Apple Shares Rise on Monday; ‘News’ of Launch Date of iPhone 18 Pro Surfaces

July 14: Apple Inc (AAPL) shares pushed higher on Monday. AAPL rose $1.99 to close at $317.31 on Nasdaq, gaining 0.63 per cent from Friday’s closing price. Apple shares reached within $0.09 of its 52-week high of $317.40, a price not seen consistently through a trading range this year between $201.50 and $317.40. 

Apple traded mostly higher throughout Monday’s session, steadily adding to gains rather than spiking intraday. Over 100 million shares changed hands during Monday’s session, in line with increased activity seen from Apple shares through July as investors position themselves ahead of the company’s fall product lineup. 

Closing within striking distance of a 52-week high suggests Apple may be bid higher now in anticipation of those catalysts ahead rather than News next week. 

Shares of AAPL came under pressure in pre-market trading on Tuesday, falling $3.47 or 1.09 per cent to $313.84 as of 5:46 am ET. Nasdaq quotes showed selling pressure as bids of $313.61 for 249 shares sat below asks of $313.93 for six shares. AAPL’s bounce back from Monday’s low of $311.51 leaves pre-market traders to determine if Apple will maintain the $313 to $314 zone or push past Monday’s highs again during Tuesday’s regular session. It’s common to see stocks pullback in pre-market after running up to a 52-week high. 

AAPL’s 52-week high to low range paints a picture of the stock’s volatility over the last year. Between Monday’s high of $317.31 and a low of $201.50, Apple shares have traded through nearly $100 of volatility as investors reacted to news around iPhone demand, regulatory scrutiny in overseas markets and the broader artificial intelligence trade engulfing technology stocks throughout 2026. AAPL underperformed against technology peers viewed as having more direct exposure to AI application and infrastructure spending at various points this year, despite strength in its own services business and hardware sales. 

Apple’s move back into Monday’s 52-week high range is notable for Indian investors looking at US stocks, whether through open access investing in US markets or through mutual funds and ETFs with global technology exposure. Seasonality plays a role for Apple as a stock frequently looked at by investors for hints about future iPhone and iPad sales. The company’s next quarterly earnings report is expected to give investors a better picture about demand into the back half of 2022. 

Several analysts covering Apple as it heads into its September product launch window have cited the company’s robust product lineup as one reason to expect continued strength from AAPL stock this year. “We believe shares are poised to see renewed investor demand as launch dates become more certain and product details solidify,” said one research note. 

Apple Fans Anticipating New Products 

Apple’s next iPhone won’t launch for another few months, but that hasn’t stopped people from talking about pretty much nothing else this week. Between photos of supposed prototypes, leaks from suppliers and everyone just guessing wildly based on last year’s models, everyone from Wall Street to major news outlets are professing to know what the iPhone 18 Pro will look like. Here’s what we know so far, and why fans are already excited: 

Launch: Expected to be September 8 or 9, 2026 in Cupertino
New lineup: iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and Apple’s first foldable iPhone
Big upgrades: A faster chip, smarter camera, potentially bigger battery
The catch: Prices are almost certain to go up, possibly by $50 to $300 

So, when exactly is it launching? 

Apple has tended to stick to September for big iPhone launches in recent years, and there’s little reason to believe 2026 will be any different. Apple insider and Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman points to Sept. 8 or Sept. 9 as the probable date, with the 9th being the likely choice as it gives foreign journalists an extra day of travel coming into Cupertino over the long weekend after the US Labor Day holiday. If you’re actually looking to buy one rather than hear Apple announce it, stores and first deliveries are expected to begin shipping out roughly September 18. 

The twist: Apple may split its lineup this year, introducing two different iPhones eight months apart instead of four. Only the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected this year, alongside Apple’s first foldable iPhone. If you’re hoping for a new regular iPhone, iPhone 18e or next iPhone Air, look set for a spring 20July release instead. 

Apple loves giving its iPhone Pro phones a flashy new colour each year, and 2026 will likely be no different. Rumoured leaker and Apple prototypical photographer Drew Bamford shared some fanciful shots of what appears to be a Dark Cherry iPhone in his hands. Dark Cherry, Light Blue, Silver and Dark Grey round out our favourite guesses. 

Bigger battery, but a chunkier phone? 

While it’s welcome news, some reports indicate this extra juice will come at the cost of a larger phone. Popular tipster Ice Universe suggests the China-only iPhone 18 Pro Max will grow to around 5,500 mAh — great for folks who deal with battery anxiety by evening — but might also come in at around 9mm thick and weigh about 240 grams. That’s significantly heftier than last year’s model. 

Other outlets reporting on supply-chain information disagree that the body will get thicker at all, however, instead expecting the size bump to be limited to a larger camera bump instead of the full device. Another option is encouraging either way: a bigger battery in the same general size phone. 

A smarter camera, and a smaller notch 

On the front side of the phone, analysts expect Apple to retain last year’s screen sizes of 6.3 inches for the iPhone 18 Pro and 6.9 inches for the iPhone 18 Pro Max. What will change: the Dynamic Island. That pill-shaped cutout sitting atop each phone’s screen is expected to shrink up to 35 per cent as Apple relegates some of the Face ID sensors to live underneath the display instead. 

Round the back, analysts agree the big upgrade is a brand new manual variable-aperature lens coming to the main camera module. Without getting too wonky, that basically means iPhone photographers will gain some degree of control over how much light is allowed to hit the sensor; the way professionals manually adjust lenses on traditional cameras. For most folks, that should translate to brighter, clearer low-light shots and more naturally-blurred backgrounds. 

Faster. Under the hood 

Speaking of photographers, everyone should expect some speed improvements as well, courtesy of Apple’s next-generation A20 Pro processor. Expected to be built on a 2-nanometre process, early predictions from those who’ve gone hands-on with prototype chips suggest around 15 per cent faster performance and up to 30 per cent improvements in energy efficiency. That, coupled with a larger battery, should help power-users get even more life out of their iPhones than before. 

Analysts at AI Theory also expect Apple to employ a new chip-packaging technique that moves more of the phone’s memory closer to the processor itself. This should have the dual benefit of allowing Apple Intelligence features to run snappier than ever before while letting the handset multi-task between apps more efficiently. 

The big question: How much will it cost? 

That’s the big question facing everyone waiting for next year’s handset, and it seems like every analyst has a different answer. Some think Apple could bump prices by as little as $50. Others, like research firm IDC, say iPhone prices could soar by up to $200. Perhaps crazier yet is Wall Street firm Tech Insights, which thinks you might shell out $270 more for this year’s model, or The Wall Street Journal, which expects the increases to be closer to $300. That would put next year’s iPhone 18 Pro Max model at over $1,300 in the US, nearly doubling from its initial 2022 price point. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said, while speaking about the company’s ability to weather inflation, that some price increase is “certainly possible”. While he stops short of actually confirming a price hike like other leaks have suggested, any owner budgeting for an iPhone upgrade next year should expect to pay a bit more out of pocket. 

Don’t forget about the foldable 

Apple will also be introducing its first foldable iPhone this year, which will reach stores around the same time as the Pro models in September. Details are slim, but we do know it’ll be able to fold down to roughly 5.5 inches for easy storage and open up to just over 7.8 inches, functioning as a sort of iPhone/small tablet hybrid. Expect it to be Apple’s most expensive iPhone yet, with price estimates topping $2,000. 

Source

• Nasdaq