Apple unveiled its new water-resistant iPhone 7 with high-resolution dual-lens cameras at its fall product event yesterday, and said a Super Mario game was coming to the new phone and Pokemon Go would feature on its upgraded Apple Watch.
The excitement at the Bill Graham auditorium in San Francisco was not matched on Wall Street, where Apple’s stock was down 0.4%.
However, Nintendo Co’s US-listed shares, jumped more than 20% to trade around $35 on hopes its games would reach a new audience.
The world’s best-known technology company made the details of the new phone public in a series of tweets that were quickly taken down, but not before being widely retweeted.
Apple is widely expected to ditch the headphone jack in its newest phone, paving the way for a new generation of wireless headphones.
The company typically gives its main product, which accounts for more than half of its revenue, a big makeover every other year and the last major redesign was the iPhone 6 in 2014.
The modest updates suggest that this cycle will be three years.
A large crowd of journalists, analysts and Apple employees crowded into the Bill Graham auditorium in San Francisco to watch Apple chief executive Tim Cook take the stage to reveal new information on products.
Apple typically gives its main product, which accounts for more than half of its revenue, a big makeover every other year and the last major redesign was the iPhone 6, in 2014.
The modest updates suggest that this cycle will be three years.
“It looks like part of the reason they are keeping the design the same this year is there are bigger changes they are working on for next year,” said analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research.
Sales of the iPhone dropped two quarters in a row this year, the first declines in the history of the device.
With many consumers who purchased the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus due for an upgrade, Apple may eke out single-digit gains in sales for the 7, Dawson said. But some consumer technology sites are advising users to hold off on upgrading until next year’s version, which will mark the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone.
Analysts say the iPhone 8 may feature a wider display that reaches from one edge of the device to the other and a home button integrated into the screen.
Wall Street is impatient for growth, and Apple will be hard-pressed to reverse the downward trend this year, said Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Partners.
“The iPhone 7 runs the risk of disappointing investors,” he said.
Consumers are waiting longer before replacing their phones, a shift that Apple must address in its product roadmap, said analyst Ben Bajarin of Creative Strategies.
Most analysts believe sales of Apple’s watch — which the company has not disclosed — have not yet justified the fanfare.
Starting at $299, well above many other wearables on the market, the most meaningful change Apple can make is a price cut, Bajarin said.
“This category is very price sensitive,” he said.
Apple is “not there yet.”