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2018 was a big year for Apple, and while there were some misses like the AirPower, we saw a redesigned Apple Watch Series 4, a new lower-cost iPhone XR with an edge-to-edge display and Face ID, overhauled iPad Pro models, and more.

Below, we've created a quick overview of every major product Apple announced or debuted in 2018.

apple2018productlineup-800x263.jpg

HomePod (February)

Apple's first smart speaker, the HomePod, launched in February 2018. The HomePod, which supports Siri and Apple Music, is designed to be Apple's competitor to devices like the Amazon Echo or the Google Home.

homepod-duo-800x457.jpg

HomePod can be used for listening to music, but it's also a smart home device with built-in Siri functionality for controlling HomeKit products. Siri can also answer queries, set timers, place phone calls, and so much more, allowing the HomePod to serve as a music hub and an in-home personal assistant.

To differentiate the HomePod from the competition, Apple focused heavily on music quality. Due to its internals, HomePod is more expensive than a lot of competing products at $349, but you can sometimes find it on sale.

Sixth-Generation iPad (March)

Apple in March introduced a new sixth-generation iPad, which is packing a lot of features for its $329 price point.

It features a super fast A10 processor and Touch ID, and while it looks the same as the fifth-generation iPad, there's one important distinction -- the sixth-generation iPad supports the Apple Pencil.

newipadwithapplepencil-800x672.jpg

2018 is the year that we got an iPad that works with the Apple Pencil at a super low price point, making Apple's tablet and pencil accessory available to more people than ever.

MacBook Pro (July)

In July, Apple introduced revamped 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with faster "Coffee Lake" chips with up to 6 cores.

The new 2018 MacBook Pro doesn't feature any visual changes, but with new Intel chips and Radeon Pro and Pro Vega graphics cards for the 15-inch model, Apple's biggest notebook is more powerful than ever.

macbookpro2018sidebyside-800x408.jpg

Apple's 2018 MacBook Pro models support up to 32GB of RAM, continue to offer a Touch Bar, and have a new third-generation butterfly keyboard that's meant to better hold up to dust and debris to prevent key failure.

There's a new T2 chip that offers enhanced security with secure boot and on-the-fly encrypted storage, and the new models support SSDs up to 4TB in size.

New Software (September)

New versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS were previewed in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference and released in the fall alongside new hardware.

iOS 12 brought features like improved performance, Group FaceTime with up to 32 people, customizable Memoji, and Siri improvements in the form of a new Siri Shortcuts feature designed to let you create multi-app multi-step shortcuts for automating tasks on your iPhone and iPad.

ios12animojimemoji-800x648.jpg

The update introduced a comprehensive set of time management and focus tools, such as a new Screen Time feature that's designed to let you know how much time you're spending on your iPhone, how long you're spending in apps, how often you pick up your phone, and which apps are sending the most notifications.

App limits were also included to help you cut down on usage, and Apple added more robust parental controls.

ios12screentime2-800x678.jpg

watchOS 5 brought Walkie-Talkie for communication, new Workout competitions for motivation, better notifications, and apps like Podcasts, while tvOS 12 introduced support for Dobly Atmos, new screensavers created in partnership with the International Space Station, and a zero sign-on feature designed to make it easier to sign into apps that require cable authentication.

watchos5walkietalkieseries4-800x533.jpg

macOS Mojave introduced a long-awaited Dark Mode, Stacks for cleaning up a messy desktop, and a Dynamic Desktop feature with wallpapers that change subtly throughout the day.

macosmojavestacks-800x461.jpg

Finder gained customizable Quick Actions and a revamped Quick Look view for making file edits more quickly, while a new Continuity Camera feature added an option to import photos from an iPhone or iPad right into a document.

macosmojavedynamicwallpaper-800x501.jpg

As part of an upcoming initiative to port iOS apps to Mac, Apple introduced multiple new apps, including Apple Stocks, Home, and Voice Memos, and as always, the update includes important security enhancements.

iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max (September and October)

Apple stuck with a three iPhone lineup in 2018, but expanded features like Face ID and an edge-to-edge display to all iPhones.

The iPhone XS and XS Max are natural successors to the original iPhone X, adopting an edge-to-edge OLED display, an improved dual-lens camera, Face ID, and a new super fast A12 Bionic chip.

iphonexsmax-800x457.jpg

The iPhone XS and XS Max don't come cheap with prices starting at $999 and $1099, respectively, so Apple also introduced the iPhone XR, which has many similarities to the iPhone XS and XS Max but cuts some corners to keep prices lower.

Rather than using an OLED display, the iPhone XR features an edge-to-edge LCD, but it has the same Face ID system and A12 chip as the iPhone XS models. It doesn't have a dual-lens camera, instead adopting a single-lens camera, and it has slower LTE, no 3D Touch, and an aluminum frame instead of a stainless steel frame.

iphonexr-800x500.jpg

Despite these differences, many customers have been drawn to the iPhone XR because it's just as speedy as the XS, has a longer battery life, and has a lower starting price -- $749.

Apple released the iPhone XS and XS Max in September, but manufacturing on the XR was a bit delayed so it didn't come out until October.

Apple Watch Series 4 (September)

Alongside the new iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, Apple introduced a revamped and redesigned Apple Watch, the Series 4. The Apple Watch Series 4 features the first ever Apple Watch redesign with a slimmer body and a display that's up to 30 percent larger.

Apple Watch models now measure in at 40 and 44mm, up from 38 and 42mm. A whole set of new watch faces came with the new larger display, and Apple introduced a black ceramic and sapphire crystal backing across the entire lineup.

applewatchseries4watchfaces-800x659.jpg

Apple continues to sell both GPS only and LTE models of the Apple Watch Series 4, and this version has a faster, more efficient S4 processor that offers 2x the speed, a new W3 wireless chip, and a 50 percent louder speaker.

There's a new set of electrodes in the Digital Crown which, when combined with the sensors in the back of the watch, can be used to capture a single-lead electrocardiogram right on the wrist, checking for atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation can be a sign of a serious health problem, letting Apple Watch users get early warnings about potential health issues. ECG readings are limited to the United States at this time because of the need for regulatory approval, but Apple is working on expanding availability.

iPad Pro (October)

In October, Apple introduced overhauled 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models with iPhone X-style features. The new iPad Pro models have no Home button, with Apple instead introducing a larger edge-to-edge display and slimmed down bezels for more screen real estate.

With no Home button, the 2018 iPad Pro models unlock through the Face ID facial recognition system, which has been improved to accommodate either horizontal or vertical unlocking.

appleipadprodesign2-800x598.jpg

There's a fast A12X processor inside, and these are the thinnest iPads ever thanks to a redesigned body that's reminiscent of the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 5. This new redesigned body necessitated the removal of the headphone jack, another controversial move.

Both of these models support an all new Apple Pencil 2 that connects and charges magnetically, doing away with the Lightning connector on the original accessory. Speaking of Lightning, the new iPad Pro models feature a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port, allowing them to connect to more accessories than ever before.

ipadproapplepencil-800x450.jpg

Mac mini (October)

The Mac mini got its first refresh in more than four years in October, with Apple introducing a new Space Gray machine that features quad to 6-core processors, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Thunderbolt 3 ports, and support for up to 64GB RAM and 2TB of storage.

No design changes were made to the Mac mini, but the internal layout was tweaked to support the new thermal needs of the faster processors.

macmini2018-800x280.jpg

Apple's smallest desktop machine also includes a T2 chip for on-the-fly data encryption and HEVC video transcoding up to 30 times faster, along with a Secure Enclave to make sure the software you're loading during the boot process hasn't been tampered with.

The Mac mini's revamped, updated hardware hasn't come cheap, and the machine is now priced starting at $799.

MacBook Air (October)

October brought a surprise refresh of the MacBook Air, Apple's most affordable notebook. The new 13-inch machine features a Retina display for the first time with slimmer bezels for more available screen real estate.

It features two Thunderbolt 3 chips, Intel's 8th-generation chips, 16GB RAM, and support for up to 1.5TB of storage space. It too is equipped with the T2 chip designed to make Macs more secure, and it adopted a third-generation butterfly keyboard, a larger trackpad, and louder speakers.

macbookairtrio-800x263.jpg

The new MacBook Air features the same tapered design as the previous model, but it is 10 percent thinner and takes up 17 percent less volume. It has the longest battery life of any Apple notebook.

Prior to this update, the MacBook Air had not been refreshed for years and it was believed Apple would phase it out in favor of the 12-inch MacBook, but that didn't happen.

The new MacBook Air is more powerful than the 12-inch MacBook, and now that the two machines have the same display, there's not much setting them apart except for the 12-inch MacBook's slightly smaller body. The 12-inch MacBook did not get a 2018 update and it's not clear what will happen to it in the future.

What's Next?

Make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors, because tomorrow, we'll be highlighting all of the products that we expect to see from Apple during 2019. 2019 is shaping up to be an even bigger year than 2018, with a TV service on the horizon, a modular Mac Pro in the works, and new iPhones and iPads in development.

Article Link: Year in Review: Everything Apple Introduced in 2018
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,217
19,449
UK
2019 will be a big year i’m Sure. Air pods refresh for one and to see what more they do with the new iPhones. Technically the Xs was an S year so maybe something bigger

IOS 13 could be the most important upgrade if what they did this year about holding off on improvements.
 

Greymacuser

macrumors 6502
Jul 31, 2012
425
863
2018 in Apple in a nutshell:
•No new professional desktops...AGAIN.
•Reheated mac minis and laptop leftovers.
•More ports lost.
•Un-innovative iToys.
•Alexia knockoffs.
•Mass content editing/censorship.
•Unfulfilled promises on a new Mac Pro.

On the plus side, its never been easier to build your own hackintosh that outstrips anything Apple can cough up.
 

LordVic

Cancelled
Sep 7, 2011
5,938
12,458
in 2019, i'd like to see them step outside their comfort zone a little more and instead of chasing markets, start thinking of ways to create new ones, or revitilize markets they've sort of abandoned.

This means making the mythical "Mac X" or Pro along the likes.
letting Function of a device encroach back into the "form".

actually releasing something from those mythical R&D teams that still seem to costing billions a year without a whole lot to show. EG, if they've spent billions owrking on Apple automotive stuff, we need to start seeing the rewards of that investment.

2018 was a year of refreshes and updates. Evolutionary, but hardly revolutionary. The only new products that were announced were not successes. The Air-Ppower mat has turned into Vapourware with all further information on it being scrubbed from Apple's sites, and the HomePod, despite it's technical prowress was a high end speaker, with an even higher end speaker price, that seems to have missed the mark completely for what people overall were looking for.

the groundwork should be set with the new iPad pro for iOS13 to be more "desktop like". will they bite or continue down the current closed system?


I think overall the biggest and most important thing for Apple in 2019 is to stop chasing the 1Trllion wallstreet number and focus on sales volumes and market share growth, which plagued them in 2018. there's very VERY little actually wrong with the products themselves. Apple's biggest issue on the horizon is going to be convincing consumers that their products are still great value at the price points that all went up in 2018. 2019 will either require some sort of major product differentiation to continue to justify those higher price points, or they may wake up to a rude wakeup call with even further slipping of their market share and sales volumes.
 

adamjackson

macrumors 68020
Jul 9, 2008
2,334
4,730
As someone who purchased a lot of the refreshed items this year, I had almost no free spending money. Thanks Apple for raising your prices across the board. Thank god I don't have kids who also want a phone, speaker, AppleTV and laptop for school.

Purchases this year:
HomePod
iPad Pro 11 + Keyboard & Pencil
MacBook Pro 15 Core i9 model
iPhone XS 256GB
Apple Watch Series 4 space black stainless
AppleTV 4K
iPhone XR (girlfriend's phone)
- around $8500 in Apple hardware.

I'm not bragging but I've long been an Apple fanboy (20 years now) and it used to be that I could easily own pretty much every generation of Apple's devices for around $5,000 a year. Today, that's not possible anymore. Everything is about 25% higher than it was 3 years ago. My last top of the line MacBook pro was 2600, iPad was $700 and iPhone was $900. It's all more now and sure, I could just not buy it but i'm still a fanboy and who needs food anyway?

My 2015 iMac 27" needs to be replaced. I almost grabbed an iMac Pro when it was on sale $500 off but I've decided to wait for the next refresh. I'm going to have to skip every Apple update in 2019 so I can do that which is fine, most of their stuff is on 2 year cycles now. There will be a new AirPods and AirPower but I think I'm good for 2 years on everything else.



Didn’t they introduce 2 pencils this year? One made specially for the classroom?

That was the Crayon from Logitech. Not an Apple product.

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/crayon
 

Mike MA

macrumors 68020
Sep 21, 2012
2,089
1,811
Germany
It was a good year from my point of view...got the family equipped with new phones, a nice HomeKit setup utilizing HomePods and finally received a new MacBook Air. As for the price point, Apple never was a cheap thing to buy.
 
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AngerDanger

Graphics
Staff member
Dec 9, 2008
5,452
29,002
Almost as important as what they did release is what they didn't.

2018 when by without us seeing the iPad, iMac, and Mac mini gain a notch:

NOTCH iPad Mac Mini iMac.jpg


We're still waiting on AirPods that take design cues from the Apple Pencil:

Cross AirPencil AirPods Plus Apple Pencil.jpg Wearing AirPencil AirPods Plus Apple Pencil.jpg

Although they released Beats headphones with Mickey Mouse imagery, iPhone XR owners have been left out in the cold:

MickPhone.jpg


Mac mini owned hoping for a Retina display are going to have to continue waiting:

Retina Mini.png


And despite containing vibration motors, Apple still hasn't released MacBooks that can scoot around our desks like little RC cars:

UohQFzq.gif


Here's to hoping Apple can step up its game in 2019. :(
 
Last edited:

notabadname

macrumors 68000
Jan 4, 2010
1,566
736
Detroit Suburbs
This was a very good year for updates/releases (and very expensive personally). One new MBP, iPhone Xs and 12.9 iPad Pro later. I think the first year I have been so compelled to update everything - which means too many years of poor updates keeping me in the wait.
 

goodcow

macrumors 6502a
Aug 4, 2007
745
994
I'm not bragging but I've long been an Apple fanboy (20 years now) and it used to be that I could easily own pretty much every generation of Apple's devices for around $5,000 a year. Today, that's not possible anymore. Everything is about 25% higher than it was 3 years ago. My last top of the line MacBook pro was 2600, iPad was $700 and iPhone was $900. It's all more now and sure, I could just not buy it but i'm still a fanboy and who needs food anyway?

This post is sad, on multiple levels. Stop justifying the price hikes by purchasing everything.
 

chucker23n1

macrumors G3
Dec 7, 2014
8,490
11,237
2018 in Apple in a nutshell:
•No new professional desktops...AGAIN.
•Reheated mac minis and laptop leftovers.

If a 10 GigE option on the Mac mini isn't "professional", I don't know what is.

•More ports lost.
•Un-innovative iToys.
•Alexia knockoffs.
•Mass content editing/censorship.
•Unfulfilled promises on a new Mac Pro.

On the plus side, its never been easier to build your own hackintosh that outstrips anything Apple can cough up.

Seems to me you just enjoy shaking your fist.

Like, there's a lot to criticize, but you're not even trying very hard. At least choose a talking point like "I would've never bought an iPad Pro anyway, but I heard the Senior VP of Somethingorother said something about bending being normal!"
 
Last edited:

Naraxus

macrumors 68020
Oct 13, 2016
2,056
8,394
More asininely priced iPhones.

More under-clocked, under-spec’d and obscenely overpriced non professional Macs.

More focusing on toys like the iPad instead of Macs.

More buggy software.

More pandering to causes, taking the focus off of making great products.

More disrespect for their customers.

Apple’s 2018 Year In Review....
 
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