Here’s Everything You Should Expect From Today’s Apple Event

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Apple Event - Here’s Everything You Should Expect From Today’s Apple Event

Source: Apple

Today is the biggest day on the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) calendar. The annual fall Apple Event is where the company trots out its big guns for the year: the latest and greatest iPhones. In anticipation of those new iPhones — and whatever else the company has up its sleeve — AAPL stock was up over 2.5% yesterday. Even the threat of escalating Chinese tariffs and their impact on Apple couldn’t take the shine off this day.

Here’s everything we’re expecting Apple to unveil this afternoon during the Apple event.

Apple Live Event: It’s All About the New iPhones

It goes without saying the star of any fall Apple event is the crop of new iPhones. These are what consumers line up for, the products that generate two-thirds of Apple revenue and the devices that drive AAPL stock.

The 2018 Apple live event looks as though it should make everyone happy. Apple is expected to release an update to last year’s tenth anniversary iPhone X, called the iPhone Xs. The company will double-down on that design with the super-sized iPhone Xs Max, with a 6.5-inch OLED display that is the largest ever sported by an iPhone.

And there looks to be a third option as well, a 6.1-inch iPhone that offers iPhone X looks and features (including the notch), but at a cheaper price by using an LCD display instead of OLED. This cheaper iPhone, which may be called the iPhone Xr or iPhone Xc, depending on who you ask, is also set to be offered in a range of bright new colors.

So that’s three new iPhones, including one follow-up, one mega-sized phone and one that has the cool notch and Animoji that everyone seems to want with the added bonus of being offered in new colors. The money is also on AAPL lowering prices to boost iPhone sales. If rumors are correct, that could mean starting prices of $600-$700 for the iPhone Xr (or Xc), $800 for the iPhone Xs and $900-$1,000 for the iPhone Xs Max.

This pricing scheme could lower the average sale price (ASP), which reached record highs with the $999 iPhone X. However, the volume generated by a ramp up in sales combined with lower component costs (those True Depth cameras are now proven tech) should spell good news for iPhone revenue and AAPL stock.

Apple Watch Series 4

Also expected to debut today at the Apple event is the Apple Watch Series 4. And this could be another big AAPL stock booster, because the rumor mill — and a marketing photo Apple accidentally leaked — show the first major design change in the company’s market-leading smartwatch.

The Apple Watch Series 4 gets a display that’s roughly 15% larger, with a higher resolution. It’s also tapped to get an advanced EKG sensor. Because it retains the same form factor and continues to be compatible with bands released for the original Apple Watch, this one stands a good chance of kicking off an upgrade wave among early Apple Watch adopters. 

It also comes at a perfect time, with Fitbit (NYSE:FIT) having success with its Versa, while Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google division and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) are trying to kickstart Wear OS smartwatches.

AirPods 2 and AirPower Mat

AirPods have been a runaway hit for Apple, but they’re two years old. Look for today’s Apple live event to include AirPods 2 wireless earbuds, incorporating hands-free Siri voice control. The AirPods 2 case should also support wireless charging. And that segues nicely into the AirPower, the wireless charge mat AAPL showed off last fall but has yet to release. With all its key mobile products supporting wireless charging, the AirPower will definitely get a release date today.

Other Things to Watch for at the Apple Live Event

All of Apple’s operating systems are getting new versions this fall, so expect the company to spend at least a few minutes at this Apple event reviewing cool new features in iOS 12, watchOS 5 and macOS Mojave. 

What about more hardware?

The itinerary is pretty full already and the company has been known to throw an October event as well. It’s possible we could see some of the other gear Apple is reportedly working on, including a MacBook Air followup, a new Mac Mini, Apple-branded headphones, a smaller and less expensive HomePod smart speaker and an iPad Pro with Face ID.

However, given the focus on new iPhones and the new Apple Watch, October is looking more likely for many of these expected releases.

You can watch a livestream starting at 1 p.m. EST, or stay tuned to InvestorPlace for a full wrap of everything AAPL announces at the 2018 fall Apple event. When Tim Cook walks off the stage, we’ll have everything you need to know — without having to sit through a two hour video.

As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Brad Moon has been writing for InvestorPlace.com since 2012. He also writes about stocks for Kiplinger and has been a senior contributor focusing on consumer technology for Forbes since 2015.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2018/09/heres-everything-you-should-expect-from-todays-apple-event/.

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