To The Moon

And just like that, the Apple annual event on Tue, 12 Sep 2023, titled “Wonderlust” was over with the blink of an eye.

What do we know so far?

Very quickly, below is a summary of the “new” & more “high profile” products introduced.

(1) Apple Watch - Series 9.

• Series 9 will be priced at $399 and the 2nd generation SE $249,

• Both Installed with S9 Chip.

• Equipped with new 'Double Tap' gesture control feature.

• This means there is no need to touch the Apple Watch in order to interact.

• Instead, user only need to tap his index finger & thumb together to interact with the watch, allowing for a one-handed user experience.

• Feature 64GB of storage.

(2) Apple Watch - Ultra 2.

Apple Watch - Ultra 2

• Ultra 2 price is announced: $799.

• Features the “faster” S9 Chip.

• Comes equipped with “precision finding” thru a 2nd generation ultra Wideband architecture.

• Over Apple's brightest display capable of 3,000 nits.

• Feature 64GB of storage and 72 hours of battery life.

• And 95% recycled titanium.

(3) iPhone - ENTRY model.

• Refers to iPhone 15 & iPhone 15 Plus.

• Pricing starts from $799 onwards.

• The USB-C port becomes a common denominator for all iPhone 15 models.

• Similarly, Dynamic-Island is available to entry models; just not via “Action” button.

• Still equipped only with 7.5W on Qi Chargers.

• Fast charging has not improved.

• iPhone 15 models sold outside US still retains physical SIM card tray.

• iPhone 15 & 15 Plus users will be able to call roadside assistance via satellite, free of charge for 2 years.

iPhone 15 Pro & 15 Pro Max

(4) iPhone - PREMIUM model.

• Refers to iPhone 15 Pro & iPhone 15 Pro Max.

• Priced at $999 and $1,199 (256GB storage) respectively.

• 15 Pro models support Wi-Fi 6E.

• Increased 8GB of RAM.

• 15 Pro has “Thread Networking Technology” to enhance performance.

• Both models will come with 48-megapixel cameras.

• 15 Pro Max has a 5x Optical Zoom Lens that enables 25x digital zoom

• 15 Pro Max will also include an extremely closed up 120 millimeter focal length.

• Weighs 19 Grams lighter than iPhone 14 Pro.

• With revamped USB-C port, it can be used to charge Apple Watch & AirPods.

• Comes with Titanium Design, Action Button, A17 Pro Chip, and more..

• 4 Colours avail: Black Titanium, White Titanium, Blue Titanium & Natural Titanium.

• 15 Pro & 15 Pro Max users will be able to call roadside assistance via satellite, free of charge for 2 years.

What’s With “New” Action button?

• New Action button replaces the single function switch that toggles between ring and silent.

• Instead, it offers user options to access various installed apps.

• Alternatively, users can also associate it with “shortcuts”.

• The above are consolidated at a “Dynamic Island” “pop up panel of sort”.

• From the “Dynamic Island”, a user could (1) access a function directly, (2) access shortcut to an app (3) the trusted toggle silent mode (4) use the camera or video feature (5) Flashlight (6) On/Off Focus mode (7) Use iPhone as magnifying glass (8) Launch language translator (9) Voice memo recording.

• $Apple(AAPL)$ new iPhones couldn’t silence stocks’ September slump.

• Shares of the most valuable company in the world sank 1.7% after Apple’s announcement (see below).

• According to author, that’s not really something to worry about.

• Apple’s shares have tended to slip after announcing new products, but that’s usually a one-day hangover.

• In other words, Tue, 12 Sep’s fall is less a reflection of investor interest in the company.

• Apple is one of those immovable bedrocks of the American stock market, at least for the past 10 years.

• Interestingly, all “Magnificent 7” stocks (Apple Inc, $Amazon.com(AMZN)$,  $Alphabet(GOOG)$ , $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$, $Microsoft(MSFT)$, Nvidia and Tesla) retreated on 12 Sep 2023.

Followings are my views:

• I am not in awe of the “double tap” feature in Apple watches.

• It is a “novelty” feature that is “discriminating & excluding” people with missing thumb or index finger.

• Will this lead to discrimination lawsuit filed against Apple Inc in the US? They do like to sue and countersue etc… right?

• As for mobile phone, I think it is “fun” to perform an apple-to-apple comparison between the iPhone 15 Pro/15 Pro Max with the recently launched Huawei Mate 60 Pro.

• When Huawei released the Mate 50 Pro in November 2022. It was not a success due to (a) lack of Google Mobile Services and (b) 5G capabilities.

• Almost a year later, just look at the latest Mate 60 Pro specifications (see below).

• Comparing technical specs, Huawei has a “better” specifications across the board.

• Its RAM is 1.5 times that of iPhone (8GB).

• Its storage that could go up to 1 Tetrabyte, I rest my case for this.

• For screen resolution, iPhone 15 Pro / Pro Max has a pixel density of 460 pixels per inch (ppi) vs 440 ppi for Huawei; a negligible difference of 20 pixel within an inch of display.

• iPhone Pro 15 has a 48 megapixel back camera vs Huawei’s 50 megapixel.

• Difference of 2 megapixel translates to 2,000,000 pixels. This is a lot of “picture” details, clarity, colour information “missing” / to be had.

• A “missing” information in iPhone is “water resistance” factor. Huawei Mate 60 Pro is water resistant, up to 6 metres for 30 mins. Unsure if this is a “golden” standards though.

• Last but certainly not least, Huawei Mate 60 Pro retails for (according to techsomewhere.com) is US$915; that is $84 and $284 cheaper than the Pro 15 & Pro 15 Max respectively.

• In summary, Huawei Mate 60 Pro is far superior than iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max - hands down.

• On Tue, 12 Sep 2023, China’s official media “Securities Times”, Huawei has raised the 2nd half shipment target for its Mate 60 series smartphone by +20%.

• The company expects new smartphone shipments for 2023 to reach at least 40 Million units, the report said.

• If not for the fact that Huawei Mate 60 & 60 Pro cannot be pre-installed with Android operating system, its sales would not have been curtailed.

• It would have toppled iPhone again, just like it did back in October 2018 (see below).

Will the estimated (demand for) 40 Million units of Huawei handphone translates to -40 Millions (less) of iPhone Pro or Pro Max to be demanded - inside & outside of China?

• Apple stock has started to trend downwards since 05 Sep 2023 onwards.

• It has dipped further after the 12 Sep 2023 “Wonderlust” event.

• Will the turnaround happen on 20 Sep 2023 when the Fed announces that there will be no interest hike for September 2023?

• It is everyone’s guess.

In case you are interested, my other “PICK” posts. Please enjoy:

• Core CPI fell & US market gains & Apple fell. Click here! to read. Give a “Like” ok. Thanks.

• Time to invest in Apple Inc? Read & decide. Click here! to read.

• Time to invest in Qualcomm? Read & decide. Click here! to read.

• Look at Mara again as Bitcoin on the rise? Click here! to read.

• Do you think Apple stock price will rise back up in the immediate term?

• Do you think Huawei Mate 60 & Mate 60 Pro will cause a dent in Apple iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max sale volume both in China and internationally?

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