Apple Starts 2020 With Soaring Shares, Talk of a Notchless iPhone

Using its stock price as a yardstick, Apple had a stellar 2019.

Its shares soared 89% from the start of the year and then continued the run up during the first few days of 2020, rising above $300 after analysts said the company had a strong holiday season.

In terms of product, Apple may be planning a big change to the iPhone. According to one report this week, the company plans to ditch the black notch that houses the iPhone’s earpiece and front-facing camera so that the device has a notchless design. Meanwhile, Apple may be working on a Product(RED) Apple Watch, proceeds from which would benefit HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment.

Read on to learn more:

Apple’s soaring stock

It was a good year for Apple shareholders. On December 31, Apple’s shares closed at $293.65, up 89% compared to the $142.19 low of 2019. Apple hit that low on January 2, when Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that the company had sold fewer iPhones than expected in 2018. Since then, Apple’s iPhone sales have picked up while its AirPods and Apple Watch businesses have strengthened.

Even greater heights

Apple’s stock didn’t slow down in early 2020. On Thursday, the company’s stock topped $300 after analysts said that Apple had a strong holiday season. Investors hope that 2020 could be an even bigger year for Apple, based on its growing services business, including Apple Music and Apple TV+, and continuing strength in iPhone sales.

A major iPhone tweak

Since the debut of the iPhone X in 2017, most of Apple’s iPhones have come with a black notch that houses an earpiece and front-facing camera. But in a presentation to investors this week, Credit Suisse analysts said that Apple would switch to a notchless design in its top-of-the-line iPhone this year. The analysts didn’t say where Apple would locate the camera and earpiece, but competitor Samsung already offers full-screen designs without a notch. For phones with those kinds of displays, Samsung punches a hole in the screen to make room for the camera and shifts the earpiece higher.

Apple Watch goes RED

Smartwatch-tracking site WatchGeneration this week found that Apple briefly posted information on a product database about a Product(RED) Apple Watch. According to that listing, which has since been removed, Apple would release the new Apple Watch in the spring. A partner with Product(RED) for years, Apple has introduced several red iPhones, headsets, and other products to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and to fund research. If the leak is accurate, it would be the first Product(RED) Apple Watch.

A big day for App Store

Apple device owners spent $193 million on apps and in-app purchases on Christmas Day, up 16% compared to Christmas Day 2018, according to market researcher SensorTower. That $193 million in App Store spending easily outpaced the $84 million Android users spent on the Google Play store that day. Android spending was only up 2.7% compared to 2018. All told, Android and iPhone users spent $277 million on apps and services on Christmas, up 11.3% compared to the $249 million spent in 2018.

Apple’s Imagination

Apple has once again partnered with the U.K. graphics chip maker Imagination Technologies, which, for years, had supplied the graphics chips for iPhones and iPads. Apple even invested in the company in 2008. But in 2017, Apple said that it would develop its own graphics chips and started poaching Imagination’s employees. In that year, a private equity firm acquired Imagination. It’s unclear from the announcement this week why Apple returned to Imagination and what that may mean. In a cryptic announcement this week, Imagination only said that the companies have entered into a “new multi-year license agreement” that will allow Apple access to the company’s intellectual property.

One more thing…

Apple said in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing this week that Tim Cook had donated nearly 7,000 Apple shares to an undisclosed charity. That translates into about $2 million at the current share price.