Apple used to launch its products by hosting events for its partners and the press at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, Cailifornia, but after the arrival of Covid-19 it began streaming presentations from its headquarters in the same city. On September 14th it staged its biggest product launch in 2021, featuring, among other products like improved iPads and Apple Watch models, the new iPhone 13. Apple’s loyal customer base has worked up a considerable demand for the new iPhone, even though its new features are not ground-breaking. Over 350,000 people tuned into Apple’s YouTube livestream, eager to hear the comments of CEO Tim Cook. Perhaps the most significant Apple product launch happened back in January 2007, when CEO Steve Jobs announced the launch of the very first iPhone. This has proved to be an enormously successful product, permanently changing the way we interact, work, and learn. From then on, PC sales have considerably sunk, the entertainment industry has had to reshape itself completely, and the health industry has moved much closer to people, right up to their fingertips. The iPhone has been called one of the very best-selling products of all time. It produced 50% of Apple’s $274 billion revenue in 2020, and 60% of its revenue in 2017. This popular product has gone a long way to making Apple the most valuable company in the world in terms of market capitalization. Other companies were forced to measure up to Apple’s pioneering technology, sparking the smartphone industry into life. Let’s reviews Apple’s latest product as well its recent share trading price movements.
iPhone 13: What to look for
What new features does the iPhone 13 actually offer? Rather than novel technology, it offers a variety of useful tune-ups including faster wireless charging, longer battery life, improved camera sensors, and sharper visuals in photos and videos. The new iPhone, which comes in six colors, contains an A15 processor which facilitates better speed and efficiency in general, operating about 10% faster than the previous iPhone. It also holds a gigantic one terabyte of storage space.
Apple in the markets
Traders want to know what consumers’ reactions will be to these sorts of improvements. Will they feel satisfied with them or expect more? JP Morgan is optimistic, perceiving ‘Robust demand for upgrades, likely exceeding low investor expectations into the launch.’ Kim Forrest of Bokeh Capital deals with the question of how much Apple consumers expect brand new technology in its new products, saying, ‘I think the consumer, once it gets the Apple chip in its head, is very hard to dislodge.’ In other words, there is a strong element of customer loyalty at play, and this proves more significant than the demand for novelty. One proof for this loyalty lies in analysts’ findings that customers who buy more than one Apple product are likely to purchase Apple products again in the future and display a degree of customer loyalty.
Apple shares
After the success of 2020, Apple moved cautiously into 2021. At the end of January, shares sunk by 3.5%, and the next month they dropped by another 8%. March wasn’t much better, bringing a further 4.2% decline on March 8th alone. One reason given for these weak performances was the impending release of a congressional Covid-19 relief bill which was considered unfavourable for tech stocks. June quarter results were much better, though. Apple CFO Luca Maestri reported that Apple had ‘returned nearly $29 billion to our shareholders during the quarter, and continued to make significant investments across our business to support our long-term growth plans.’ Apple has flown steadily higher since then, marking off an impressively high closing price of $156.69 on September 7th.
