Apple Inc AAPL stock fell Tuesday after the company unveiled its highly anticipated iPhone 17 and several other products at its “Awe Dropping” event. An analyst highlights why the new iPhone is so important for the tech giant.
The Apple Analyst: Wedbush analyst Dan Ives maintained an Outperform rating on Apple with a $270 price target.
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The Analyst Takeaways: With new iPhones, AirPods and Apple Watches, Apple is looking to “leverage the largest customer installed base in the world,” Ives said in a new investor note.
The analyst said Apple has 2.4 billion iOS devices and 1.5 billion iPhones worldwide, setting up a favorable outcome if consumers choose to update their devices.
“We estimate roughly 315 million iPhone users of 1.5 billion users worldwide have not upgraded their phones in over four years, speaking to an upgrade opportunity,” Ives said.
For the new iPhone 17, Ives highlights better color selection, a better display, the A19 chip, better camera features and Apple Intelligence features.
“The company’s focus on much-improved internal product efficiencies balanced with bold redesigns and practical new features interwoven with Apple Intelligence sets Apple up to launch towards an eventual super cycle over the next 12 to 18 months.”
The analyst said Apple’s AI strategy is holding the stock back.
With the new iPhone and products, Ives said this could be “the spark for a new era at Apple” as the company shows new use cases for its ecosystem.
Ives said Apple likely raised the price of the iPhone 17 Pro from $999 to $1,099 due to tariffs, while the base iPhone 17 price remained the same at $799. The analyst highlighted Apple focusing on production of iPhones in India for the U.S. market, instead of production in China.
The iPhone tariffs are likely to be a $1 billion headwind for Apple in the September quarter, Ives predicted.
AAPL Price Action: Apple stock closed down 1.48% to $234.35 on Tuesday versus a 52-week trading range of $169.21 to $260.09. Apple stock is down 3.9% year-to-date in 2025.
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Photo: Apple iPhone 17 Pro, courtesy Apple
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