Apple‘s (AAPL) upcoming iPhone 14 likely will be the second year in a row of minor updates to its popular smartphone. The consumer electronics giant is saving its big product refresh for next year’s iPhone 15, a Wall Street analyst says.
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Apple usually releases a redesigned iPhone every other year. But the company is skipping that pattern this year, Loop Capital Markets analyst John Donovan said in a note to clients Monday.
The iPhone 14, due out in September, is shaping up as “another S cycle” update, he said. Apple traditionally has named its interim iPhone updates S models.
Bloomberg reported Sunday that the entry-level iPhone 14 models will retain the A15 chip from last year’s handsets. And only the higher-end “Pro” models will get the new A16 processor.
IPhone 14 Could Have Satellite Link
A new feature of the iPhone 14 could be emergency satellite communications connectivity, Donovan said. That service could be provided by Globalstar (GSAT), he said.
Pro models of the iPhone 14 could have an always-on display, Donovan said. These models also could have a smaller notch or punch hole for the front-facing camera and sensors.
“It is becoming clearer to us that the focus is already shifting to a redesigned iPhone 15,” Donovan said. “The iPhone 14 is the final year (year 3) of the current design and given the lack of progress on mmWave (5G wireless), AI (artificial intelligence), 3D (sensing), ML (machine learning), and myriad other technologies, all indicators point to Apple targeting the iPhone 15 as the savior so to speak.”
However, Loop still expects healthy sales of the iPhone 14, given the sheer number of iPhone users ready for upgrades.
Loop Capital rates Apple stock as buy with a price target of 180.
In midday trading on the stock market today, Apple stock rose 0.5% to 139.60.
Follow Patrick Seitz on Twitter at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
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