"There's a big enough pool of iPhone 6 users waiting for an upgrade and there was enough new technology in there to make us comfortable about growth heading into next year," said Gene Munster, a Piper Jaffray analyst who has an overweight rating on Apple stock. Apple's failure to completely overhaul the design, as it has previously done every two years, shouldn't hurt sales, said Lauren Guenveur, an analyst at Kantar Worldpanel. "Most people upgrade because they're looking for better battery life, better storage capacity, and a faster processor and that's everything that they highlighted today," she said. China has been a drag on Apple's performance this year as local rivals introduce cheaper handsets with similar functionality. Apple said Wednesday that its iPhone Upgrade subscription program - where users pay a monthly fee to get a new phone each year - will be extended to Asia's largest economy.