What do you think Apple's next big things are?

[tomoisyourgod]

Ultra Portable Macintosh - with a touch screen, I never speculate or guess what Apple will do next, but I have a feeling on this.

has anyone else mentioned it on this board previously?

Popular in Asia...

what ya reckon? (obviously, it won't be as ugly as that)

 

[speedier]

wow is that a real product? i woulda thought Sony things look better than that in terms of design.

what about Apple making televisions? maybe not profitable? like, just incorporate Apple TV into a TV.

and Apple making cameras (or partnering with Fujifilm or something)... that'd be nice.

 

[Genghis Khan]

i don't think we should be asking what apple will give us, because apple alwasy tend to deliver what we want/ask for

so ask yourself what YOU yourself would like apple to make


personnaly, a printer would be nice
as would a mid size tower
multi-touch laptops
bigger memory iPods
new cases for ALL computers (too boring atm)
etc

 

[Shaduu]

<snip>License out OS X</snip>

Sorry, but that's simply not going to happen. Apple likes to have control over the hardware they develop for, hence why upgradability is a little thin on the ground. Having a set list of hardware (x86 Intel for Macs, ARM for the iPod and iPhone) makes the development process so much simpler and allows for a more streamlined and better integrated OS. Why would Apple license OS X to a public that has a much varied and unpredictable set of hardware requirements when they work on the principle of a closed hardware development environment? It just wouldn't work; Apple is not Microsoft.

You make a good point about marketshare but Jobs has said it himself, Apple just doesn't care about marketshare. They know that gaining the prevalent majority in OS usage is an insurmountable task compared to Windows. Your average Joe uses what's on his computer when he buys it, he doesn't want to worry about choices regarding OS when he orders from Dell. I have people in school that use IE "because it came with the computer" and that's what Apple can't beat.

Apple won't license OS X until all Mac sales have completely dried up and they're selling hardware at a loss. Even then, I find it hard to imagine unpacking a Dell and finding an OS X OEM disc in the bottom of the box - it just defies all of Apple's principles for providing a complete computing solution. For proof of that, just take a look at the iMac. An all-in-one computer with everything (minus multi-function printer) you could ever need contained in just one unit. Even down to Apple peripherals, all of them are a true extension of your computer: an iPod for your music library, an iPhone for your electronic communication, an TV for your media. With all that behind every product that Apple produces, why on earth do you think they'd license their breakthrough OS?

As for predictions, I'd have to hazard a guess at a nice 3/4" thick ultra-portable laptop or a multitouch-based tablet. It'll be fun to see what they do next.

 

[Sean Dempsey]

Ultra Portable Macintosh - with a touch screen, I never speculate or guess what Apple will do next, but I have a feeling on this.

has anyone else mentioned it on this board previously?

Popular in Asia...

what ya reckon? (obviously, it won't be as ugly as that)

my friend has one of these. It's really cool. The design is actually quite good, considering it's meant to be held like a video game controller.

 

[LethalWolfe]

It will not be like the days of the Mac clone where it almost killed the company. Right now apple has wide range of products. It has it computers, iPod and iPhone, Software, and other random items for an income stream.

I don't think Apple software is a profit generating income stream. It might break even, but I'm more inclined to say Apple software is a loss leader to get people to buy their hardware. iLife is still a steal and components of iLife used to be free downloads. Apple buys professional apps and then sells them at a fraction of their former cost or rolls them into a current software suite at no extra cost. Final Cut Studio 2 is, w/no exaggeration, at least a $30,000 suite of apps Apple is selling for $1299. If that's not a major lure to get people to switch to buy Mac hardware (either switch or upgrade) I don't know what is. Apps like Safari and iTunes were only made cross platform so that Windows users would buy Apple hardware (in the form of consumer electronics). Boot camp is in Leopard so people can run Windows on Apple hardware. Apple is pretty much doing the exact opposite of what you are suggesting.


Lethal

 

[nines]

The future will be all about touchscreen devices and a completely new intuitive interface for that reason. The possibilities are just amazing!

Here is a video about this topic from the TED Conference in 2006.

Keep your fingernails short.

edit: hah, you should see that video too - it's a parody of the 'Microsoft Surface'

 

[ViveLeLivre]

Laptops w/ multitouch trackpads and a multitouch tablet PC/PDA hybrid at MWSF.

It's Macworld, what else could they possibly have to offer?

 

[skunk]

I'm wondering since Apple have extended into the phone market whether they'll ever make a camera...?

They already did. I had one (Quicktake 100) when they first came out. Awesome 480x640 pixel resolution.

 

[elistan]

I think Apple could make some serious inroads with consumers if they made a DVR. Tons of people have cable/sat TV - unfortunately, the hardware they use to watch TV is mostly dictated by who provides your service, and most of it is crap but people don't realize it because they've never been exposed to something better. Apple could supply that better experience - then when people are considering purchasing a phone/music player/computer, they'll think back on their positive experience with the iDVR and natually gravitate towards additional Apple products. Plus the monthly scheduling subscription fee would be a nice income stream for Apple as well.

Of course, that service provider lock-in is an issue. Can you see Apple partnering with DirecTV? It's hard to imagine. Of course, I wouldn't have guessed Apple would partner with AT&T on a cell phone either, and look at what happened. Plus, AT&T has a high-def IPTV service they're rolling out that's, IMO, hampered by their rubbish Microsoft-powered DVR.

TiVo is basically already doing what I'm suggesting Apple do - you can get an HD TiVo that uses CableCard to interface with your cable service - but for some reason it doesn't seem to be catching on very well. Perhaps Apple could succeed where TiVo hasn't.

(Oh, which reminds me of another barrier to such a product - the DVR world is likely a patent mine field.)

 

[phillipjfry]

I wanna go with DVR capable AppleTV but I can tell Apple doesn't want to get involved in all that silly copyright battle. They are already in the hot seat with some of the big networks.

Maybe some kind of redesigned revamped something er other mac mini.

 

[Stampyhead]

Ultra Portable Macintosh - with a touch screen, I never speculate or guess what Apple will do next, but I have a feeling on this.

has anyone else mentioned it on this board previously?

Popular in Asia...

what ya reckon? (obviously, it won't be as ugly as that)

That is seriously one of the ugliest things I have ever seen. Sony must keep their R&D people locked up in a cave...