Apple (AAPL) has unveiled its much-anticipated AI strategy at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), marking a “historical week for the tech world,” Wedbush analysts said in a note.
Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) jumped more than 7% Tuesday and the delayed positive reaction from investors signals a growing recognition that Apple's AI advancements will drive consumer adoption through their devices in the coming year, the brokerage firm added.
The analysts identify two key aspects of Apple's AI strategy that hold great potential. First, the rollout of Apple's AI strategy is expected to trigger a long-awaited super cycle, with an estimated 270 million of the 1.5 billion iPhones worldwide having not been upgraded in over four years.
Second, developers are anticipated to create hundreds of apps on Apple's AI platform, effectively establishing a new AI App Store that could become the primary means through which consumers interact with generative AI in the years ahead.
“Taking this a step further, we believe eventually this will lead to a bundled subscription service for Apple around higher end AI capabilities that will be another major catalyst for the Services segment over the coming years,” analysts at Wedbush noted.
“We believe over the next year the race to $4 Trillion Market Cap in Tech will be front and center between Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Apple, and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT),” they added.