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Apple refreshes much of its product lineup on an annual basis, and a new report reveals when that process may begin this year.
Taiwanese website
DigiTimes first claims some suppliers are poised to benefit from new or increased orders from Apple to help produce next-generation iPad, MacBook, and Apple Watch models at some point in 2018:The report then replaces Apple Watch with iPhone in the sentence, and says the new products are slated for debut starting in March:The timeframe could simply be a guess based on Apple's new product releases last year. In 2017, the company announced a
lower-cost 9.7-inch iPad in March by way of press release, alongside
(PRODUCT)RED edition iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models, and larger 32GB and 128GB storage capacities for iPhone SE.
As a boilerplate disclaimer,
DigiTimes does not have a perfect track record. The publication has shared inaccurate information about both what is coming and when on Apple's roadmap, including last year's prediction that Apple would unveil its
10.5-inch iPad Pro at an April event that never transpired.
If the report is accurate, the iPad lineup is likely the most ideal candidate for product refreshes as early as March. The launch of new iPhone and Apple Watch models now seems tied together in September, while Apple hasn't unveiled new notebooks in March since the Early 2015 model 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple could also unveil a second-generation iPhone SE in March, which marks the two-year anniversary of the budget device, but KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently
cast some doubt on this possibility.
Article Link:
DigiTimes Predicts Apple's First New Products of 2018 Could Debut Starting in March Like Last Year
I suspect we'll see convergence; an all new product called the iMacBook AirPro Mini SE X Pod Home, (no, not SEX, it's Special Edition TEN...) which will be a space-gray, rose-gold, or new Cobalt-Blue (which inexplicably will be metallic sea-foam green in color,) with dual screens; one touch, with electromagnetic repulsion creating the sensation of physical buttons where there are none, on the "Lap Pad" portion of the device. It will hinge through 360 degrees, allowing it to be used as a tablet, or a laptop, or a giant coaster. It will feature an all Corning Gorilla Sapphire Boron-Silicon-Aluminum (but somehow arsenic-free) Glass III chassis, be able to withstand a ten foot drop onto concrete from any angle with no protective case, but only if it's dry; it will also be able to tolerate immersion into water, salt or fresh, for up to 30 minutes at a depth of up to 3 meters, but only if the Calendar app is running at the time of immersion, or if within five minutes of first contact with water, the Apple Music app is playing any song or video by the band U2.
The screens will be all OLED and every surface will be capable of lighting up, with a display resolution of 9K at 240Hz refresh, putting out sufficient light to read a book by from 20 feet away; at a mere 9 ounces, and at only 3.7mm 'thin,' (while closed,) it will be the thinnest and lightest tablet/full-function computer Apple has ever made. They will come with Terabit WiFi, Wireless Gigabit Ethernet, (don't ask me how,) USB=D+II ports, capable of driving ThunderBlast (TM) data connections at distances of up to 18 kilometers.
They will naturally have no headphone jacks, or charging ports, as they will charge using wireless technology, and come pre-loaded with every song, video, and podcast in Apple's cloud, and run on a new thing called, "iMacOS-X-i" and will feature such hardcore internals as 64 core (is ANYONE still reading this?) A999 chips, limitless RAM and SSD storage, and sadly, though they'll retail for only $978.99 each in the US, they only plan to make 7 of them, and they've all already been bought.
As Apple products, they are designed to bind to their owners' DNA sequences, and will self-destruct if anyone else even attempts to use them. (Okay, this started off intended to be a serious post, but turned into a joke as I tried to speculate about what they've actually got up their sleeves, in frustration over the fact that every time I buy anything from Apple, they end up making it obsolete in short order, REALLY frustrating me unbearably.)
*All kidding aside, I expect that IF they introduce a new MacBook Air, aimed at a more-entry-level-market, they'll do to it rather like what they did with the MacMini, only more so. Meaning the new version will replace the old one entirely, seeing it therefore discontinued, they'll stream-line it by ripping out the headphone jack, and one or both USB jacks, and give it a grand-total of ONE USB-C jack. They'll probably replace the keyboard with one more like the new 12" MacBook has, (which I don't personally like; I need to be able to feel the keys, otherwise, it's not REALLY touch-typing, now is it?) and all the upgrade options for the MBA will go away; no upgraded processor or memory or storage, oh, and the SD card slot? Yeah, probably kiss THAT goodbye.*
