Apple big-screen iPhone 6 could win over Android converts
Apple’s rumored big-screen iPhone 6 should give the company a sales boost from current iPhone users upgrading and by attracting new customers who had previously bought Google (GOOG) Android-based phones specifically for a larger screen. That’s the thesis behind a report Tuesday by Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves. He’s modeling for Apple (AAPL) to capture 10% of the large-format Android smartphone market and to get 35% of current iPhone users to step up to the larger iPhone. He says Apple will come out with a 4.7-inch iPhone at a subsidized price of $299 in September or October. That’s $100 more than the starting price for the current flagship iPhone 5S, which has a 4-inch screen. He estimates the bigger iPhone will have a $60 higher cost of goods sold than the iPhone 5S. Hargreaves upgraded his rating on Apple stock to outperform from sector perform and set a 12-month price target of 635. Apple was up nearly 1%, near 535, in afternoon trading on the stock market today.