Apple's (AAPL) Wireless AirPods Finally Reach the Market

Apple Inc. AAPL finally has announced the availability of wireless AirPods. Despite unveiling the wireless earphones at its Sep 7 keynote, Apple kept consumers waiting for the same.

The two-month delay was due to inexplicable reasons as Apple was quoted by media reports saying, "We don't believe in shipping a product before its ready, and we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for our customers." The question remains as to what went wrong with the first of its kind cordless earplugs. The reviews of the product have been somewhat mixed.

Reportedly, powered by a new W1 chip, the Airpods seem to be in line with Apple’s vision of wireless future. Apparently, its best feature seems to be the use of sensors to detect if the plugs have been inserted in both the ears. In a blog post Apple said AirPods will facilitate automatic connections to Apple devices (iPad, iPhone, Watch and Macs), soon after removal from the charging case. Airpods have a battery life of 5 hours after one charge. Also, to activate Siri, one just needs to “double tap” the earphones, adds the blog post.

However, the familiar Apple earphone design which often results in the earbuds slipping from their position and the staggering price tag of $159 have been widely criticized.

APPLE INC Price

APPLE INC Price | APPLE INC Quote

At the Sep 7 keynote, Apple had launched the much awaited iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Apple’s fortunes have been tied to its most important offering, the iPhone, which alone contributed about 60% of Apple’s total revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016.

However, since the last two quarters, the demand for this device has been soft owing to global macroeconomic weakness, especially due to currency volatility and declining commodity prices in some key regions across the globe (about 60% of Apple revenues come from International markets).

Apple has refrained from reporting first weekend sales figures as it stated that initial sales numbers will be governed by supply and not demand. The company is expected to reportofficial iPhone 7 and 7s sale figures at the end of the holiday quarter in January. 

At present, Apple has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Year to date, Apple shares have generated a return of 7.64% compared with the Zacks Computer Mini Industry gain of 8.57%.

Better ranked stocks in the tech space include TiVo Corp. TIVO, Cognex Corp. CGNX and Liveperson Inc. LPSN TiVo and Cognex sport a Zacks Rank#1 (Strong Buy), Liveperson is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the trailing four quarters, Tivo, Cognex and Liveperson have yielded positive average earnings surprises of 97.76%, 24,92% and  56.43% respectively.

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