Category Archives: apple

Apple Watch Sales Could Tank This Year With No Big Redesign

Apple Watch sales are likely to tumble this year as the company prepares a second-generation smartwatch that is only a modest upgrade over the original version, respected Apple ( AAPL ) analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities said in a note Monday. Kuo predicts that Apple Watch sales will fall by more than 25% this year, according to 9to5Mac . He estimates that Apple will sell fewer than 7.5 million watches for the full year, compared with 10.6 million units last year when the watch was only available for eight months. Kuo argues that the Apple Watch lacks killer applications, and the hardware has room for improvement. Limited battery life and reliance on the iPhone for functionality are two knocks on the Apple Watch, he said. The next version of the Apple Watch is likely to be an “S model” refresh, with only incremental changes to the device, which will look basically the same, he said. It is seen launching this fall along with the iPhone 7. Kuo doesn’t expect a major redesign of the Apple Watch until 2017. But Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White disagrees. In a note Friday, he said Apple Watch 2 could be 20% to 40% thinner than the current model and might be launched in June at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Last month, market research firm IDC predicted that Apple would ship 14 million units of its smartwatch this year, compared with an estimated 11.6 million units in 2015. Apple’s biggest competition in smartwatches comes from manufacturers using Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Android Wear operating system, IDC said. Image provided by Shutterstock .

5 Top Chip Stocks Seek Support Amid Enterprise Demand Warning

Highly rated chipmakers Macom Tech ( MTSI ), Microsemi ( MSCC ), MaxLinear ( MXL ), Inphi ( IPHI ) and Cirrus Logic ( CRUS ) are dropping in heavy volume today, though they pared their losses as the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied by the early afternoon. Some of the selling pressure is potentially coming from Juniper Networks ‘ ( JNPR ) earnings preannouncement late Monday. The networking equipment vendor lowered its first-quarter revenue and earnings expectations below Wall Street estimates, citing weaker-than-anticipated demand from enterprise customers. Macom tumbled intraday below its 50-day line and the 40 price level in intraday trade, but the shares are now looking for support at those levels, down 2.9% in early afternoon action. The stock is trading 11% below its recent high. Microsemi is plunging back below buy range from a cup-with-handle base buy point it initially cleared in mid-March, losing 2.5%. In intraday trade, shares neared the 50-day line, which recently crossed back above the 200-day line as the stock’s performance improved. MaxLinear also dropped back below buy range from a base it initially cleared in early March, though it pared its losses, sliding 2.8% in early afternoon action. Several weeks ago, the stock dipped back below buy range but found support at the 50-day line before regaining composure. Inphi is still well extended from a double-bottom entry at 28.54, but it tested the lower bound of its buy range from an alternate entry at 32.42. Shares dipped 1.2% to 33.41. And Apple ( AAPL ) supplier Cirrus Logic is testing support at its 50-day line, but it bounced back to trade unchanged. Shares are trading 7% below their high set last May. Apple, for its part, rose 0.6% intraday. Meanwhile, Juniper Networks gapped down 8% on the bearish outlook, plunging below its 50-day line in giant volume. The stock is now 29% below its November peak.