Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a note published on Sept. 21 that China demand will be a linchpin to the Apple iPhone 17 upgrade cycle.
Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) China demand is firming up, with one more piece of evidence corroborating the recent analysts’ commentary regarding the strong uptake of the company’s newest iPhone models.
In a post on X, TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp.’s (XIACF) new 17 series shipments have been significantly reduced (by 20%) from the 10 million units targeted initially. If Xiaomi doesn’t heavily promote its product or opts to be more aggressive with its pricing, the total shipment volume of its 17 series may be lower than the nearly 8 million units of the 15 series it sold, he added.
The primary reason for the weakness, according to Kuo, is due to competitive pressure from Apple’s iPhone. The analyst noted that the iPhone 17 base model is performing better than expected in the Chinese market, denting the demand for Xiaomi’s base model 17 variant.
“Apple’s/iPhone’s worst period in China has passed,” Kuo said, adding that Xiaomi may have more challenges ahead as it would face more competitive pressure from the upcoming year’s new iPhones — the iPhone SE to be launched in the first half of 2026 and the other iPhone variants to be launched in the second half of the year.
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, while raising Apple’s stock price target to $310 in a note published on Sept. 21, said China demand will be a linchpin to the Apple iPhone 17 upgrade cycle.
“Taking a step back, this is the time for Apple to drive growth in China with domestic competition from Huawei and Xiaomi being a formidable headwind,” he said. “We also believe with the US and China in a major game of high-stakes poker around trade negotiations/TikTok/Nvidia chip sales, it’s important Apple now seizes this moment after a few very frustrating years in China with demand issues a black cloud over the Apple story.”
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward Apple stock shifted to ‘bearish’ (41/100) as of early Monday, down from ‘bullish’ the day before. The message volume on the stream also fell to ‘low’ levels.
Apple stock has gained merely 2.4% this year, underperforming most of its mega-cap tech peers and the broader market.
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