One of the best in the business when it comes to reading the tea leaves and figuring out Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) product release plans just published a research note with predictions for the fall.
If he’s right, Apple is preparing for a monster fall release with a barrage of new and updated products. With everything from new iPhones to the long-neglected Mac Mini arriving just in time for the back-to school and holiday shopping seasons, this has all the makings for a killer fourth quarter and Q1 2019, which would be huge for AAPL stock.
Report: Apple Planning Massive Fall Product Release
9 to 5 Mac is reporting on the latest investor note from TF Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo. And anyone with an interest in Apple products or Apple stock is sitting up and taking notice.
According to Kuo, Apple has a fall release timetable that is absolutely packed with new and updated products. There are the new iPhones that arrive every September, but the company is apparently updating its Mac and MacBook lineup, introducing new Apple Watch models, releasing new versions of the very popular AirPod wireless earbuds, launching bezel-free iPad Pro models with Face ID, and finally releasing the long-delayed AirPower wireless charger.
Here are the details:
- Three new iPhones, with a lower-priced next-generation iPhone X, an iPhone X Plus and a low-cost 6.1-inch iPhone with a notch and Face ID but an LCD display. That low-cost iPhone has been rumored to launch in a variety of colors including blue and orange. This lineup alone could make for several record quarters for Apple, with the potential for bigger impact on AAPL stock than last year’s somewhat underwhelming iPhone X/iPhone 8 launch.
- New iPad Pro models (12.9-inch and 11-inch) that take a page from the iPhone X design with no Home button, minimal bezels and Face ID.
- The rumored replacement for the ancient MacBook Air as Apple’s new budget laptop.
- Refreshes — including new Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) CPUs — for MacBooks, MacBook Pros, iMacs (which may also get a display upgrade), and an updated Mac Mini (which was last updated in 2014).
- New Apple Watch models with larger displays and enhanced heart rate detection.
- New AirPods wireless earbuds with hands-free Siri support, improved wireless performance and a charging case that’s AirPower compatible.
- Speaking of AirPower, the wireless charge pad promised by Apple last fall should finally be released.
How Likely Is All This to Actually Happen?
With sources in the company’s supply chain and years of tracking the company’s release strategies, Kuo has been one of the most accurate analysts when it comes to anticipating Apple’s plans.
He predicted AAPL releases like the iPhone SE, the MacBook Pro with TouchBar and the ditching of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7. Some of the new hardware he’s identified may have already been quietly confirmed by Apple, when the company registered 10 new devices in an EEC filing.
That being said, his research notes aren’t gospel, and Apple is notoriously secretive. It’s also been known to switch gears at the last moment and delay product releases (as it did with the HomePod smart speaker). So everything has to be taken with a grain of salt.
But if even half of what he is expecting to be announced this fall actually gets released, the upside for AAPL stock and Apple investors is big.
As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
