Apple Inc's shares slid six percent on Wednesday after the company unveiled the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C the previous day at a major press event at its Cupertino headquarters in Calif.
Unfortunately for the company, the result seems to be a reaction to the iPhone 5C, which debuted at a more expensive price than most were anticipating or hoping for. In addition, the high-end iPhone 5S fell short of impressing people despite its fingerprint scanner. Many still don't feel that it is enough of an upgrade to the device to keep it competitive with rivals Samsung, HTC and others.
Expansion into the lower-end could have brought Apple a much needed foothold in the Chinese market, however, the iPhone 5C is simply too expensive for those hopes to be anything but dashed following the company's big unveiling on Tuesday. In Chine, the iPhone 5C will be available for 4,488 yuan ($730).
Apple' shares slid 5.6 percent to a noe-month low of $467.24 at middat after at least three brokerages downgraded the stock a notch. Four others raised their target prices though. Nomura Equity Research increased its target to $480 from $420, according to Reuters.
Overall people simply weren't impressed with Apple's unveiling. Many have said there was simply no new innovations to get people excited in the company once again.
"Investors were put off that Apple's price point didn't go low enough to attract a new market. It doesn't have the same range in price that Apple's competitors have," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, which manages about $58 billion in assets (via Reuters). "Also, there was nothing transformational announced. It has the fingerprint scan and new colors, but bigger features, like different screen sizes, don't seem to be at the ready. This was less than expected from a company that has a reputation for surprising with a killer product or strategy.
Both new phones go on sale on Sept. 20.
