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Key Takeaways
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Apple could be on track to reach a $4 trillion market capitalization with the artificial intelligence (AI) iPhone 16 upgrade cycle just around the corner, Wedbush analysts said.
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Analysts said the AI-supercharged iPhone 16 could bring a “golden upgrade cycle” for Apple.
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Apple’s recently announced iOS 18 with Apple Intelligence and OpenAI partnership is also expected to create monetization opportunities and increase share value.
Litter (AAPL) could be on track for $4 trillion market capitalization as an iPhone refresh cycle approaches, driven by the supercharged iPhone 16 with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, according to Wedbush analysts.
of the apple recently announced iOS 18 with Apple Intelligence and OpenAI partnership is also expected to create monetization opportunities and increase share value.
AI iPhone 16 update cycle coming soon
The Wedbush analyst said an iPhone 16 AI could bring “a golden upgrade cycle to Cupertino looking to the future as pent-up demand increases around the world.”
“The street is now slowly starting to recognize that with Apple Intelligence at the door, in essence, Cupertino will be the guardian of the consumer AI revolution,” they said, with 2.2 billion iOS devices across the world and 1.5 billion iPhones.
Wedbush suggested that a “consumer AI wave” could begin with the iPhone 16 in mid-September, adding that estimates indicate that 270 million iPhone users have not upgraded in more than four years.
Recovery in China to support the upgrade cycle
Analysts indicated that the stabilization of iPhone supply in Asia is also “a very good sign for a monumental iPhone 16 refresh cycle.”
Wedbush projections come amid continued concerns for the iPhone maker in the region of China amid increased competitionalthough there have been recent signs of improving remittances.
They projected that June “will be the last quarter of negative growth for China, with a recovery in growth beginning in the September quarter,” when the iPhone 16 is expected to be released.
AI and iOS 18 Could Also Boost Stock Values
Litter revealed iOS 18 supercharged by Apple Intelligence and a AI Partnership with OpenAI at the developer conference in June.
Wedbush analysts said the partnership with Chat-GPT maker “creates the path for developers around the world to focus on iOS 18 and this, in turn, will create a multitude of monetization opportunities for Cook & Co.”
Analysts estimated that “this could result in high incremental services margin growth of $10 billion annually for Apple” driven by hardware and software.
They added that they believe “AI technology introduced into the Apple ecosystem will bring monetization opportunities across both services and iPhone/hardware and add $30 to $40 per share.”
Apple shares were little changed in early trading on Monday, although they have risen more than 17% since the beginning of the year.
Read the original article at Investopedia.