After taking the better part of a day, a few analysts and market trackers have reacted to Apple’s “Peek performance” event. That’s the one that had Apple talkin’ baseball, and introducing an updated iPhone SE, an updated iPad Air, the new Mac Studio desktop, and the new Studio Display. Apple 3.0 gathered 3.0 notes on the presentation.
Focusing on the phone, Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani sort of tried listening between Apple’s spoken lines. He noticed that Apple spent less time focusing on iPhone SE’s 5G connectivity than it did on how much better the new SE is than the old iPhone 8. Noting the focus, he’s thinking 5G may not have been a major selling point for iPhone to this point. That said, aiming messaging at people with phones three years old or older could be a winning strategy - especially for emerging markets.
Daryanani has an “Outperform” rating on Apple shares. His price target on the shares is $210.
While Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives seems to have focused on iPhone as well (his note was headlined, “iPhone SE Front and Center — Another Demand Driver”), Apple 3.0 honed in on how impressed Ives seemed with the Mac Studio. Very. He was very impressed with Apple’s new desktop - particularly the new M1 Ultra. This he calls a “staggering technology achievement that is another shot across the board at chip stalwarts such as Intel as Apple beats chip companies at their own game on the desktop front.”
Ives has an “Outperform” rating on Apple shares. His price target on the shares is $200.
Leading up to the event, Ives was impressed with Apple’s ability to keep introducing new products given ongoing components issues and the tangled supply chain. Loup Ventures principal Gene Munster picked up on that theme. While expressing admiration for Apple’s new desktop and associated display, that wasn’t the thing that impressed him the most. “More importantly,” reads his note:
…the event is another reminder that Apple is the gold standard at getting it done. Since 2018, they’ve hosted 4 product events per year. Apple has been at its most prolific despite multiple headwinds that have sidetracked the product development efforts of most companies. As long as Apple can keep upgrading the current products, launch new products and services, and enter new product categories, shares of AAPL will continue to rise.
