Ming-Chi Kuo Shares New Apple Product Predictions for 2018, 2019

Renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a strong track record of accurately forecasting Apple’s moves, is back with a new set of predictions.

Kuo, formerly a well-connected analyst with KGI Securities, now works for TF International Securities. And despite murmurs that Kuo would shift his focus away from Apple, a new research note penned by the analyst details a wealth of new information about the company’s plans. Here’s what Kuo has predicted.

2018 Apple Product Lineup

New iPhones

Kuo still believes Apple will release three iPhone models this year:

• An iPhone X successor with a 5.8-inch OLED display
• A so-called iPhone X Plus with a 6.5-inch OLED display
• And a cheaper iPhone with a 6.1-inch LCD display.

The analyst didn’t pen many new predictions for the two OLED models, but he has a few thoughts about the LCD-based iPhone.

Interestingly, Kuo notes that the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone should hit store shelves in September — despite entering into mass production later than other devices. Other reports suggest that production of the 6.1-inch model could be delayed due to manufacturing issues surrounding the non-flexible nature of the LCD-based display.

Kuo also believes that the 6.1-inch iPhone could “incentivize” customers with older Apple handsets to upgrade. That’s largely because it will sport many iPhone X-style features at a price point around $600 to $700.

New iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook

Having previously covered other 2018 Apple products for KGI Securities, Kuo is now doubling-down on many of those predictions.

The analyst still expects a new iPad Pro model with Face ID to debut in the latter half of the year.

In addition, Kuo maintained that this year’s lineup of Apple Watch models could include at least some with larger displays. A previous note indicates about a 15 percent size increase.

Lastly, the TF International Securities analyst expects Apple will still release a lower-priced MacBook Air refresh. That could suggest a refresh of the entire Mac lineup at the company’s annual fall event.

2019 Apple Product Predictions

Kuo didn’t keep his predictions strictly to this calendar year. In his new research note, he revealed a few interesting details about the 2019 iPhone lineup.

For one, he expects the 2019 stable of iPhones to feature “marked innovations.” Though he added that we won’t know what these innovative new features could entail until later this year.

Like this year’s lineup, the analyst forecasts that LCD-based models in 2019 would outpace OLED models — likely due to their reduced price point.

This, of course, suggests that Apple will still field an LCD-based model next year. That conflicts with previous reports that the company would go “all-OLED” on next year’s devices.

But based on the high-achieving performance of LCD models this year, Apple could opt to keep the older display technology around.

Kuo also touched on rumors of a triple-lens iPhone in 2019, adding that the addition of a triple-lens model would benefit Apple’s camera supply chain partners.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]