Apple could not have chosen a better time for the iPhone launch, which coincides with Samsung’s phone recall, said Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster on CNBC’s Power Lunch on Monday. Munster noted that the Korean firm’s 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 recall comes in the middle of the launch of Apple’s iPhone 7.
Samsung’s recall could help Apple
According to research from IDC, before the recent news, Samsung was the leading smartphone vendor worldwide. IDC estimated that Samsung shipped about 77 million handsets in the second quarter, far more than Apple’s 40.4 million. We cannot be sure about how Apple and Samsung will fare amid the recent news, but according to Munster, if the latter loses 10% of its Galaxy sales during the recall, it could accelerate sales of iPhone by a couple of percentage points.
“Might not sound like much, but in this hyper-scrutinized investor concern on the health of the iPhone franchise, every percent counts,” the analyst notes.
Munster also told the host that the iPhone 7’s powerful camera and a huge share of consumers with older iPhones looking to upgrade to new iPhones does add some advantage to Apple’s good fortune. Munster, who is more positive on the tech giant than the average Wall Street analyst, has a target price of $151 on the stock, well above average price target of $121.8, according to FactSet.
Munster said the price target comes as the iPhone making giant introduces new strategies, such as the upgrade program, to add predictability to its business and pressure carriers.
“That’s what investors have asked for,” the analyst said. It shows the Silicon Valley giant is being creative in terms of how they can get people to upgrade their phones faster, Munster notes.
iPhone 7 vs. Galaxy Note 7
Both the iPhone 7 and Galaxy Note 7 have inspired disbelief and anger among observers either by omitting a headphone jack and by problems of batteries exploding, respectively. So is an iPhone 7 without a headphone jack or a Galaxy Note 7 with a sensitive battery worse?
Apple, unlike its customers, thinks that this is just a feature and not a bug, so no “fix” will come in the future. However, with the Galaxy Note 7, the problem is the exploding battery, and the company is currently working to come up with a fix. So in terms of performance, it can be said that Apple is the winner, states Network World.