- Apple’s iPhone 16 launch fails to excite investors
- Shares modestly lower in pre-market trading at $218
- Huawei launch shows increasingly stiff competition in China
Launching a new iPhone used to be a very big deal for Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) and have customers queuing round the block. We’ll have to wait until later this month (20 Sep) to see if those queues appear since it won’t be available until then, but the event rather fizzled out.
Investors were certainly left unimpressed and Apple stock has eased back a percentage point or two in pre-market data.
AI-POWERED IPHONE
At face value, some of the initiatives look interesting. A new version of the iPhone with a camera button on the side could be more practical for those budding online wannabe influencers eager to capture every moment, for example.
‘The incorporation of AI into the phone is also a good step forward, so are the enhancements to its air pods’, said AJ Bell’s investment director Russ Mold.
Unfortunately for Apple, competitors are already one step ahead of the game with AI and other developments. Huawei’s own launch event just hours before Apple’s (an unlikely coincidence) stole the thunder, reporting a record three million pre-orders for its new z-shaped triple-folding Mate XT smartphone.
INTENSE COMPETITION IN CHINA
This highlights the growing competition between the two brands, especially in the crucial Chinese market. Huawei has recovered from recent setbacks and is repositioning itself as a key competitor in the smartphone industry, posing a significant challenge for Apple in one of its most important markets.
‘There is a danger that Apple becomes the imitator, not the trend setter’, says AJ Bell’s Mould. ‘It cannot afford to be in that position from a reputational perspective. Apple built its empire through innovation and being at the cutting edge of technology. It needs to work harder to stay on top.’
Disclaimer: Financial services company AJ Bell referenced in the article owns Shares magazine, The author of the article (Steve Frazer) and the editor (Martin Gamble) own shares in AJ Bell.
