Seriously, what's next for Apple?

[zelmo]

OK, in the past few months, we've seen Apple do some things that many Mac faithful never thought would happen: Macs getting Intel processors, and now a multi-button mouse from Apple. The whole Moto iTunes phone thing seems pretty real, and I think we'll be seeing that one before the summer is out.
What's next? What is the next product/technology that Apple willl unveil and shock us all? iPDA? vidPod? iTablet? iHome? full x86 compatibility? Or something else entirely?

[yellow]

Cold Fusion, baby! :)

Or is that Cold Baby Fusion?

[liketom]

i say ....Suprise me


Apple has traveled a long way and there is more to come next year so i will let them suprise me with there new Mactels

[zelmo]

Cold Fusion, baby! :)

Or is that Cold Baby Fusion?

Think Big, don't you? :D

[mad jew]

It's a good question. Although I'd argue that they haven't really done all that much yet. They've still got quite a way to go with this Intel change which will probably take up a fair chunk of their resources over the next year and a half, I imagine.

After that? Well, I'm not sure that this living-room PC thing has really kicked off yet, but I wouldn't mind seeing an Apple iHome as the simple and user friendly Media PC alternative.

Also, it's not revolutionary, but I'd really love to see a more affordable consumer display range alongside the current ACDs.

[yellow]

Think Big, don't you? :D

Hey! That's the new Apple Moniker!

[gwuMACaddict]

i think that the intel switch will ocupy much of apple's time...

haven't there been rumors of apple getting in to the tv market, much like dell did?

[Cooknn]

Hi-Def Video Store and Media Hub. Not sure what they'll call em :p

[liketom]

Hi-Def Video Store and Media Hub. Not sure what they'll call em :p
can you see em streaming HD DVD's over the internet ? wow my poxy broadband will need to go 10 times as fast just to keep up with it lol

video store i can see - but music videos and small 30 min shows

[Cooknn]

can you see em streaming HD DVD's over the internet ? wow my poxy broadband will need to go 10 times as fast just to keep up with it lol

video store i can see - but music videos and small 30 min showsOkay, this rumor is out there, but Apple could deliver the content via ...satellite :eek: The year of HD Baby!

[andiwm2003]

all of apples products are still extensions of computers. an ipod is useless without a computer. itunes won't work without a computer.
so how about refocussing on the computer business? because whatever comes next, it will be based on computers. and the money is made by selling the computers, not the os x or the music.

computers are also the strategic basis to exclusively market the new products. you can see that with the itunes phone. because apple is not a service provider they can't set up itunes for phones. they can't enter the market without giving up almost all profits and the freedom to operate.
unless apple can pull something off like M$, namely becoming a monopolist with their OS they have to stay in the computer hardware business.

so i expect a range of new macs. based on this technology there will be a digital hub for consumers and video/audio/3d applications for the pros.

my 2 cents.

[steve_hill4]

Cold Fusion, baby! :)

Or is that Cold Baby Fusion?
No, I would think that apple would have to name it iFusion.

Oh come on people, it needed to be said. :)

As for the next big announcement, I think we will see them branching out into the media sales more and more, (music vids and movies perhaps), and then slowly we will see the range change as they switch to intel. I can see the range of macs actually expanding as they switch, maybe with the greater range being emphasised on the portable side of sales. They definately need to make a super small pro product and some super high specification 17" media book too, if they want to compete with the other laptop manufacturers.

[steve_hill4]

Okay, this rumor is out there, but Apple could deliver the content via ...satellite :eek: The year of HD Baby!
I think it will be the year of HD, next year that is, but that would be one huge move for apple. Almost as big as say announcing a Music Store was the other year when they did.

[emw]

They'll buy TiVo and incorporate it into the iPod Video. You'll be able to record and store programs directly from your television, at home or on the road, and play them back either on the TV, on the iPod, or on your Mac.

[edesignuk]

I'd like them to try and stay focused on making the Intel "Switch" happen without a hitch.

[supergod]

I think their displays have been really sagging for a couple of years. The aluminum displays really didn't bring anything new to the table and even with their price cuts they haven't been able to compete at all on a price leve: that is why I have a Dell 2005fpw that cost me half the price of the competing Cinema Display, has far more features and isn't half ugly. Apples competitors sure took a while but they have caught up and in many cases, exceeded Apple.

I think there are two ways to do something about this problem. The first, as many people have suggested is for Apple to introduce more budget conscious displays. But the problem is Apple can't go back on it's widescreen format now that it has become so essential, and anything under 17" does not work with the 16:10 format very well. I think it WOULD be a good idea for Apple to change their display line into two lines. I think they should significantly drop the price on the 20 incher, along with maybe finding some ways to cut costs through cheaper materials (they can do a lot with white and grey plastic, mind you, and it would be a whole lot cheaper than aluminum and still quite nice). Bring in a low end 17" monitor with the same features as their current cinema displays (ie: none other than showing a signal from a computer). The 20 incher would be the high end of their consumer displays.

This leaves the 23 and 30 inch monitors. The 23 is an amazingly great monitor: I've always thought it to be just about the perfect size and it should be a necessity for all video pros with it's HD resolution. Take advantage of that market. Add all sorts of different inputs for it. I know Apple can always just take the easy way out and say "if you want to be able to configure your monitor, buy a vesa mount for it" but most VESA mounts are pretty ugly, at least in comparison to a cinema display. The only thing that the display really has going for it is it's looks, so don't make someone go out and buy an ugly pro arm just to be able to tilt it. Figure out a solution.

There are plenty of things that Apple will need to do to stay competetive with their computers, and ARE doing. What I think they should establish is whether they're going to stay in the monitor game and if so, how they can compete. Because when Dell manages to have a better product for cheaper than you, you know you're not innovating enough.

[Chef Medeski]

iPDA would be nice if they made a good one. Its not only tough to sync windows PDAs with apples, but the PocketPC in general has stopped evolving. It would have been great if they kept on prgoressing, but they seemed to hit a snag by trying to incorporate harddrives. Other than that the PDA hasn't really changed, thats why my 3 year old PDA is just as good as newer ones, except for the screen of course. If Apple could shake up this market then maybe we could finally reach the full potential of the PDA, to assist further in daily life.

[swy32x]

Well, Apple have been giving us clues ...

All Macs include Airport, Bluetooth 2.0, and gigabit ethernet is becoming standard starting with the higher end down ....

Go figure.

[kalisphoenix]

I'd like Apple to create another PDA -- I'm well aware of what the Jobster said on this subject, but I really fancy the eMate.

I posted an idea in another thread about an iPod with a widescreen display in a clamshell form. It'd be minimal to turn that into a PDA. Throw in an ARM processor or a G3 and, with the advancement in technology you should be able to throw Darwin and a minimalist Aqua on there. OS X Mini! Also completes the 2x3 Apple computer matrix (Pro/Con X Desktop/Laptop/Mini). Might be able to get a G3/500 in there, conceivably. Hey... it could happen.

Dunno about the keyboard. Something tells me Apple wouldn't like the "pinhead" keyboards that have been on PDAs. If it had minimal controls, though (think iPod), it would suffice for most purposes, and if you a USB2 connector (any more than that is *really* pushing it), you'd have a great number of possibilities.

Sounds good to me, but then if I was in charge of Apple, things would be different (probably bankrupt, for one).

[WeeShoo]

I really dont see anything big until the whole Intel switch thing, Im just kind of deciding If I shuld spend the money on an iBook, and then have it be obsolete in less than a Year, kinda seems pointless to me.

[superbovine]

I really dont see anything big until the whole Intel switch thing, Im just kind of deciding If I shuld spend the money on an iBook, and then have it be obsolete in less than a Year, kinda seems pointless to me.

it isn't like the intel switch is going to make your notebook not work anymore. your'll be able to use for a while, you just won't have an x86 chip. all mac users have PPC now, so there will be a long transition.

[SiliconAddict]

Uber thin laptops containing Intel's ULV version of the Pentium M that will replace the 12" iBooks.

I think for the next two years don't expect to see anything revolutionary out of Apple other then whatever they come out with on the PowerBooks, iBooks, PowerMacs, and iMacs. Apple prob isn't going to intro a new device in the middle of a transition to the x86.

I think eventually they will release a home entertainment device that is the center "hub" of your home theatre that links back to your Mac/PC.

[dejo]

Apple will never use an Intel CPU. No longer.

Apple will never release a multi-button mouse. No longer.

So, here's my guess:

Apple will never release a relatively cheap, very upgradeable, headless Mac? Well, maybe they will...

[GFLPraxis]

Hey! That's the new Apple Moniker!

I thought that was the American moniker? Or was that McDonalds.

[GFLPraxis]

Jokes aside, let's see.


Things we thought would never happen, YET HAVE BEEN LONG RUMORED:
Apple switch to Intel
Apple release a multibutton mouse
Apple release a headless iMac
Apple release an iPhone
Apple release a Tablet
Apple release a PDA/new Newton.
Apple release a video iPod.


Well, we can check off the first four.

Tablet, PDA, and iPod Video are next.


Other things we thought would never happen:
Paul Thurrot bash Windows
Paul Thurrot boycott a Microsoft application (IE)
Pigs fly


Only one more to go there.

[miloblithe]

How about a wireless mini-monitor that communicates with your laptop/desktop. You can take it around with you to run iTunes, browse the internet, watch dvds/downloads/etc running from the host computer, and so on.

It'd be great for say, cooking dinner. I could take the recipe I got off of allrecipes.com into the kitchen and change songs in iTunes without going back and forth to the living room.

[AmigoMac]

Pigs fly


Only one more to go there.

Hell froze over... you forgot.

[mkrishnan]

How about a wireless mini-monitor that communicates with your laptop/desktop. You can take it around with you to run iTunes, browse the internet, watch dvds/downloads/etc running from the host computer, and so on.

It'd be great for say, cooking dinner. I could take the recipe I got off of allrecipes.com into the kitchen and change songs in iTunes without going back and forth to the living room.

When the first Windows TabletPCs rolled out, some of them were oriented at being sidekicks. I still think the basic idea makes a lot of sense. I really don't want a second computer at all, but peripheral-esque devices attract me -- I wouldn't mind adding a NAS to my AEBS. I really wouldn't mind a web browsing device.

In fact, I'm thinking of getting a Dell *gasp* Axim x50v for that purpose. So now they've gotten up to VGA, with 802.11b and BT built in, for as little as $300 on the best sales. I think something slightly bigger would be better yet, perhaps a very small SVGA or XVGA device, for that purpose (I don't really need one to use as a PDA, since my phone carries that responsibility).

Something that was specifically meant to do browsing much better than existing devices do, and didn't get insanely expensive due to ancillary features?

[GFLPraxis]

Hell froze over... you forgot.

Ah yes, forgot that one.

[zelmo]

The iFrame, a device about the size of a standard 8 x 10 picture frame that displays a slideshow from photo's sent via Airport from your iPhoto library. Also includes a removeable flash drive to store images for on the go (or whenever a WiFi network isn't handy).

[Dreadnought]

ipod video has been announced, next year! So, that leaves us with a Tablet and/or a new Newton. I would go for the Tablet, which in addition to a mac, hooked up to your stereo and tv (probably the next gen. mini) will also be the remote. Offcourse you can also use your mobile phone with bluetooth for that.

The iframe would probably be a third party accessory for the ipod. Hook up your ipod, or your mac and you can watch photo's on it, or movies.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

ipod video has been announced, next year! What?! Where?!

[shadowmoses]

I dont see the mac mini lasting too long in its current form, i think its paving a path for a media centre in the next revision or when intel comes around..

SHadoW

[sambo.]

Cold Fusion, baby! :)

ok, that would be cool.

seriously, i rekon os-x86!, suddenly we can install os-x on those lovely AMD chipsets. quad opteron running os-x anyone? finally apple will license it's OS. perhaps only "officially" on certain chipsets with certain specs, but it won't take long.

steve will try to be a smartarse about it, so they'll announce it's live the day before/same/after M$:Vista (hahaha, Vista, hahaha, hack cough splutter) is launched.

thats what I want to see! :eek:

[greatdevourer]

I think the Newt needs a comeback of some sort :D

After that? Well, I'm not sure that this living-room PC thing has really kicked off yet, but I wouldn't mind seeing an Apple iHome as the simple and user friendly Media PC alternative. As said in a previous thread, many people (including myself) think that this is one of the secret hidden features of the Mini

[weg]

I think their displays have been really sagging for a couple of years.

Perhaps they are heading towards a display-less notebook? Like, an "iBook shuffle" that doesn't need a display because it performs entirely random actions all by itsself :D

[mad jew]

As said in a previous thread, many people (including myself) think that this is one of the secret hidden features of the Mini


The mini is certainly a good base from which to develop an iHome-type product, but it's not quite refined enough for my liking.

[iDM]

i think that the intel switch will ocupy much of apple's time...

haven't there been rumors of apple getting in to the tv market, much like dell did?

I think the intel switch as well, regardless of Apple living the double life, will still be a HUGE undertaking.

However I'd love to get my hands on some kind of Apple home entertainment, iHome, TV, any kind of media center, streaming video Airport Express or Extreme, or VidPod

[iDM]

ipod video has been announced, next year! So, that leaves us with a Tablet and/or a new Newton. I would go for the Tablet, which in addition to a mac, hooked up to your stereo and tv (probably the next gen. mini) will also be the remote. Offcourse you can also use your mobile phone with bluetooth for that.

The iframe would probably be a third party accessory for the ipod. Hook up your ipod, or your mac and you can watch photo's on it, or movies.

Is it possible with how much i read macrumors that i managed to not hear about this, i'd love to read a reliable article that talks about the vidPod for sure being announced! Besides the speculation from CNN or CNET analysts they hold as much water with their thoughts or speculation as i hold of my own.

[wheezy]

After that? Well, I'm not sure that this living-room PC thing has really kicked off yet, but I wouldn't mind seeing an Apple iHome as the simple and user friendly Media PC alternative.

Hehe! iHome sounds cool, I like how you put it as "the simple and user friendly Media PC...and imagine the selling point. "Apple iHome. Like the Windows Media Center, only this one will work"

Also, it's not revolutionary, but I'd really love to see a more affordable consumer display range alongside the current ACDs.

And that too, is a killer idea....but, how would they be cheaper? Because it's not going to be aluminum?

[dubbz]

How about a Mac similar in size to the Shuttles, which are fairly small (compared to normal towers) but offer some amount of upgradability (unlike the Mini)? That'd allow them to put in more speedy components too.

Though I don't see them adding another Mac to their lineup just yet...

[Chundles]

Bring back the Cube, it was never officially cancelled you know.....

[mad jew]

And that too, is a killer idea....but, how would they be cheaper? Because it's not going to be aluminum?


Something in the same style as the consumer Macs would be pretty cool and relatively cheap too. White plastic - you can't go wrong. :)

[greatdevourer]

Bring back the Cube, it was never officially cancelled you know..... :D:D:D:D Have a G5 cube made from bits of iMac! :D If Apple don't do it, I will! It might even fit into the Powerlogix case (with a little bit of "remove this" and "get the laptop version of that"). Then I could put it next to my other Cubes! (PowerMac and GameCube)

[iDM]

Is it possible with how much i read macrumors that i managed to not hear about this, i'd love to read a reliable article that talks about the vidPod for sure being announced! Besides the speculation from CNN or CNET analysts they hold as much water with their thoughts or speculation as i hold of my own.

I'm still interested if this is true as stated in someone elses post!

[Xapplimatic]

I'd like Apple to be the first to come out with free-view 3D flatscreens standard on all mid and upper Macs. This one is only a matter of time. The tech has been out for a while now for advertising firms and medical use etc, but computer manufacturers have not been playing with it (that we know of)..

[Vanilla]

ipod video has been announced, next year! So, that leaves us with a Tablet and/or a new Newton. I would go for the Tablet, which in addition to a mac, hooked up to your stereo and tv (probably the next gen. mini) will also be the remote. Offcourse you can also use your mobile phone with bluetooth for that.

The iframe would probably be a third party accessory for the ipod. Hook up your ipod, or your mac and you can watch photo's on it, or movies.

I don't know where you got your info re: the Video iPod from but I agree with your main thrust.

I feel that with Airport express units already out there, together with the mini and iPods going colour recently, wireless media entertainment is the next step.

This could be in the form of a 'mini' variant acting as one or more media hubs, with an iPod variant that can communicate with it and AE units wirelessly.

Actually a version of this kind of setup is already out in the market by a company called SONOS (http://www.sonos.com/us/index.htm) I'm sure Apple can and will come up with their own twist on this solution.

Vanilla

[biohazard6969]

i think they'll do a lot with the ipod's soon. i.e bluetooth, colour mini, maybe video.

we might see an itunes video store soon. that would be awsome