Apple at its Tuesday “Hi, Speed” event unveiled its new lineup of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro devices alongside a HomePod mini and other ecosystem announcements. Here’s what analysts thought about the keynote.
Apple at its Tuesday “Hi, Speed” event unveiled its new lineup of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro devices alongside a HomePod mini and other ecosystem announcements. Here’s what analysts thought about the keynote. The Cupertino tech giant launched four new iPhone models with varying price points and display sizes at the Tuesday event, including an iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Although most of the features were expected prior to the event, the consensus among analysts is that the 5G compatibility will be one of the key drivers of iPhone growth over the next few years. Beyond the HomePod mini and new MagSafe accessories, there weren’t any significant non-iPhone hardware announcements at the event. Apple did reveal incremental upgrades to Siri and cross-device integration, as well a stronger emphasis on carrier partnerships. Here are other key analyst takeaways from Apple’s Oct.13 keynote. Investment bank Cowen didn’t see any major surprises from the iPhone 12 event, but noted that the addition of 5G across the lineup could “enable a longer strong cycle.” Lead analyst Krish Sankar forecasts that iPhone unit shipments could grow 12% year-over-year to 208 million units in 2021, and an additional 3% to 214 million units the following year. Sankar also notes that overall pricing rose moderately on a blended basis compared to the iPhone 11 lineup. Although Sankar suggested that specification updates were incremental, he added that 5G support will likely be the catalyst for a multi-year upgrade cycle. On the new “mini” devices, Sankar points out that smaller and less expensive Apple hardware products “have tended to perform well in terms of unit sales.
