Apple's First AI Phone, iPhone 16: Wedbush Predicts $4 Trillion Market Cap

Apple's First AI Phone, iPhone 16: Wedbush Predicts $4 Trillion Market CapWhile the launch of Apple's first artificial intelligence (AI) phone, the iPhone 16, has sparked market buzz, some Wall Street analysts hold reservations about the phone's AI capabilities. However, Wedbush, a renowned US investment bank and a long-standing Apple supporter, remains bullish on the iPhone 16 and Apple's future prospects

Apple's First AI Phone, iPhone 16: Wedbush Predicts $4 Trillion Market Cap

While the launch of Apple's first artificial intelligence (AI) phone, the iPhone 16, has sparked market buzz, some Wall Street analysts hold reservations about the phone's AI capabilities. However, Wedbush, a renowned US investment bank and a long-standing Apple supporter, remains bullish on the iPhone 16 and Apple's future prospects.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives raised Apple's price target from $285 to $300, representing a potential upside of over 36% from current levels. He believes the iPhone 16 will propel Apple's market cap to $4 trillion by 2025.

Ives refers to the iPhone 16's AI feature as "AppleIntelligence" and claims it will be Apple's "most successful iPhone product in history." He believes a cautious rollout of the AppleIntelligence feature over the next 6-9 months is the right strategy to drive user upgrades.

Ives predicts high single-digit iPhone sales growth over the next 12 to 18 months, ultimately culminating in a "super cycle" of upgrades. He points out that approximately 300 million iPhones globally haven't been upgraded in over four years, indicative of pent-up demand.

Ives estimates that iPhone 16 sales will reach 240 million units in 2025. He is also encouraged by Apple's decision to keep the price of the new iPhone unchanged, calling it "a wise strategic move that will prevent users from missing any upgrades."

Ives also believes the iPhone 16 will be successful in China, Apple's key market, as it could partner with Baidu to develop a large language model to support its AppleIntelligence feature. He believes Apple's foray into AI, coupled with the massive upgrade cycle, is ushering in a new era of iPhone growth, including in the pivotal Chinese region.

It's worth noting that AppleIntelligence is currently in beta, and its full functionality won't be available at the iPhone 16 series launch. The complete featureset is expected to be released in October of this year.

Despite the market debate surrounding the iPhone 16's AI capabilities, Wedbush's optimistic prediction and confidence in Apple's future growth trajectory could continue to drive the tech giant's stock price higher.