Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is set to launch its iPhone 17 line later in the day on Tuesday, with Wedbush analysts flagging a potential price hike for the flagship model amid a shift in production to India from China.
Wedbush also said focus will squarely on Apple’s artificial intelligence efforts, with Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Gemini seen as a potential candidate for an iPhone AI partnership.
Wedbush sees Apple hiking the prices of its iPhone Pro/Pro Max models by $50 to $100, as it continues to focus on Indian production.
“...the majority of iPhones sold in the US are now being made in India rather than in China and expected to be a ~$1 billion headwind in the September quarter,” Wedbush analysts said in a note.
Apple is also expected to release a new model of the iPhone 17, called the Air, which will replace the Plus model, Wedbush said. For the new models, the brokerage expects improved cameras across all models, along with bigger batteries, faster charging, and an upgraded A19 chip.
Wedbush noted that doubts over Apple’s AI strategy had been a major weight on its shares, especially given that the company has among the world’s biggest installed consumer base, at about 4.3 billion iOS devices globally.
“The time is now for Apple to accelerate its AI efforts through outside partnerships or an acquisition of Perplexity,” Wedbush said.
The company saw some relief from a recent antitrust ruling against Google, which will allow Apple to continue using the former as the default search engine in its devices. But the ruling also allows for more cooperation between Google and Apple, and could also herald a deeper cooperation over AI.
Wedbush rates Apple at Outperform with a $270 price target. Shares of the tech giant are trading down 2.5% so far in 2025, having recouped a bulk of their earlier losses.
Source :
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/apple-iphone-17-launch-watch-for-price-hikes-ai-plans-wedbush-says-4230411
