1920 x 1080 iMac will start at $1,299, while the 27-inch and 2560 x 1440 display version starts at $1,799. Both machines have 178-degree viewing angles, Core i5 or i7 processors, up to 3TB of storage, and four USB 3.0 ports. They also include Apple’s new Fusion Drive, which incorporates the option of 128GB SSD and a 1TB or 3TB hard drive with the software.

Don’t Miss: iPad Mini: Here’s Why Apple Thinks $329 Works.