KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup went on sale Friday, with early sales of the devices across the U.S, Europe and Asia reportedly drawing long lines amid strong demand—especially for the Pro models.
- The phones have met with a mixed reaction from analysts with some saying they are waiting for AI-powered upgrades to the models next year.
- Apple shares have struggled this year amid Wall Street consensus that its devices have been slow to catch up in the AI race.
Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 17 lineup went on sale Friday, with early sales of the devices in the U.S and the rest of the world reportedly drawing long lines amid strong demand—especially for the Pro models.
The queues began in Asia and Europe then continued in the U.S., where CEO Tim Cook greeted a long line of customers at the company’s flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York City.
The tech giant introduced the lineup earlier this month and opened them up for pre-orders, with the new phones including a thinner model, the iPhone Air, as well the more expensive iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max, and iPhone Air and also new Apple Watch and AirPods models. The iPhone 17 Pro is selling for $1,099, up $100 from the iPhone 16 Pro, with storage of 256 gigabytes, or double the previous model’s and a longer battery life.
The phones had met with mixed reaction from analysts, with some, like Morgan Stanley, calling the iPhone Air “a small positive surprise” while others said they are waiting for AI-powered updates to the lineup that could give Apple’s stock, the sole underperformer among the Mag 7 tech giants, a bigger catalyst for gains.
Apple’s Slow Rollout of AI Features Have Hit Its Stock
The shares have been under pressure on the back of Wall Street concerns that the tech firm has been slow out of the gate in the AI race, with even the new devices lagging at a time when analysts increasingly are touting wearables like smart glasses as a key device to access the technology. Apple has also been increasingly losing ground in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, to domestic rivals like Huawei and Oppo.
According to CNBC, demand is especially strong for the Pro and Pro Max models, with lines in London “notably longer” than they were for the iPhone 16 and consumers in Beijing queuing up the night before to get their hands on the models following strong pre-order sales in China.
Bloomberg said demand for the phones was also strong in Hong Kong, though noted some consumers in China were complaining on social media that they were easily scuffed.
Apple shares are rising 3% in intraday trading Friday and have lost 2% of their value so far this year.
UPDATE—This article has been updated with the latest share prices.
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