Apple investors may want to brace for a tough 2019 if a prediction from Pelham Smithers Associates proves true In an interview with CNBC Thursday Dec 27 Pelham Smithers managing director of the UK-based equity research firm said shares of the Cupertino California iPhone maker could be hurt by slowing economic growth in China and the ongoing trade war between the US and China Apple has several Chinese manufacturing plants that will be impacted by the trade war predicted the analyst Weve seen Apple on valuations even lower than where they are today Smithers said in an email to CNBC And with the Qualcomm lawsuit smartphone exhaustion and trade worries we could easily test those historic lows which would mean up to 25 percent downside from here In the case of Qualcomm the analyst was referring to the ongoing court battle over chips used in Apples iPhones As for smartphones demand around the globe has been slowing as market saturation sets in At the same time that Smithers is warning of a steep decline in Apples shares next year he said the sell-off in the stock will set up a buying opportunity that is rare with Apple He said the buying opportunity may happen later next or in 2020 Apple is expected to roll out 5G handsets at that point which the analyst said will provide more clarity into the business prospects for the iPhone maker Ultimately they Apple are a consumer solutions company and the first step to that is the hardware And then its what the hardware can do with the software Smithers said during an appearance on CNBCs Squawk Box Europe Thursday Dec 27 So as we move into the 5G era it is the effectiveness of the handsets of their tablets in this environment either from an enterprise viewpoint or a consumer viewpoint that will be key LATEST INSIGHTS Our data and analytics team has developed a number of creative methodologies and frameworks that measure and benchmark the innovation thats reshaping the payments and commerce ecosystem Check out the latest PYMNTS report on how QSRs are doing when it comes to innovation