Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) finally took the wraps off its new iPhones at an event at the company’s new Apple Park headquarters. We got both the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X, in a somewhat confusing break from AAPL’s traditional naming convention.
For a quick overview of everything Apple revealed at the big event — in a wave of new products that are expected to boost revenue and AAPL stock in the holiday quarter — check out our event wrap. But for all the details about the new iPhone X and iPhone 8, read on.
iPhone X
As expected, Apple introduced its new ultra-premium flagship smartphone. Somewhat less expected (at least until a last minute leak) was the name: iPhone X.
True to rumors, the iPhone X features an all-glass design. A 5.8-inch AMOLD display covers almost the entire front of the device and is joined to the back glass panel by a stainless steel band. The Home button — with its Touch ID sensor — is gone, replaced by an advanced TrueDepth camera supporting FACE ID facial recognition.
The TrueDepth camera also supports Portrait Mode for selfies and it is used to animate the new “Animojis” available for Message.
- 5.8-inch AMOLED Super Retina HDR display @458 ppi
- All-screen design
- 6-core A11 Bionic CPU with Neural Engine
- Dual 12MP rear cameras (one wide-angle, one telephoto) with quad-LED flash and dual optical image stabilization
- 7MP TrueDepth camera with FACE ID facial recognition
- Battery rated at 12 hours internet use
- Supports Qi wireless charging and fast-charge
- IP 67 water and dust resistant
- 64GB and 256GB capacity
- 5.65 x 2.70 x 0.30-inches, weighs 6.14 ounces
- All-glass design in Space Gray or Silver
- Starts at $999 with pre-orders beginning Oct. 27
iPhone 8
What was expected to be called the iPhone 7s was unveiled as the iPhone 8. This is the usual “s” series incremental upgrade from the iPhone 7 series, although the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus do ditch the aluminum body in favor of an all glass design, with an aluminum band instead of the iPhone X’s stainless steel.
However, despite the glass, these phones are instantly recognizable as the successor to the iPhone 7 series. They do get improvements like that speedy A11 Bionic CPU, but retain the LED display and Touch ID –no Face ID here.
- 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch Retina HD LED display
- 6-core A11 Bionic CPU with Neural Engine
- Dual lens camera, wide-angle has optical image stabilization
- 7MP FacTime front camera
- 64GB and 256GB capacity
- 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29-inch and 5.22 ounces (iPhone 8); 6.24 x 3.07 x 0.30-inches and 7.13 ounces (iPhone 8 Plus)
- Supports Qi wireless charging and fast-charge
- IP 67 water and dust resistant
- Battery rate at 12 hours internet use (iPhone 8) and 13 hours (iPhone 8 Plus)
- All-glass design in Space Gray, Gold and Silver
- Starts at $699 (iPhone 8) and $799 (iPhone 8 Plus) with pre-orders starting Sept. 15
Potential Impact on AAPL Stock
Consumers want to know how much the new iPhones cost and when they’ll be available — but so do Apple investors. As Apple’s most popular (and most profitable) product, the iPhone is the primary driver of the company’s revenue — and AAPL stock. Last quarter, iPhone sales accounted for 55% of total Apple revenue on sales of 41 million units.
Investors have been anticipating a mega upgrade cycle, where owners of older iPhones who have been holding off for several years spring for the iPhone X, in addition to the usual yearly upgrades to a new model (in this case the iPhone 8). However, the delayed release of the iPhone X could throw a wrench in the works. It’s not available for pre-order until Oct. 27 and it won’t be in stores until Nov. 3.
With the iPhone X arriving more than a month after the iPhone 8 (and initial quantities of the new flagship likely to be limited), that mega cycle is going to get spread out at best. At worst, it’s possible that Apple fans might get tired of waiting and skip the iPhone X in favor of an iPhone 8. That’s still a sale for Apple, but less revenue, and any signs that the iPhone X — the future of the company’s smartphones — is selling more poorly than expected are also going to be a drag on AAPL stock.
We may see the first numbers next Monday, after the first weekend of iPhone 8 pre-orders (although AAPL chose not to release this info last year) and if not, the following Monday after the official launch weekend for the new iPhone.
Realistically, it will be months before we know whether Apple’s big iPhone mega upgrade cycle actually happened and whether the iPhone X is a hit; or if Apple sold its regular number of iPhones but spread out among multiple models. In the meantime, expect to hear a lot about the new Apple iPhones, iOS 11 and augmented reality.
As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
