Macquarie: Apple's WWDC Was 'Relatively Low-Key'

Apple Inc. AAPL hosted its WWDC 2018 presentation Monday, and in Macquarie Research's view it was a "relatively low-key event" with "no big surprises." 

The Analyst

Analyst Benjamin Schachter maintains an Outperform rating on Apple with an unchanged $197 price target.

The Thesis

Investors hoping for Apple's WWDC presentation to "dramatically alter" their view of the company or the stock for the better were likely left disappointed, Schachter said in a Tuesday note. The presentation did reaffirm Apple's differentiation from its competitors in terms of its outlook on privacy and "user wellness," the analyst said. (See Shachter's track record here.)

Apple did focus on augmented reality features as a future growth driver, but its current product lines continue to underwhelm, the analyst said. If the company is committed to making AR a key component of future products, the hardware and software that powers devices must "improve dramatically," Schachter said. 

The analyst's three key takeaways from WWDC 2018 were:

• Updates to iOS software will improve the performance of older devices, which implies a commitment to monetizing older phones through Services.
• Apple is "serious" about its future ambitions in AR.
• The "most interesting" new software is related to data safety and tools to monitor and control device usage.

Price Action

Apple shares were trading higher by 0.79 percent at the time of publication Tuesday morning. 

Related Links:

The OS Updates Apple Announced At WWDC 2018

Gene Munster: Apple's June 4 WWDC 'Vastly More Important' Than September Announcements

Personalized "memojis" are included in the forthcoming iOS 12. Photo courtesy of Apple.