Business Forum • 13 September, 2024 at 11:44 AM
Apple's new iPhone 16 lineup launch had a colder reception as it lacked significant innovation. However, the new buttons and the addition of Apple Intelligence might make some people migrate toward the new models. And for some chip manufacturers, the launch means good news as the new iPhones use their technologies, shows a market commentary by eToro analyst for Romania, Bogdan Maioreanu.
In the past couple of years, the new generation of iPhones brought only camera and processor improvements. This year was a bit different as the new iPhones 16 lineup received besides a new processor and a different camera also two new buttons.
Despite a cold reception from the market, not all news from the Apple launch was bad for the industry. Analysts are noting that the new generation of iPhones will help Qualcomm and Broadcom. As iPhones are using across the lineup the haptic feedback, the new models will also help Cirrus Logic.
The new iPhones coming with AI capabilities embedded will be powered by Apple's A18 and A18 Pro chips, incorporating Arm's newest A9 chip design, according to FT, which cited sources familiar with the matter. Also the A9 architecture will bring twice as much royalties to the company that has a long term contract with Apple. This made Arm Holdings to be the new large-cap Top Pick of Morgan Stanley analysts, citing mobile recovery, new edge AI opportunities and the resulting royalties' expansion. The company's stock price rose 73% year to date after the IPO but only 3% in the past six months.
Also Taiwan Semiconductor Company, the largest chip manufacturer in the world, said that sales for August surged year-over-year, buoyed in part by demand for all things artificial intelligence. Taiwan Semiconductor, which manufactures processors for Nvidia, Apple, AMD and others, said revenue for August came in at approximately $7.8 billion, up 33% from August 2023, albeit down 2.4% from July.
For Apple, based on the recent launch, the growth perspectives look rather limited. Supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects iPhone 16 shipments for 2024 to be about 89 million units, down slightly from the 91 million units of the iPhone 15 shipped in the same period last year. As Apple tries to order what it will sell, this may indicate that the company is not anticipating a huge jump in customer demand for the new phones.
While the iPhone prospects might not be the best, a software feature announced for the Airpods Pro that allows them to act as hearing aids and also to offer a professional audiology consult made hearing aid companies tumble. Amplifon, Demant and GN Store Nord were among notable decliners. This might push up the sales of the Airpods Pro headphones after the software update allowing this function will arrive this fall.
Investors are interested in Apple stock as it is the fourth most held stock by individual investors on the eToro platform globally and also by Romanian investors. But current company sales prospects, combined with the recent loss of its EU court battle over €13 billion ($14.4 billion) in taxes, might raise some questions for the stock evolution. Investors still remember that Warren Buffett's fund slashed its Apple holding by almost 50% in Q2.
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