Davidson upgrades Apple, says iPhone maker will be first to get people to really use AI

D.A. Davidson thinks the artificial intelligence plans Apple unveiled on Monday will lead to a new era for the iPhone and open up possibilities for the tech company as it asserts itself in the AI race. Analyst Gil Luria upgraded Apple to buy and raised his price target to $230 per share from $200, which suggests a roughly 19% upside from Monday’s $193.12 close. Luria’s upgrade comes on the heels of Apple’s announcement of its long-awaited generative AI initiatives , which it calls “Apple Intelligence,” at its Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, on Monday. Currently, the features are only compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models released last year, as well as some iterations of the iPad and Mac computers that have capable processors. That could lead to a much-needed iPhone upgrade cycle, Luria said, raising his fiscal year 2025 estimates above consensus on the expectation of an AI-driven boost for the smartphone maker. “We believe yesterday’s presentation rhymes with one of Apple’s previous milestone moments — the transition of digital music from a standalone app with questionable regulatory standing (i.e. Napster) to an experience integrated into existing consumer applications (i.e. iTunes),” Luria wrote. Luria said Apple hopes to have Siri become a more “meaningful agent” as it executes tasks on behalf of the device user, integrating summarization and enhanced search and text generation. Luria anticipates this will drive a much broader adoption of AI than previously seen. “Importantly, Apple is uniquely positioned to offer these capabilities, and may be the only one capable of doing so any time soon,” Luria added. “Because Apple has not only the consumer’s information, but also their trust, it can deliver the above deeply integrated functionality in a way that standalone chat applications, PCs, and Android devices may not be able to fully replicate.”