Analyst on Apple (AAPL) iPhone 17 Demand: 'It's Too Early to Call it Robust'

We recently published 10 Stocks Everyone’s Talking About As AI Investments Continue. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the stocks analysts were recently talking about.

Erik Woodring, Morgan Stanley's head of US technology hardware research, said in a recent program on CNBC that initial data on iPhone 17 pointed to a cycle that is better than expected, but not “robust.”

“I mean, I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves because we’re, you know, 10 days post pre-order period. But the early data points, when you piece them together, whether it’s from carriers, whether it’s from lead times, whether it’s from some of the supply chain, is all pointing to what I would call a cycle that is better than we expected. I wouldn’t call it robust. I think it’s too early to call it robust, but early indications are positive for the iPhone 17 across the entire family of devices.”

ben-collins-wWwEM-fx618-unsplash Early indicators point to a strong consumer response to the latest iPhone 17. However, can this enthusiasm lift the stock in the long term, especially when the company is falling behind in the AI race? Apple can only do so much in innovation to revolutionize its iPhone each year. A UBS survey shows that the iPhone upgrade cycle has reached 35 months in the US. A separate report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners says about 63% of iPhone users keep their smartphones for more than two years. Apple is losing its pricing edge as it has to put a cap on its price tags to compete in key markets like China. Samsung, Xiaomi and other companies can launch advanced hardware and software features to compete with Apple and keep the company under pressure in Asia.

Columbia Threadneedle Global Technology Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

“Finally, shares of technology bellwether Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) underperformed the market and lost value as the company faced a classic innovator’s dilemma, which appeared all the more egregious as competitors embraced the AI opportunity. Apple has had a dominant market position in smartphones and services, but now more than ever, investors are questioning the future outlook for the company. Despite posting a negative absolute strategy return during the quarter, which weighed on absolute strategy returns, relative to Apple’s the company’s large position in the benchmark our underweight position proved to be a tailwind to relative results during the quarter.”

While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.