Apple Slated To Release iPhone 7 On September 7

Apple’s much-anticipated iPhone 7 is slated to be introduced on Sept. 7, and it is also working on a new MacBook Pro laptop line for the first time in four years.

According to a Bloomberg report that cited people familiar with the matter, the MacBook Pro line of notebooks won’t debut on Sept. 7 when Apple unveils its next-generation iPhone. Everyone had been expecting the iPhone 7 to be launched in the fall, but now, there appears to be a firmer date.

Apple has reportedly been testing the new MacBook Pros since earlier in the year and are aimed at boosting sales of notebook computers, which have taken a big hit as consumers’ love affair with smartphones and tablets trumps their desire for a laptop.

The apparent release date for the new iPhone 7 comes at a time when Steve Grasso, director of institutional sales at Stuart Frankel, said in a CNBC segment that Apple’s stock is going to underperform “perpetually.” Grasso pointed to Apple’s reliance on the iPhone as one problem hurting the stock. That’s because analysts are bracing for the iPhone 7 to not be as big of a hit as its past iPhone iterations. “Right now, everyone is looking forward to the iPhone 7 … I think it can only disappoint,” Grasso was quoted as saying in the report. He said investors are better off going with Facebook or Amazon if they are looking for growth stocks.

Meanwhile, Craig Johnson, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, agreed that, for investors looking for a growth stock, Apple isn’t the place to invest their money. Unlike Grasso, he thinks there’s upside to shares of Apple but said it will be a winner over the long term.

“The stock has been very resilient; it’s found support four times at that $90 level,” Johnson said. “[There’s] more upside to come, but again, this isn’t going to be one of those big long-term winners.”