— This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on September 16, 2020, Wednesday.
To some extent, the absence of new phones at the event was expected, but it would be postponed too late. In the absence of the iPhone, we saw apple shares rise and then fall during the event, ended up 0.16%. It will take some time for investors to fully "digest" the news.
Throughout the event, it was clear that Apple was moving away from hardware toward services and ecology. Apple's hardware products focus on the Apple Watch and the iPad. In particular, it is remarkable that the iPad with the latest chip, the A14, has made a significant improvement in performance. The A14 itself has been widely recognized by the market and is a key to Apple's chip competition.
Brian White
Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. Services, analyst
What it does have that's interesting is this a 14 bionic chip, which is the first five nanometer chip. So that's a big deal. But you know, generally speaking, you know, if you want an iPad Pro and something that the highest end, you're going to buy it and, but this is a this is a very surprisingly solid upgrade with that new chip.
But it is Apple's service and ecological stuff that have attracted more attention than these hardware products.
This time Apple has launched its Fitness+ and Apple One, a bundled subscription service that combines music, TV and games. The former has been the direction of Apple's efforts in recent years, while the Apple One is the market has been expected. Five years ago, prominent investor Carl Ichan said in an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook that the company's ecosystem was undervalued. When he sold apple shares in 2016, he again suggested that the company should make a big push into the TV market, that will increase Apple's P/E. 'We have long viewed bundled services as a unique tool that Apple can use,' Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in an August report. This time bundled service is finally available, and it is welcomed by Wall Street.
Kara Swisher
Recode executive editor
a bundling these subscription services for which this business has gotten bigger and bigger services is becoming a more important part of Apple's future as the you know, as people don't recycle devices as quickly, they've been pretty slow to it. But the idea of bundling services is is inevitable and that's where the real money will be made
But optimizing its own ecosystem, Apple risks hurting its rivals. On the day of the event, music streaming service Spotify publicly accused Apple again, saying it uses its dominance and unfair practices to disadvantage competitors and called on regulators to take action against the company.
On the other hand, Fortnite's lawsuit against Apple is still ongoing. These disputes have raised concerns and questions about Apple from regulators and the public and are some of the challenges that Apple may face next.
Kara Swisher
Recode executive editor
I do think they have to face these issues and sort of start to have really important discussions with their, with their important app developers and some of them it's hard to get around. And so, I think they've got to thread this needle really carefully. It's a really important one where they are a provider of services. And at the same time, they're a platform
How will consumers react to Apple's new products and services, and how will investors weigh the pros and cons? We will keep an eye on these issues.