Here's what Wall Street says about Apple's new iPhones

Apple Inc.'s introduction of its latest iPhones on Wednesday was largely in line with analysts' expectations. The new product line, which offers higher average selling prices and support for dual graphics cards, could boost sales and profitability next year, they said.

Apple shares rose 0.2% Thursday in New York, retracing some of the 1.2% drop recorded Wednesday after the event. Some Asian Apple suppliers fell after the event. The Japanese electric company Alps Electric Co. recorded a 4.8% decline, TDK Corp. lost 3.9% and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. lost 1.3%.

Here's what analysts say about the product launch:

Morgan Stanley, Katy Huberty

"The iPhone ASPs and the larger storage SKUs across the portfolio have surprised the rise, as has the inclusion of dual SIM capabilities," she said.

The date of availability of the iPhone Xr, set for October 26, was a little later than expected, but it does not impact the demand for units, "especially since most first-time adopters will deviate to the Xs Max.

Huberty recommends buying shares on "any post-event weakness". She raised Apple's target price from $ 245 to $ 247.

SMBC Nikko, Hiroharu Watanabe

The new iPhones will not result in any major changes in smartphone market sales volumes, SMBC analysts Nikko said in a report following Apple's presentation.

Although the growth of high-end smartphone sales is unlikely, the cheap iPhone Xr could become "the big seller of the three" despite the late release date.

Nomura Instinet, Jeffrey Kvaal

"Apple is once again redefining the high-end smartphone market," Nomura Instinet analysts wrote in a report, noting that the iPhone Xs and Max could drive up the average selling price from 2019 to $ 800. However, the $ 750 ASP Xr is a "slight shift".

According to analysts, new launches are "consistent with flat units or even down 19". The company expects the replacement cycle to be delayed due to Apple's recent efforts to extend the life of older devices.

Piper Jaffray, Michael Olson

The new range of iPhone offers more choice, which should boost unit sales and production costs, resulting in an increase in revenue and earnings per share for Apple in the years 2019 and 2020.

Previous survey results showed that many iPhone owners who had not been upgraded to iPhone X did not choose to do so because it was too expensive or too small. Now these users have options, with the iPhone Xs Max having a bigger screen and the cheaper iPhone Xr.

"More Choices Will Encourage More Users Using an Installed Base of Older iPhones to Move to the Next Generation Factor" in FY 2019 and FY2020.

RBC, Amit Daryanani

Apple's focus "seems to be shifting away from product replacement cycles and more towards profitability and services, which is positive in a mature smartphone market."

The company "is well positioned to support single digit sales and low to medium earnings per share growth for young people in a volume growth environment for iPhone."

"We are positive about Apple Watch Series 4 and its positioning as a life-saving health product compared to a fitness tracker, and we could see a 20 to 25% increase in ASP."

Wolf Ventures, Gene Munster

"While the Apple event has gone largely as planned, the new iPhone line is expected to bring the benefit to the iPhone and ASP over the next year."

"Apple, once again, has shown its control of pricing levels, which will generate more revenue per customer. In comparison, last year's range was between $ 349 and $ 1,099, with an unweighted average of $ 636.

Goldman Sachs, Rod Hall

Apple's new XR model was cheaper than expected, making iPhone 8/8 + models "obsolete" and reducing estimates of average selling price and profits. The reductions in estimates are partially offset by a higher unit forecast.

The broker sees the price lower as evidence that Apple is making an aggressive effort to move users to a more secure face identifier, which could precede improvements to Apple Pay in 2019.

The deployment of 512GB memory options on the new XS models is surprising and may represent a shift in look at the iCloud storage penetration strategy.