Apple analysts

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Apple analysts:

Wall Street analysts go all-out bullish on record Apple earnings

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Bullish Apple analysts aren’t panicking about coronavirus…yet
With strong iPhone sales and improvements in China consumer sales, Wall Street analyst can't say enough good things about Apple.
Photo: Brad Gibson/Cult of Mac

Apple’s first-quarter results have triggered confidence among analysts that the future of the company is stronger than ever on the back of the iPhone.

Wall Street analysts began reporting Wednesday their thoughts on the tech giant – everything from strong sales growth in China, to rumors of a new low-cost iPhone to a 5G-ready mobile later this year.

Apple will dominate 5G sales in 2020

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2020 could be Apple's greatest year so far
5G iPhones will outsell all rivals in 2020.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple will beat out Samsung and Huawei in 5G handsets next year, according to a forecast by industry analysts. This despite accusations by some critics that not putting 5G in the iPhone 11 would put Apple far behind its rivals.

Apple and Amazon could hook up for health care

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Apple health care
Apple Watch ECG is one of the ways this company is getting into health monitoring.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Apple has made it clear it sees health monitoring as an important part of its business. And now analysts from Morgan Stanley are urging the company combine its efforts with Haven, a partnership of Amazon and others hoping to improve health care while also making it more affordable.

But it’s not clear how Apple would benefit from any such collaboration.

App Store downloads fall, but revenues still rise

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Apple pays $467k for doing business with blacklisted app developer
Fewer iOS apps were downloaded from the App Store last quarter. But the money is still pouring in.
Photo: Apple

The number of downloads from Apple’s iOS App Store declined slightly last quarter, according to a report from market analysis firm Morgan Stanley.

However, revenue from iOS software is increasing, up 15 percent year-over-year.

Why this is the perfect time to buy Apple stock

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iMac Pro
When a company has good long-term prospects, the time to buy shares is when others are getting out.
Photo: Apple/Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It hasn’t been a great month to own shares of Apple. But if you’ve been considering getting in, one analyst says now is the time to buy.

Shares of the iPhone-maker have dropped 17 percent in less than two weeks. But this an overreaction to bad news from parts suppliers.

Optimistic analyst gets gloomy about iPhone XR

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iPhone XR performance is stellar, far better than many Android devices that cost more.
Some of the early optimism about iPhone XR sales might have been unjustified.
Photo: Apple

Respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo just slashed his estimates for the number of iPhone XR units that will sell over the next year. That’s a real turnaround, as Kuo had previously been bullish on Apple’s latest handset.

And he’s not the only analyst expressing concerns about sales of the iPhone XR. But it’s also possible this model is just following a pattern first laid down by the iPhone X.

Why everyone was so wrong about iPhone X sales

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iPhone X standing
Everything you heard about iPhone X sales was wrong. In fact, it's Apple's most popular model.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Analysts have been extremely pessimistic about the iPhone X, with almost daily predictions that Apple’s top-of-the-line model was a flop. And they were all dead wrong. Tim Cook just said the iPhone X has been Apple’s best-selling model for every week since it launched, and that sales of all the company’s phones grew last quarter.

How did the analysts get it so wrong? Here’s what probably happened.

2018 iPhone X models could be cheaper (and bigger)

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Ex-student sentenced to 3 years in prison for massive iPhone scam
The new 2018 iPhone is expected to cost less than the iPhone X.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

An updated iPhone X could be a better deal than the current version, coming it at $100 less. Or buyers might be able to get a larger version for the same money as the original.

That’s the latest speculation about 2018 iPhone pricing, as Apple’s smartphone lineup gets increasingly complicated.

MacBook sales might blow up in 2018

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MacBook sales rising
An analyst predicts increasing demand for the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.
Photo: Apple

The number of MacBooks shipping in 2018 will grow by double digits, if a reliable analyst’s prediction proves correct. That would give Apple’s laptops stronger annual growth than iPhone or iPad.

Apple Watch product line could split in two this year

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Apple Watch Update
We may get double the number of Apple Watch 2 models we're expecting.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple will reportedly release two different next-gen Apple Watch devices, according to a well-connected analyst.

In a note sent to investors over the weekend, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims Apple will launch a slight iterative improvement on the Apple Watch later this year, boasting the same overall design but an improved 16nm processor and improved waterproofing. However, really keen Apple Watch enthusiasts will also be able to get the Apple Watch 2, which will reportedly add a host of other improvements.

iPhone 7 demand predicted to be ‘remarkably high’

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Apple iPhone 6s
The iPhone 7's reception will be anything but frosty.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Forget about the “peak iPhone” problem: Goldman Sachs thinks this year’s iPhone 7 is going to be a big one for Apple.

Coming off the back of Apple selling its billionth iPhone sometime this summer, the bank’s senior equity research analyst Simona Jankowski says the number of people clamoring to get their hands on Apple’s next-gen iPhone will be “remarkably high.”

Apple Watch 2 will be 40 percent slimmer, claims dodgy analyst

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Apple Watch
The next Apple Watch might be a lot thinner.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The next Apple Watch might arrive sooner than expected, based on a new rumor claiming Apple’s new wearable will be unveiled in June.

Not only is the new watch ahead of schedule, it may even sport a 40-percent-thinner design, hopefully without compromising on battery life.

Almost sounds too good to be true, right?

All the big Apple analysts are predicting iPhone sales decline

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iPhone 6s
Ain't that just the way that sales go down, down, down, down.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple has never reported a decline in iPhone sales. That may be about to change, however, with seven top Apple analysts all predicting that the company is either experiencing — or on the verge of experiencing — a drop in the number of iPhones being bought.

Rumors of iPhone crash in 2016 may be greatly exaggerated

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Don't expect Apple's iPhone business to crash any time soon.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

This time of year yields more Apple doom predictions than New Year’s resolutions, so it’s no surprise that Apple analysts have been naming 2016 as the year iPhone sales finally fall off a cliff.

But according to Brean Capital, not only is Apple stock still worth buying, with a $170 price target, but investors should look through the “supply chain ‘noise'” and see the potential for iPhone sales to hit around 250 million units next year — or 7 percent to 10 percent growth from Apple’s already stellar 2016.

Gene Munster says new Apple TV is definitely maybe coming in September

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The Loch Ness monster of Apple rumors isn't completely dead yet.
Will new Apple TV finally surface in September?
Photo: Cult of Mac

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has been chomping at the bit about an Apple TV since 2011, but according to a new research note he sent to clients Thursday, Apple has a good chance of finally releasing its new television at the company’s reported September 9 event.

Seriously, this time. OK, maybe. Let’s call it 50/50.