Following an announcement of a range of new artificial intelligence (AI) features at WWDC, Apple’s shares skyrocketed by 7% to a new record high of $207 per share, igniting optimism among investors and analysts about the company’s future prospects in AI, according to CNBC.
Among the notable features announced by Apple were the revamped voice assistant Siri with enhanced abilities, integration with OpenAI’s popular model ChatGPT for contextual dialogue, text writing and image creation tools, as well as emoji generation from user requests.
Morgan Stanley analysts believe these innovations make Apple arguably the “most differentiated digital agent for consumers”. Besides, these novel features could induce iPhone owners to upgrade their smartphones faster, positively impacting sales. They also observed that while Apple has yet to turn the announced plans into reality, it’s clear that their strategy could provide sustainable growth over the next few years and offer a competitive edge.
Bank of America analysts also optimistically responded to Apple’s announcements, stating the new features would lead to an “IntelliPhone upgrade cycle”, referring to smartphones with AI support. The bank maintains its “buy” recommendation for Apple shares due to the potential growth in net profit and revenue from the company’s service offerings.
Furthermore, analysts from consulting firm Evercore returned from the conference with “increased confidence” in Apple’s strategy, noting the focus on upgrading devices to utilize AI features could kickstart a supercycle of iPhone upgrades.