On the early morning of September 10th, the annual Apple Autumn Conference arrived as scheduled.
At the press conference, Cook brought the new generation of iPhone 16 series phones, including iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Subsequently, new products such as the Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods 4 also made their debut.
Firstly, in terms of appearance, the cameras of iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus return to the vertical dual camera design of the iPhone X era; The iPhone 16 Pro series has added capacitive buttons on the side, which can be used for taking photos and videos; In terms of screen size, the iPhone 16 Pro has increased from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max has increased from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches, becoming the largest screen phone in Apple's history.
Secondly, in terms of performance, the entire series will be equipped with the A18 chip, and the operating memory will be increased to 8GB.
Image source: Apple official website
Apple also emphasized the new Apple Intelligence feature.
The live video demonstration of several functions of Apple's smart system at the press conference includes Writing Tools, which can rewrite, proofread, and; Can record audio and convert it into text to generate content and; In the photo app, natural language can be used to search for specific photos, etc.
The product upgrade is basically within everyone's expectations, which can be said to be a "squeeze toothpaste" style update.
According to a report by market research firm Canalys, Apple's intelligence provides an opportunity for Apple to boost its high-end iPhone sales performance in addition to hardware upgrades. Apple is expected to improve its average price and profit margin performance by further promoting its differentiation strategy between Pro models and base models.
However, Apple said that Apple's intelligent functions are temporarily not applicable to iPhone models purchased in Chinese Mainland. For iPhone models purchased outside Chinese Mainland that support Apple's intelligence, if the user is in Chinese Mainland and the Apple ID country/region is also set in Chinese Mainland, Apple's intelligence cannot be used at present.
According to official information, Apple Smart will begin testing the US English version in October, the localized English version in December, and the Chinese version is expected to be launched next year. This means that Chinese version iPhone 16 series users will need to wait until the Chinese version is launched next year to experience Apple's AI functionality.
Market research firm Counterpoint Research predicts that the impact of Apple's intelligence on Apple's shipment and revenue growth will become more apparent in 2025 and beyond, as the introduction of AI is phased in terms of functionality and regions.
Not only did the vast number of netizens who will only be able to use Apple's smart devices next year not buy into this press conference, but from the reaction of the secondary market, investors also did the same.
On September 9th Eastern Time, as the press conference began, the highlights of the new product did not exceed market expectations. Apple Inc.'s (AAPL. O) stock price fell by 1.86% at one point, with a fluctuation of 2.07%, and finally closed with a slight increase of 0.04%, with a total market value of nearly $3.36 trillion.
Affected by this, on September 10th, most A-share Apple industry chain companies also fell, and the 5G communication ETF (515050) with a high proportion of Guolian concept equity fell by 1.06% at one point after opening. Holding stocks such as Leading Intelligence Manufacturing (002600. SZ) and Huanxu Electronics (601231. SH) led the decline.
On the morning of September 10th, the Wind Apple Index (884116. WI) fell more than 2% at one point, but eventually rebounded to a slight increase of 0.15% at the end of the afternoon.
In terms of individual stocks, the constituent stocks of the Wind Apple Index also experienced a general decline at the morning opening. As of noon closing, only 6 individual stocks including Luxshare Precision (002475. SZ) and GoerTek (002241. SZ) among the 50 individual stocks in the entire sector turned red.
As of the afternoon close of September 10th, the constituent stocks of the Wind Apple Index have shown significant polarization, with 12 stocks still falling except for most stocks that have turned red. Among them, Kesen Technology (603626. SH) hit the daily limit down, while Baibang Technology (300736. SZ) and Hengbao Co., Ltd. (002104. SZ) both fell by more than 7%, and Lingzhi Zhizao and Huanxu Electronics both fell by more than 3%.
Kesen Technology mainly provides research and development, manufacturing, and partial assembly services for precision metal and plastic structural components required for consumer electronics terminal products for customers such as Apple. Its 2024 semi annual report shows a net profit attributable to the parent company of -161 million yuan in the first half of the year, which is in a loss state.
Prior to this, from August 26th to September 7th, Kesen Technology achieved ten consecutive limit up sessions, rising from 5.09 yuan/share to 13.21 yuan/share. During this period, Kesen Technology also repeatedly disclosed abnormal fluctuations in stock trading and trading risk warning announcements, stating that the current stock price has seriously deviated from the company's fundamentals and there is a risk of excessive irrational speculation.
On September 9th, Kesen Technology staged a "sky floor" and ultimately closed at the limit down.
Baibang Technology focuses on the mobile phone after-sales service industry and has been an authorized after-sales service provider by Apple for over 15 years. As of the end of the first half of this year, 70 authorized Apple service stores have been established in 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, and 8690 Lightning Bee Alliance stores have been developed. In the two trading days leading up to Apple's autumn product launch event, Baibang Technology rose 9.39% and 13.67% respectively.
In addition, as a leading enterprise in consumer electronics precision functional/structural components, Leading Intelligence Manufacturing products are mainly used in AI terminal equipment and communication, automotive, photovoltaic energy storage and other fields, and are one of Apple's core suppliers.
Zheshang Securities recently reported that in the first half of this year, major brand manufacturers have successively launched AI intelligent terminal products, and Lingyi Zhizao International's major customers are also expected to launch mobile phone products equipped with AI functional hardware next year. "AI+hardware" is expected to promote the trend of consumer electronics replacement.
