Apple shares rose to a record high this week, largely helped by optimism that the company will begin to gain an advantage as its Apple Intelligence features will begin to be released in some market later this month – although Australia will need to wait until December for those features to arrive.

Apple’s stock rose as much as 2.7 per cent to $237.49 (A$354.77). That surge has meant that Apple is the world’s largest company, with a market valuation above $3.6 trillion (A$5.38 trillion).

Apple’s stock has risen 37 per cent over the past six months, more than twice the 15.5 per cent gain of the Nasdaq 100 Index.

The stock rally came on the same day that the company released its new iPad Mini, which ChannelNews has more about here.

With Apple Intelligence being rolled out over the next few weeks, it may lead to a surge in demand for iPhones too since the AI features are only compatible with an iPhone 15 Pro and higher – meaning that older iPhone customers who were otherwise reluctant to upgrade their devices may now be pushed to finally upgrade their iPhones.

“Bearish investors remain focused on the Chinese smartphone market, but we think the risk here is overstated and can be offset by growth in developing markets and a strong upgrade cycle in the US where our survey work points to strong upgrade demand, driven in part by AI,” stated Evercore ISI in a statement, according to Bloomberg.

Beyond the iPhone, the company is also reported to be considering rolling out other upgraded products later this year which may give rise to a buying frenzy.

 

Apple’s next version of the Mac mini due out this year could be its smallest desktop computer yet, and powered by Apple’s own M4 chips.

The company is believed to be upgrading all its Macs to the latest M4 chips. The M4 chip is already featured in the new iPad Pro which was released in May.

It is also reportedly preparing versions of the iMac desktop and MacBook Pro too with chips from its M4 line, all of which are slated for a release this year.

Additionally, a line of MacBook Airs are believed to be in development for the last quarter of this year too.