Smartphone sales have dropped to their lowest level in more than a decade. The AI boom has pushed prices to record highs and plunged the industry into crisis.
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AAPLartificial intelligencesmartphones
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Related tickers and likely impact
AAPL
▼ Likely negativeApple Inc.
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals |
| Market cap | $5.1T |
| Close on 10/14/2026 | 342.96 |
| Change that session | +0.50% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- AI boom triggers record slump in smartphone sales
Global smartphone sales fell to their lowest level in more than a decade in the third quarter, dropping a record 22%, according to IDC. Manufacturers shipped 255 million phones, the weakest quarter since 2013. Samsung and Apple saw declines of 5.8% and 4%, while makers of cheaper devices popular in developing countries fell much more steeply. Memory chip prices surged due to demand from AI data centres, with memory costs up 350% this year and potentially making up as much as half of a phone's cost. IDC warned that memory prices were still rising, so the downturn is likely to continue into next year as buyers keep their devices longer.
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Apple shares rose over 2% this week, their strongest week since the iPhone Duo launch, though they edged up only 0.4% in Friday's regular session. Evercore ISI said iPhone Duo delivery dates quickly stretched to late January, roughly 100 days, across all regions and configurations it tracks, and described demand as tracking “solidly out of the gate,” while noting that tight supply could also explain the longer wait. Deepwater's Gene Munster estimates 20 million Duo units in fiscal 2027, versus a Street estimate of 10 million, and sees the long lead times as a sign of a fast start, though Apple's production capacity is unknown. Munster also said iPhone 18 Pro lead times fell to 5% below last year's level after two weeks, and that Pro Max lead times are now roughly in line with last year's model. Evercore maintained its 'Outperform' rating and $380 price target, and AAPL is up 26% year-to-date and 39% over the past 12 months.
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Apple opened iPhone Duo pre-orders Friday, and within minutes estimated delivery was pushed past the October 23 launch date into next year, with the phone backordered until late January. Analyst Dan Ives said demand is running well ahead of supply and projects Apple will sell around 10 million Duos over the next few quarters and up to 25 million in 2027. Priced from $1,999 for 256 GB, the device sold out at every store in the NYC/CT area within 3 minutes, according to Max Weinbach of Creativestrat.
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Apple's iPhone Duo, its first foldable and most expensive iPhone, opened for preorders on Friday, with launch-day pickup stock sold out and some online delivery estimates slipping into late January. It starts at $1,999 and tops $3,000 at the 2TB tier, creating a new price point above the Pro and Pro Max. IDC expects foldables to make up just over 2% of smartphone units but nearly 7% of industry revenue this year, and analysts say Apple is betting on its highest-spending customers. Supply is expected to be tight, with Counterpoint forecasting roughly 6 million or fewer units near term against an installed base of about 1.4 billion iPhones. IDC forecasts Apple will ship about 7 million Duos this year and grow that by 70% next year, with many buyers expected to be existing iPhone owners trading up.
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Customers who preorder the new iPhone Duo now will not get the device until the end of January, which signals strong demand. The article describes this as a positive for the Apple stock.
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Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, goes on sale with a starting price of $1,999, and Apple is offering leasing, financing and carrier deals. The article says its 5.4-inch phone and 7.6-inch tablet modes will mainly appeal to existing iPhone users upgrading from models priced at $1,099 to $1,299, bringing Apple 54% to 82% more revenue per sale. Counterpoint Research forecasts 6 million Duo sales in 2026, and IDC expects 10 million in the first 12 months. Selling 5 million units per quarter for a year would generate about $40 billion, just under 10% of Apple's $416.2 billion 2025 revenue, so the article sees it as a revenue boost rather than a game changer. The HomeView smart display, priced at $299 and launching November 13, could be the longer-term driver by strengthening Apple's connected home ecosystem.
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