Apple Inc. stock was up as much as 2% on Friday morning (local time) after chief executive Tim Cook said the company would unveil a new product next week.
Cook teased the announcement on social media, posting a video of a metallic Apple logo on X, saying: “Get ready to meet the newest member of the family.”
The launch is scheduled for next Wednesday (US time), though no further details have been disclosed.
Apple shares were trading 2% higher on Friday, valuing the company at US$3.63 trillion (A$5.75 trillion).
Analysts believe a replacement for the entry-level iPhone SE model is imminent as stocks of the entry-level phone —priced from A$719—are running low.
Meanwhile, rival Samsung previewed a new slim smartphone, the Galaxy S25 Edge, at a product launch in San Jose last month, setting the stage for a competitive year in smartphone releases.
Apple bets on AI and new hardware
According to financial data analysts FactSet, Apple reported a nearly 1% decline in iPhone sales for the December quarter, with revenue falling to US$69.1 billion—missing analysts’ expectations of US$70.7 billion.
Apple is banking on its AI-powered Apple Intelligence, which launched in Australia in December, to reinvigorate sales. Cook previously stated the technology would make using Apple devices “profoundly different.”
Apple is also expected to release a slim iPhone model this year, though details remain scarce. Samsung has yet to announce a precise launch date for its own slim device, but Samsung executive vice president Sally Hyesoon Jeong confirmed it would be available in the “first half of this year.”
Jeong highlighted the technological advancements behind the new S25 Edge, saying, “In the past, making it thin, there were some give and take and there were also some pros and cons to that. Some aspects had to be offset. But now, even if we make it thin, we can still have the good camera functions. And this is all due to engineering technology developing.
“In the past, people … wanted good camera capabilities. Some people that were using Ultra thought it was a bit heavy. So therefore we’re experimenting with Edge and through Edge we’ll continue to monitor the response of the users and build on that.”
Apple expands services amid regulatory scrutiny
Apple’s impending product launch coincides with the company’s decision to expand its streaming service to Android devices. The Apple TV app and Apple TV+ streaming service are now available on Samsung phones, Google Pixel devices, and any Android device running version 10 or later.
Apple says it built the app from the “ground up to deliver Android users a familiar and intuitive interface.” The company will also allow customers to pay for subscriptions using Google Play accounts, a move seen as a response to increasing regulatory pressure to open up its tightly controlled ecosystem.
Governments in Australia, Britain, and Europe have been pushing Apple to loosen its grip on payment systems and app distribution. On Thursday, Apple confirmed that Apple TV+ would be available on Android devices globally and would offer a seven-day free trial for new users.