Analyst Predicts Multiple iPhone Refreshes Per Year, New Services After Meeting with Apple Execs
Apple's bifurcation of its iPhone lineup will provide the company with the opportunity to offer new iPhone products multiple times per year in the future, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty. Along with pricing flexibility, the ability to offer new products at more frequent intervals will drive unit growth upwards in 2014.
Apple recently introduced both the high-end iPhone 5s and the mid-range iPhone 5c, priced slightly lower, selling both alongside the lower-end iPhone 4s. It is unclear how Apple plans to continue to upgrade these lines in the future, but according to Huberty, Apple will be able to utilize its dual product lineup for "multiple refreshes per year."

Huberty, who recently met with Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer to gain some insight on Apple's future plans, also indicates that there's a lot of growth potential in Apple's services category. She suggests that Apple could, for example, expand the usage of Touch ID in the future, setting the stage for new services revenue streams
Services a meaningful opportunity. As we highlighted in our June 4, 2013 note, iOS usage stats far exceeds Android. Combining 575M+ high-end consumer accounts (most linked to credit cards or ACH) with investments Apple is making in cutting edge hardware, like the fingerprint sensor, and upgrading its installed base to the latest versions of iOS and OS X sets up for new services revenue streams, in our view.
Apple recently made some drastic moves towards improving its software and service offerings, providing OS X Mavericks for free to all users, along with a number of other free software upgrades for its iLife and iWork suite of apps. Apple has also been aiming to enter new service markets, introducing iTunes Radio earlier this year and working on completing deals with cable companies like Time Warner with the potential goal of debuting new television services.
During Apple's fourth quarter earnings call, CEO Tim Cook indicated Apple would introduce new product categories in 2014, suggesting the company would use its skills to build software, hardware, and services to create "great products" in categories that Apple does not currently participate in.
Popular Stories
Significant changes are expected to arrive with Apple's fourth-generation iPhone SE, in terms of both design and hardware, MacRumors has learned. The iPhone SE 4, known internally under the codename Ghost, is expected to receive a new design derived almost entirely from the base model iPhone 14. According to our sources, the iPhone SE 4 will use a modified version of the iPhone 14 chassis...
Apple today released iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates, with the software coming five days after the releases of iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1. Today's iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates arrive as build 21A351 and can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Note that iOS 17.0.2 was previously made available for iPhone...
Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:57 pm PDT by
Juli CloverJust a week after releasing iOS 17, Apple has seeded the first beta of iOS 17.1 to developers. iOS 17.1 adds some features that Apple promised were coming to iOS 17 in the future, plus it refines and improves some existing features. This guide covers everything new in the first iOS 17.1 beta. Apple Music Favorites You can favorite songs, albums, playlists, and artists in the iOS 17.1...
iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max overheating concerns continue to make headlines this week, with the topic highlighted by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Both of the reports document anecdotal complaints from customers, and outline potential causes, but it's unclear how many devices are actually affected. Bloomberg said the overheating could be caused or compounded by the iPhone's setup...
Complaints about heat issues with the iPhone 15 Pro models are not related to TSMC's 3-nanometer node that was used for the A17 Pro chip, according to well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo says that overheating could be caused by "compromises made in the thermal system design" that allowed Apple to cut down on the weight of the iPhone 15 Pro models. Kuo says that the reduced heat...
Apple added a USB-C port to the iPhone 15 lineup this year, allowing it to work with USB-C cables, USB-C power banks, and more. It turns out that some USB-C battery packs are not working properly with Apple's iPhone 15, resulting in charging issues. As highlighted on Reddit and the MacRumors forums, not all existing USB-C power banks can be used with the iPhone 15 models, perhaps due to the...
In macOS Sonoma, Game Mode prioritizes CPU and GPU performance for gaming purposes on Macs. For those unfamiliar with Game Mode, Apple on Tuesday published a support document providing more information on how to use the new feature. Game Mode optimizes your gaming experience by giving your game the highest priority access to your CPU and GPU, lowering usage for background tasks. And it...
Top Rated Comments
What a brilliant insight!
2014 : im loving my iPhone 6 with bigger screen!! Apple didnt copy/follow Samsung! Apple just needed time to make it perfect!!
2013 : Samsheeps will cry over their 6 months cycles. Their brand new phone gets outdated too soon!!
2014 : Apple is genius! This 5 months cycles will allow Apple to offer consumers newer technology fast as they can.