Apple’s iPhone X may have only been on sale for a few days, but Apple’s plans for its successor are already being analysed.
Experts believe the tech giant will release two iPhones next year – one an updated X, and one an ‘XL’ with the same design, but a larger screen.
KGI Securities’ analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will launch not one but two iPhones with OLED displays and stainless steel cases.
Apple’s current iPhone lineup: The 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus with LCD screens (left), the new 5.8-inch iPhone X with OLED and the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 (right)
The new report also predicts Apple will make changes to the stainless steel metal frame to improve data transmission quality.
Apple’s current flagship iPhone lineup includes three models with only one OLED option: the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 and 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus with LCD screens, and the 5.8-inch iPhone X with OLED.
The second model referenced in KGI’s report may be a larger ‘Plus’ version of the next iPhone X, 9to5Mac believes.
Face ID is also expected to come to new iPad Pros
Apple shares rose to a record high on Friday as more analysts set a trillion-dollar valuation on the company, following a blowout fourth quarter and an upbeat forecast that quashed investor concerns around the iPhone X.
The stock rose as much as 3.7 percent to $174.26, briefly breaching $900 billion in market value, amid declines in the broader market.
The gains added nearly $32 billion to the company’s market capitalization.
Aadhyan Vaka, 6, of Plainsboro, N.J., reacts while playing with the animoji feature of the new iPhone X at the Apple Union Square store Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, in San Francisco.
The Cupertino, California-based company also forecast a strong holiday quarter ahead, which will include the iPhone X that started selling on Nov. 3.
‘We see iPhone X unlocking pent-up iPhone upgrades, especially in China, driving more than 20 percent iPhone unit growth and a revenue and earnings beat in 2018,’ analyst Katy Huberty on Morgan Stanley said.
The glass-and-steel $999 phone appeared to have brought back the frenzy associated with iPhone launches – long lines formed outside Apple stores across the world as fans flocked to buy the new phone.
The company will make 30 million iPhone X units during the current quarter, Nomura Instinet analysts estimated, allaying production worries related to the phone.
IPhone X’s launch follows weeks of concerns among analysts about the production of the phone, which for the first time includes new facial identification software to replace the fingerprint used on previous phones.
A customer tries iPhone X as Apple’s New iPhone X goes on sale at an Apple Store to buy Apple’s New iPhone X in Manhattan, New York in Manhattan of New York, United States on November 3, 2017.
Apple said on Thursday it expects first-quarter revenue of $84 billion to $87 billion, at the high end of analysts’ average expectation of $84.18 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
‘We – and many others – had feared that guidance could be weaker, reflecting only 9 weeks of the flagship iPhone X and limitations on supply,’ Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said.
At least 13 brokerages raised their price targets on the stock, with Citigroup making the most bullish move by raising its price target by $30 to $200.
Of the 37 analysts that track the stock, as per Thomson Reuters data, 31 had a ‘buy’, or higher rating. None had a ‘sell’.
With the latest brokerage actions, at least nine Wall Street analysts now have target prices that put Apple’s market value above $1 trillion.
Apple CEO Tim Cook greets customers after opening the gate of the store as new iPhone X goes on sale at an Apple Store in California’s Palo Alto
Drexel Hamilton’s Brian White is still the most bullish among Apple analysts tracked by Thomson Reuters, raising his target price further to $235.
Apple’s fourth-quarter results underscored the company’s ability to drive growth not just on iPhones, but across its range of products, analysts said.
The company’s suite now includes five different iPhone models, the iPad, the Mac and the Apple Watch as well as its fast-growing services.
Apple said it sold 46.7 million iPhones in the fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, above analysts’ estimates of 46.4 million, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet. Mac and iPad sales too were above the estimates of most analysts.
DAILYMAIL.COM REVIEWS THE IPHONE X
The screen on the X is simply stunning with bright and vivid colours
Apple bills it as the future of smartphones – and after spending a day with the iPhone X, it’s hard to disagree.
It’s a simply stunning piece of hardware, with the screen front and center, taking up almost the entire front of the device.
While detractors say the lack of a home button and fingerprint scanner are the biggest problems the iPhone X faces, in reality they are what make it – at least in the limited time I used the handset for.
It really does feel like a glimpse into the future, and also incredibly natural – after less than an hour I found I’d completely adjusted to not having a home button, and looking at the handset to unlock it.
Going back to an iPhone 8 seems unthinkable – its as if the security features we’ve become used to simply disappear when using FaceID.
It’s incredibly natural – and perhaps tellingly when I reach for my iPad, I swiped up instantly.
It really does feel like the future – and while not perfect, a whole new chapter, not just for the iPhone, but for technology in general, where it begins to disappear before your eyes.
Mark Prigg