Same time, same place. Every September, Apple hosts its annual fall product launch at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, and we all make time to check out the new offerings. While many are eager to see the latest product features, others want to make sure they didn’t miss on their investment strategies. However, this year's much-anticipated event didn’t quite deliver the spectacle either group may have hoped for.
“Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event failed to excite investors, with the company's stock taking a hit during the event. Despite the build-up, the fall product launch was largely predictable, thanks to leaks leading up to the event. This led to a "sell-the-news" reaction on Wall Street.
Apple stock dipped 1%, closing at 218.63, while the S&P 500 gained around 1%.
Historically, Apple's stock price tends to underperform the market on iPhone launch days. Although Apple shares have recently declined alongside other tech stocks, they're still up over 10% for the year, reinforcing Apple's position as the largest company by market capitalization.
The event marked the official debut of the iPhone 16, which integrates generative AI directly into the phone's operating system. New features in the "Apple Intelligence" update include generative writing prompts, customizable emoji, and an enhanced Siri.
Apple Intelligence is expected to roll out in the U.S. this October as a free software update. However, users in China and Spain will have to wait until next year, potentially dampening global excitement for new iPhone sales in early 2024.
The iPhone 16 also introduces a customizable camera control tool, and Apple emphasized privacy as a core part of its AI initiative. In addition to the iPhone 16, Apple also unveiled the Apple Watch Series 10 and new AirPods models.
Since the iPhone 12’s release in 2020, which was the first to support 5G, Apple has offered customers few compelling reasons to upgrade. Cameras have reached a point where they meet most users’ everyday needs, and screen resolutions have surpassed what the human eye can detect.
According to the Wedbush research, around 300 million iPhones worldwide haven’t been upgraded in over four years. This has contributed to sluggish iPhone sales, which account for half of Apple's revenue. Similarly, incremental updates to the Apple Watch and AirPods haven't convinced consumers to spend hundreds of dollars on slightly improved devices.
Much is riding on these new products, particularly iPhone 16, as Apple faces pressure after reporting its weakest quarterly revenue in recent years.
