A new entry-level iPhone? A new iPad? New services? Speculation is rife on the eve of Apple’s first event of the year.
The wait is almost over.
Apple’s (AAPL) – Get Apple Inc. Report first event of the year, dubbed “Peek Performance”, is scheduled to being Tuesday at 10AM Pacific Time.
Last week the tech tweeted a video of a glowing image of its famous logo with the message “Wonder Ahead.” Analysts and tech enthusiasts have been wondering what Apple will come up with and they have a few theories.
‘The Highlight of the Event’
The highlight of the virtual event will be the iPhone SE starting likely at $399 price points with a new A15 Bionic chip and 5G capability, said Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives and John Katsingris.
“We do not expect major hardware design changes, as the Apple chip upgrade and 5G will be the headline of the event to further catalyze upgrades during this massive iPhone 13 led product cycle,” the analysts said in a research note.
Ives and Katsingris said that they estimate the new iPhone SE “can translate into 30 million+ incremental units over the next year as globally there is pent up demand for this next SE based on recent supply chain checks.”
“We also expect a new iPad Air 5 to be announced with the proprietary A15 chip and expect at least one new Mac release which likely will be a refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro with an updated M2 chip (although a handful of Mac upgrades are likely coming in the next 3-5 months),” the analysts said.
While the supply chains issues have curtailed some growth for Apple on this massive product cycle playing out across its entire hardware ecosystem, the analysts said that they believe “the pent-up demand story for Cupertino is still being underestimated by investors with chip issues a transitory issue in our opinion.”
The two analysts noted that Apple is unveiling more new products to hit the shelves at a time when technology and automotive companies around the world cutting production new product launches.
‘Nearly Teflon-Like’ Ability
This speaks to the “nearly Teflon-like” ability of CEO Tim Cook & Co. “to navigate this unprecedented supply chain shortage globally,” they said.
CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino said Apple could attract more price-sensitive consumers if the price of the iPhone SE remains the same for the new version, according to Reuters.
“It could potentially provide upside to our unit iPhone estimate for 2022 if they keep that price point unchanged,” Zino said.
The iPhone SE really caters well to a lot of first-time buyers on the iPhone ecosystem that may be younger individuals, he said “where their parents are going out there buying that device.”
Zino also said he does not anticipate services or accessories launches at the Tuesday event, though an unexpected announcement in the services sector is still possible.
“Their definition of low cost and my definition of low cost are two very different things,” one person said on Twitter.
“The words ‘Apple’ and ‘low-cost’ do not belong in the same sentence,” another said.
The website MacRumors said a new iPad air is expected with key new features rumored to include an A15 chip, an upgraded 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage support, 5G for cellular models, and Quad-LED True Tone flash.
Center Stage is a FaceTime feature designed to keep users in focus and perfectly framed when they are on a FaceTime video call. If more than one person is in the call, the camera will also zoom out to keep everyone in view.
New Monitor ‘Ready to Go’
As to watch consumers won’t be seeing this year, MacWorld said is it not likely that the Cupertino crowd will introduce a refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro with a faster M2 chip.
Also, the iPad Pro will likely be getting an M2 upgrade at some point in 2022, but it’s been less than a year since the current model was released, MacWorld said.
Apple is reportedly working on a standalone 27-inch display that’s more affordable than the $5,999 Pro Display XDR.
While rumors have indicated that it will be released sometime this year, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman tweeted that the new “monitor is ready to go” and that “Peek” could imply that’s coming Tuesday.
“New Mac mini is ready too, could also launch soon – iMac Pro and Mac Pro isn’t shipping soon,” he said.
The Peek Performance comes at a time when Russia is invading Ukraine. Last week, Apple said it would halt all sales of its products in Russia as the invasion continues.
Wedbush noted that “in this volatile geopolitical climate with a general risk-off preference among investors as the horrific and heartbreaking Ukraine invasion causes market jitters, we believe Apple is a safety tech name to own during this market storm.”
“We view Apple as both a Rock of Gibraltar defensive tech name as well as the best 5G tech play in the market with a massive product cycle that is gaining more steam along with its valuable services business which is being undervalued by the Street in our opinion,” the note said.
