Citigroup: Apple (AAPL.US) plans to release iOS 18.2 in December, which is expected to boost iPhone sales

Zhitong Finance learned that according to Citigroup Research, Apple (AAPL.US) plans to release iOS 18.2 in December, and its new Apple Intelligence features may determine the speed of iPhone replacement cycle. Although the exact date is unknown, MacRumors believes the date may be Monday, December 9. Citigroup maintains its Buy rating and $255 target price for Apple. The bank expects the iPhone 17 update cycle to boost sales at the end of 2025 and in 2026. The company expects 227 million units in 2024, 246 million units in 2025, and 253 million units in 2026.

Analysts led by Atif Malik of Citigroup said in an investor report: "Overall, the staggered rollout of Apple Intelligence features makes the iPhone 16/17 update cycle different from previous cycles. iOS 18.1 was released in late October with limited generative AI features in the US English version. Apple's AI features won't be available in the EU until next April, and Apple hasn't announced a date for China because the company is going through regulatory processes."

Apple also plans to announce a more conversational and larger language version of Siri at some point in 2025, but it may not be fully available until 2026. Earlier this year, Apple released Apple Intelligence at its June developer conference and announced integrating ChatGPT into Siri. ChatGPT will be added to Siri in iOS 18.2.

Citigroup's consumer electronics holiday survey found that iPhone sales this quarter rose slightly year-on-year, with 48% of consumers preferring iPhones, up from 46% in the previous holiday season. However, only 19% of the 2,900 consumers surveyed were interested in the high-end models of iPhone 16, compared with 21% who liked the high-end models of iPhone 15 in 2023.

Malik noted: "It's interesting to see that we are seeing more interest in the iPhone 15 series this year compared to the iPhone 14 last year, and we believe this may be due to the availability of Apple's smartphones in the high-end iPhone 15 models."

About 70% of the surveyed iPhone users said that Apple Intelligence is important when considering purchasing a new iPhone.