Apple Inc. (AAPL  ) just unleashed a wave of new hardware - and this time the real story is AI. The tech giant rolled out updated Macs, new silicon and a refreshed iPhone aimed squarely at powering AI workloads across its ecosystem. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives believes the launch lineup could help drive the next upgrade cycle for Apple, with the firm maintaining a $350 price target, implying roughly 33% upside from current levels.

AI Silicon At The Core

The biggest leap comes from Apple's new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, built on a Fusion Architecture that combines two dies into a single system-on-chip integrating CPU, GPU, neural engine and unified memory.

According to Ives, the chips deliver over four times the peak GPU compute for AI compared with M4, alongside roughly 35% stronger graphics performance.

The M5 Pro supports up to 64GB of unified memory and 307GB/s bandwidth, while the M5 Max scales up to 128GB and 614GB/s, giving Apple's devices significantly more headroom for AI-heavy workloads.

Macs And A $599 AI Laptop

Apple paired the silicon with a refreshed Mac lineup, including new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, alongside a surprise entry: the MacBook Neo.

Priced at $599 ($499 for education), the Neo targets budget buyers while still running the A18 Pro chip with a 16-core Neural Engine, delivering three times faster on-device AI performance.

Ives believes the lineup could broaden the Mac base further, noting nearly half of Mac buyers remain new to the platform, leaving room for incremental growth.

iPhone 17e Joins The AI Push

Apple also introduced the iPhone 17e, powered by the A19 chip, designed to run generative AI models more efficiently.

Starting around $599 and offering 256GB of storage, the device expands Apple's lower-cost lineup while bringing more AI capability to entry-tier phones.

For Ives, the takeaway is simple: Apple's expanding lineup of AI-enabled devices could set the stage for the next major hardware cycle - and potentially push the stock toward its $350 target.