Neil Hughes
A revamped Apple TV with its own App Store downloads could enter Apple into the $35-billion-per-year gaming market, adding an estimated 3.3 percent to the company's 2016 earnings per share, J.P. Morgan believes.
Analyst Rod Hall issued a note to investors on Tuesday giving his own expectations heading into Apple's Wednesday event. In the note, a copy of which was provided to AppleInsider, Hall said he believes Apple could sell 24 million units of a revamped Apple TV in 2016, especially with new gaming support.
When adding additional potential revenue from the sale of App Store content and an anticipated streaming TV service, he sees the device having a meaningful addition to Apple's bottom line.
In his estimates, every 5 percent share Apple can carve out of the $35 billion console gaming market would add about 2 percent to his annual earnings per share forecast.
"We believe that the combination of graphics capability and an app store in the product could be disruptive for existing console players and positive for game (developers)," he wrote.
In addition to a new Apple TV, Apple's Sept. 9 event — Â dubbed "Hey Siri, give us a hint" — Â is widely expected to showcase the company's next-generation iPhones, known informally as the "iPhone 6s" and the "iPhone 6s Plus." While some on Wall Street are concerned that Apple may not be able to continue growing sales for its handset, Hall doesn't share those expectations.
In his view, Apple "should have little trouble" seeing iPhone sales grow year over year in 2016. His forecast calls for sales to be up 7.9 percent over the next year.
Also potentially on tap to debut this week is a so-called "iPad Pro," which is expected to be a new, larger iPad model with a 12.9-inch display. To Hall, a bigger and more powerful iPad would open Apple up to a new segment of the PC market that the company does not currently address.
Making the iPad a better laptop replacement would put Apple in a $500-to-$1,000 market space that Hall estimates could drive 100 million total units industrywide.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
123 Comments
Likely won't affect PS4 or XBox1 sales too much, but it could kill Nintendo. Casual gaming was their niche.
While iPad Pro might be an interesting product for specific tasks, I just don't see it as a laptop replacement. It may be a very interesting and capable graphics design product, and I can see it having many options to make it "good enough" for other uses, but it offers no specific advantage over the MacBook/Air line. Apple is not going to chase after the low end laptop market.
Apple will dominate console gaming in 5 years.
Unlike the traditional consoles who only update their hardware every 6-10 years, Apple can bring out new hardware for the AppleTV each year. And because of economies of scale this won't even cost Apple much.
Eventually the Xbox/PS will be just like PC gaming is today. Only for the hardcore gamers.
You are likely right.
I haven't played computer games in a long time. But I have noticed that my home entertainment options are total crap. If there is a sporting event on that I'm interested in, I might put it on. But all too often the game becomes a blowout, and that's no longer entertaining. Most "shows" are total crap, and I just can't get engaged in another formulaic portrayal of the same story over and over. Movies are a 2 hour investment, and often 20 minutes in I find myself giving up.
So if there were options....
Dear apple, Not only games but a full safari as well. Please. It's not that difficult.
Touch screen interface is an advantage for many.
Lets be real. 90% of the population don't need a laptop as a portable work computer. Most just need to access email, microsoft Office, or other lightweight programs. The big weakness for the iPad for business was lack of a full size keyboard and split screen. The pro solves those 2 problems.
I dislike the touchscreen interface any time I need to type, and I don't need a split screen. But I admit I may not be representative, and YMMV. As I said, others may wish a single product that is "good enough" to do many lightweight things. An MBA is hardly a bulky device.
Hard to think of MS Office as "lightweight." Your point is well taken though. Even Pages is way more than most need; and most have overlooked the very capable TextEdit.
I'm not sure what 90% of the population really is or what they need. Many people have nothing but an iPhone. "Need" is surely a subjective, personal choice. Apple is likely to produce a wide range of interoperable devices that all work together anywhere anytime.