Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has officially announced an event on September 7 where it might release its next iPhone, presumably, the iPhone 7, and the device could become available at retailers around the middle of the month. It appears as if investors and analysts have already tempered their expectations for the device. The Trefis team has set a price estimate of $120, or about 10% ahead of the current market price, they said in their Forbes post.
iPhone 7 and Apple (AAPL) stock
The next iPhone will reportedly sport an industrial design very similar to that of the iPhone 6/6s as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has all its focus on developing technologies for next year’s 10th anniversary iPhone, which will most likely see a radical overhaul. For this year’s iPhone, a major upgrade cycle will be triggered only if the company introduces a groundbreaking new design.
But the stock might go up, even if the iPhone 7 just turns out better than expectations. For instance the new device could come with coveted features such as dual-lens cameras, faster charging, a thinner profile, a force-sensitive home button and better waterproofing. If this happens, then customers coming off two-year contracts/installment plans will have enough reason to upgrade, believes the Trefis team.
Also there exists the possibility that Apple will launch a higher-end version of the bigger screen device with the Pro moniker to offset potential ASP declines. The Trefis team has based its current $120 price estimate on the iPhone maker shipping roughly 209 million iPhones for the calendar year 2017, the first full calendar year of availability for the iPhone 7. They estimate that iPhone ASPs will decline at a CAGR of 1.5% and stand at about $611 in 2017.
“However, if the iPhone 7 enables Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to bolster shipments back to 2015-levels of 230 million in 2017 with ASPs improving to about $650, and growth rates remaining the same over our review period, this could bolster our price estimate for Apple to about $132, marking a 10% upside to our current price estimate,” states the Trefis team.
iPhone 7: what to expect?
On Monday Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) sent its cryptic invite for the September iPhone event. The upcoming handsets will have new features, but there probably won’t be any changes in the display sizes. Like their predecessors, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will have the same 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens.
Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg claims that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has removed the two innermost antenna lines on the back of the current phones. Also the larger iPhone 7 could come equipped with a dual-camera system that has been designed to capture brighter photos with more detail.
In addition, there have been rumors that the next-gen iPhone will not be called the iPhone 7 at all. Instead, the company could name it the iPhone 6SE, while it will use the iPhone 7 name next year when it is expected to introduce a major overhaul of its iconic handset. This has further added to the mystery.
“Given the more-iterative changes and similar design, it is not out of the question for Apple to brand the new iPhone as a continuation of the iPhone 6 line,” 9to5 Mac says.
What’s good is that we may not have to wait much longer to learn the details, as the event is just days away now.
