Apple Stock Rises 5 Days Despite Lackluster iPhone 17 Launch

Apple's latest iPhone models, unveiled in the recent product launch, did not introduce groundbreaking new features that would captivate consumers. However, investors are increasingly focusing on the higher price points of these new models as a reason to invest in the company's stock.

Following the launch event, Apple's stock experienced a brief decline but has since risen for five consecutive days. The new, thinner iPhone models did not generate significant excitement. However, the market's optimistic outlook is that even if consumers are not in a rush to upgrade, the higher-priced models, such as the top-tier Pro model with a retail price of 1999 USD, will still support Apple's revenue growth.

Industry research predicts that the average selling price of iPhones, which accounts for half of Apple's revenue, will increase by approximately 4% in the 2026 fiscal year, compared to a 1.5% increase in the 2025 fiscal year. Over the past decade, the prices of all iPhone models have remained relatively stable.

An investment portfolio manager overseeing 330 billion USD in assets noted, "This is the first significant price increase in years. If combined with higher price levels and advancements in AI technology, it could form a regular upgrade cycle. While this may not be particularly exciting for the stock price, it is still a positive development."

With the easing of tariff risks, Apple's stock has risen over the past two months. However, due to challenges in deploying AI features, its stock performance still lags behind that of other tech giants. This year, Apple's stock has fallen by nearly 5%, while the Nasdaq-100 index has risen by 15%.

Apple has long faced challenges in achieving significant sales growth. Although the latest financial report shows that quarterly revenue growth has reached its fastest pace in over three years, the expected revenue growth for the current and next fiscal years is only 6%. According to industry research, this growth rate is less than half of the expected revenue growth rate for the S&P 500 technology sector in 2025 and 2026.

Apple has acknowledged that the iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air models have camera issues. In extremely bright LED lighting conditions, photos taken may show black blocks and white curves. This issue was first discovered by a foreign journalist during a concert performance, where approximately one in ten photos showed small black screens and partial white wavy lines. These anomalies were caused by the strong light from the LED screen interfering with the camera sensor, resulting in recording errors and affecting the final image quality.

The journalist subsequently contacted Apple to report the issue and received official confirmation. Apple stated that this problem occurs only in rare cases, such as when an extremely bright LED screen directly illuminates the camera. The company has already fixed this issue and plans to release a patch, although the specific release time for the patch has not yet been announced.

On September 10, during the 2025 autumn new product launch, Apple unveiled the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and other models. Among them, the iPhone Air is the thinnest smartphone Apple has ever released, with a starting price of 7999 CNY.

On September 12, the iPhone 17 series officially began pre-sales. On that day, Apple's official website in China announced the out-of-warranty repair costs for the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The estimated repair cost for a cracked screen (front only) on the iPhone 17 is 2698 CNY, an increase of 400 CNY from the previous iPhone 16 model, which was 2298 CNY, attracting widespread attention.

On September 16, Apple released the latest iOS 26 official version, bringing improvements in design, functionality, and AI. At the same time, Apple launched a new support page, systematically addressing user concerns about battery life and performance changes for the first time.

Apple explained that after completing the system update, especially after a major version upgrade, the iPhone may experience a temporary decrease in battery life and increased heating. This is because the system needs to index data and files in the background to prepare for the search function and download new resources and update applications, which will consume additional hardware resources.

In particular, iOS 26 includes new features that may consume more resources and battery power while enhancing the user experience. However, this situation varies from person to person. If a user frequently uses resource-intensive features, they may experience long-term slight changes in battery life and performance.

Apple emphasized that short-term performance fluctuations after an update are normal and usually stabilize within a few days.

Recently, news about Apple's new products has been frequent. The iPhone 17 series is still generating buzz. According to a well-known tech journalist, Apple plans to release another 10 new products over the next 16 months, with half of these products expected to be launched by the end of 2025 and the other half scheduled to be released in early 2026.

Additionally, a securities analyst reported that Apple plans to integrate a touch panel for the first time in its first OLED MacBook Pro, with mass production expected in 2026. This marks the first time in 19 years that the MacBook will break the "keyboard and mouse only" interaction boundary.