Apple is expected to announce the details of the new iPhone on Tuesday and investors are driving the stock price higher in anticipation.
Apple is trading 2.0% higher on Monday ahead of the launch event.
Last year, the iPhone maker slipped slightly lower on the day before the event and gained 0.46% as investors watched the iPhone 7 launch event day-of. The iPhone X is expected to be much more exciting than its predecessor, however.
Amit Daryanani, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, predicts the event will be "game changing." Daryanani is bullish on the slate of features expected from the new phone and has a price target for the company's stock of $180, which is 11.57% higher than Apple's current price.
Daryanani, and others, are bullish on the new model because it will be the first update to the phone's form factor in several generations. The last major update to the look of the devices came when the phone was updated from the square and boxy iPhone 5 to the current curved look of the larger iPhone 6 and 7. The iPhone X is expected to have a glass back for wireless charging, while the current phones are aluminum backed. It is also expected to have a bezel-less screen in the same vein as Samsung's Galaxy S8.
Despite all the leaks around the new phone, Daryanani still thinks the device has the capacity to surprise investors and customers. Some analysts are expecting a "supercycle" thanks to the new form factor of the next phone, but others say that customers don't actually care about the fancy new screen, and instead care about less-hyped features like wireless charging more.
The higher price of the next iPhone may give pause to those looking to upgrade, as it's expected to be around $1,000 or more. But Daryanani thinks that even if customers upgrade to the lower-priced, iterative devices likely to be launched alongside the iPhone X, the average selling price of the iPhone device line will be boosted by the new phones.
Apple is also expected to launch updates to other products along with the new iPhones. The Apple watch is likely to get a new LTE radio which would allow it to connect to the internet independently of a paired iPhone. The Apple TV is expected to get an upgrade to be 4K-capable.
Apple is up 39.50% this year, including Monday's move.
