Apple’s iPhone ripe for picking
New model slated for September release
The most significant update to the iPhone in three years promises not only to upend the smartphone market but Apple’s financial results for several quarters.
On the heels of the iPhone’s 10th anniversary later this week, and before Apple unveils its expected new model in September, analysts expect flat year-overyear iPhone sales as consumers wait for the revamped phone. After that, however, they expect record-setting sales, dwarfing the success of the wildly popular iPhone 6.
Angelo Zino, a senior equity analyst at CFRA, predicts record iPhone shipments of 241.5 million in the 12 months following the iPhone 8 launch — smashing the previous high, set by iPhone 6, following its introduction in late 2014.
Demand for the new iPhone could vault Apple to the top-selling spot of smartphone shipments worldwide, but it needs to set itself apart in three key areas — its voice assistant Siri, augmented reality and artificial intelligence, according to Tuong Nguyen, an analyst at market researcher Gartner. Siri, while still the most popular digital assistant, has squandered some of its early lead to rival Google Assistant. On the hardware side, Samsung has already established a beachhead with certain popular features, such as wireless charging and water resistance.
Apple briefly held the No. 1 spot last year amid Samsung ’s Note 7 woes before the South Ko-
rean electronics giant retook the lead. (It led Apple, 20.7% to 13.7%, in the first quarter of 2017.) Before that, the larger iPhone 6 grabbed the top spot, also briefly.
Anticipation — and stakes — are sky high for what is expected to be an overhaul of iPhone after several years of incremental changes that left consumers yearning for more and contributed to its first yearly drop in sales. The new iPhone is packed with features previously unavailable and comes in a new hardware design, according to reports. A revamped iPhone is crucial if Apple is to keep pace with rival Samsung ’s popular Galaxy S8 and inexpensive smartphones from Chinese vendors, both of whom are gobbling up market share, Nguyen says.
Investors, who have bid up Apple shares 26% this year, are also keenly watching how the new iPhone fares during the coveted holiday shopping season.
“There is pressure to make the new phone different and unique,” said analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies. He expects augmented reality, which has the potential to be big for businesses in home improvement, to give it a distinct advantage.
In the interim, Zino, like many analysts, expects a “considerable slow patch” of iPhone sales in the months leading to the introduction of the new iPhone. He predicts shipments of 41 million (in the quarter ending in June) and 47 million (September) before a surge to 85 million (in December).
Three models are expected in September or October, but iPhone 8 (sometimes also referred to as the iPhone X or iPhone Pro) is said to be facing production delays.