Here’s What You Need to Know About Recent Apple Event

On Wednesday, Apple, as predicted, revealed a new iPhone 14. The business also introduced new Apple Watch variants and a new AirPods Pro model.

Surprisingly, the business kept its iPhone lineup's costs as low as possible. Some Wall Street experts had predicted a price rise given the inflationary environment for components.

This year's annual September event, named "Far Out," is a watershed moment for the technological behemoth.

Apple's initial announcement on Wednesday centered on the watch, with the release of the Apple Watch Series 8. Ovulation tracking and car incident detection are among the new health and safety functions included in the gadget.

The gadget offers an 18-hour battery life or 36 hours in the new Low Power Mode. The price of the watch will start at $399 for GPS devices and $499 for cellular ones. Orders begin today, and the new watch will be available on September 16.

According to the business, the new Apple Watch SE, the affordable model, would be 20% quicker than the previous generation. The entry-level model costs $249.

The Apple Watch Ultra was the biggest story in the watch industry. The more expensive gadget is more robust and has a brighter display, as well as additional features tailored to outdoor activity. It has a battery life of 36 hours or 60 hours with battery optimization. The new Ultra model, which has a bigger screen than existing Apple Watch models, will retail for $799 and will be available on September 23.

Apple also unveiled the latest version of its AirPods Pro, which provides up to twice the noise cancellation of the original AirPods Pro. The headphones also include a new transparency option that filters out harsh noises. According to Apple, they will deliver up to six hours of listening time on a single charge.

Apple has also shown the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. The latter is a bigger variant with the longest battery life of any iPhone. The new phone has a 12-megapixel primary camera that improves low-light performance by 49%.

When cellular connections are unavailable, the devices will be able to connect to satellites in emergency scenarios.

The iPhone 14 will be $799, while the iPhone 14 Plus will be $899.

Apple also unveiled new iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max versions. Both variants provide a more sophisticated display and are powered by a new A16 Bionic chip. The Pro variants now have a 48-megapixel camera.

The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone Pro Max include an always-on display and a greater integration of the front camera area for alerts, dubbed the "dynamic island" by Apple.

The iPhone 14 Pro will remain at $999 and will be available on September 16.

In 2022, Apple shares fell 13%, while the S&P 500 index fell 18%. As the event on Wednesday came to a close, the stock was up 0.4%.

While a new line of gadgets might have a significant influence on the company's upcoming quarters, don't anticipate the stock to skyrocket as a result of the announcement. Across the 21 iPhone announcement days tracked by Dow Jones Market Data, Apple shares fell 0.46% on average. The exception was the day Steve Jobs presented the initial iPhone in January 2007, when shares soared 8.3%.

According to Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, Apple's ability to ship the new phones amid supply chain challenges and Covid-19 shutdowns in China is "another big success" for CEO Tim Cook and his team.

On Wednesday, Ives told Barron's via email that Apple's decision to keep pricing constant was a "surprise." He believes Apple's in-house processors provide the corporation with more margin flexibility.

The new iPhone is critical for Apple, which is concerned about the impact of the larger macroeconomic situation on demand for iPhones and other goods.

"While the softer economy will undoubtedly play a role in the demand narrative," Ives said, "We believe the baseline for 220 million iPhone units in [the fiscal year 2023] is likely a low bar given the pent-up demand story that we see internationally for Apple. We estimate that roughly 30% of iPhone consumers in the key China region are in the window for an upgrade cycle, with many likely Pro/Pro Max buyers, which continues to push ASPs higher along with the $100 price increase likely."