Wall Street Loves Apple's Foldable iPhone, But Retail Traders Are Cautious

The Apple iPhone Duo has received positive reviews from Wall Street analysts, who see it as the company's biggest new hardware category since the watch and AirPods. Citi maintained a 'Buy' rating with a $365 price target, while BofA also kept a 'Buy' rating but lowered its price target to $370 due to potential stronger unit sales at lower-than-modeled pricing.

However, an ongoing poll on Stocktwits showed that nearly 80% of over 13,000 respondents do not plan to buy the phone, citing high prices or lack of interest in a foldable design. Only 11% said they plan to purchase the phone on day one, while 9% are waiting for reviews.

Citi noted that Apple had already raised the prices of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 by at least $100 to offset higher memory component costs. BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan also struck a constructive tone, saying the event showed new CEO John Ternus's focus on Apple's core values.