AI Siri integration, iPhone 18 pricing toughness and foldable screen cycle resonance, Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) is ready to launch a new round of growth curve.

Apple Inc.'s outgoing CEO Tim Cook confirmed earlier this month that due to the increasingly severe shortage of storage chips, the tech giant will raise prices for its iPhone and other Apple Inc. consumer electronics products. However, Wall Street financial giant J.P. Morgan said that any price increase at the iPhone level may be lower than expected. In addition, for Wall Street analysts who are bullish on Apple Inc.'s stock price, Apple Inc. is entering a window of accelerated fundamental expansion, defined by the convergence of "stronger edge-side AI+iPhone 18 pricing resilience+foldable screen new product cycle+increase in service subscription fees". Although there are concerns in the market that Apple Inc. may raise prices for its range of consumer electronics products by $200 or more, a team led by senior analyst Samik Chatterjee of J.P. Morgan said that the agency expects the price increase for the iPhone 18 series to be more "moderate" compared to market expectations. They anticipate the price increase to be around $50 or in the mid-single digit percentage range. The team led by Chatterjee from J.P. Morgan continues to give Apple Inc. a "Buy" rating, and they added that they expect Apple Inc. to further seek offsetting measures through its strong parts supply chain in order to gain a larger market share amidst rising prices across consumer electronics manufacturers. They also aim to reduce dependence on hardware from Qualcomm by using more in-house developed hardware like modems. J.P. Morgan analysts also noted that Apple Inc. may incorporate some of the more expensive pricing benchmarks into its foldable iPhone, as consumers still have limited understanding of its pricing details. Meanwhile, Apple Inc. may also increase subscription prices related to its services business. "Reminding you that according to our latest estimates, inflation in storage costs is expected to have an adverse impact of over $100 year-over-year, which will be partly offset by savings of approximately $40 from broader supply chain component negotiations, and an additional $15 from vertical integration, while the remaining approximately $50 will need to be offset by an increase in Average Selling Price (ASP) - this supports our base-case assumption of a moderate price increase in the mid-single digit range ($50), to limit the impact on iPhone gross margins to just about 30 basis points, or limit the overall impact on the company to about 20 basis points," the team led by Chatterjee added. Edge-side AI+iPhone 18 pricing resilience+foldable screen products, the window for the consumer electronics king's counterattack is now open! Apple Inc. seems to be entering a phase of accelerated fundamental expansion characterized by the convergence of a "stronger edge-side AI ecosystem dominated by Siri AI+iPhone 18 pricing resilience+foldable screen new product cycle+increase in service subscription fees." On Wall Street, analysts have set the average target price for Apple Inc. at $314.85, with the highest target price set at $400. Based on a current closing stock price of $293.08 and a market cap of $4.316 trillion, the average target price on Wall Street roughly corresponds to a market cap range of around $4.65 trillion for Apple Inc.; the highest target price of $400 corresponds to nearly a $5.9 trillion market cap. This to some extent implies that if the market truly begins to reevaluate Apple Inc. based on "AI terminal access+foldable iPhone+storage inflation transmission capability+iPhone 18 pricing resilience+service price increases," the implied narrative of the highest target price is approaching a "super $6 trillion Apple Inc." J.P. Morgan's key assessment is that the year-over-year cost impact of storage cost inflation on the iPhone could exceed $100, but Apple Inc. could offset this with savings of about $40 from broader component cost savings, about $15 from vertical integration like developing modems in-house, and ultimately only need to offset the remaining pressure with about $50, or a moderate mid-single digit percentage increase in ASP; this indicates that Apple Inc. is not passively bearing the "silicon inflation," but still retains a strong pricing power resilience to convert memory and storage chip costs and AI hardware cost pressures into a moderate price increase and substantial product hardware structure upgrades. On the AI side, Apple Inc.'s key transformation is the shift of the super AI voice assistant Siri from an "AI laggard narrative" to a "system-level edge-side AI embedded narrative." Apple Inc. has officially disclosed that the new generation of Siri's AI applications is driven by Apple Intelligence, making it stronger, more conversational, and deeply integrated across app experiences; the new version of AI Siri features are already being tested by developers on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and visionOS 27, with a user-oriented beta version expected to follow. Importantly, some Apple Intelligence features have daily usage limits due to reliance on powerful server models, and more access is expected to be associated with more iCloud+ subscription plans, meaning that Apple Inc.'s AI is not just a stimulus for upgrades, but could also become a new logic for increasing service subscription ARPU. On the hardware side, the foldable iPhone could become a long-awaited catalyst for a "high-end new product category+ASP leap." Reports suggest that Apple Inc. will prioritize launching the highest-end iPhone models, including the first foldable iPhone, in 2026, and delay the standard iPhone 18 until the first half of 2027 to optimize resources, reduce production risks for foldable devices, and maximize revenue and profits from high-end models in the background of rising storage and material costs. According to reports, the first foldable screen iPhone from Apple Inc. will begin mass production at the end of July. Despite some delays due to hinge issues, Apple Inc. still plans to release the new device as scheduled in September. Supply chain sources revealed that Apple Inc. has finalized core specifications such as the display screen, casing, and structural components for the foldable iPhone, and the products are now in the preparation stage for mass production, with the initial production being handled by Foxconn. The first trial production was completed in April, with mass production expected to begin around the end of July, and the September release plan is expected to proceed as scheduled. The foldable iPhone will feature a foldable OLED panel supplied by Samsung's display division, along with hinge modules, cover glass, and structural components. Samsung's display has recently been approved by Apple Inc. to supply the initial foldable OLED modules from its Vietnam factory. The market has very high expectations for Apple Inc.'s potential launch of a foldable iPhone. If the product is released, it will be one of the most significant design changes in iPhone history. Surveys indicate that about 27% of global iPhone users are "extremely interested" in foldable devices, with this percentage approaching 40% in the Chinese market. Bank of America Corp senior analyst Wamsi Mohan previously stated that as a major form factor innovation, the foldable iPhone is expected to have strong initial demand, and the Apple Inc. supply chain is prepared for shipments of 10-20 million units, significantly higher than competitors. Counterpoint Research's "Foldable Smartphone Market Forecast" report shows that with Apple Inc.'s expected entry, the ongoing high-end direction of the smartphone market, and increasing OEM participation, global shipments of foldable smartphones are expected to increase by 20% in 2026. As Apple Inc. prepares to launch its first foldable iPhone, the foldable smartphone market will enter a new competitive stage in 2026.