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What Do You Want to See From Apple in 2025?
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"what do you want" absolutely nothing I'm gonna get 
- OLED Macbook Pro
- iPhone 17 Mini
- an AppleTV "dongle"
- Homekit Hub functionality in Mac Mini or Apple Studio Display
my checkbook is taking a sigh of relief this year
- OLED Macbook Pro
- iPhone 17 Mini
- an AppleTV "dongle"
- Homekit Hub functionality in Mac Mini or Apple Studio Display
my checkbook is taking a sigh of relief this year
1.) Much cheaper SSD and RAM upgrades in Macs. How many Mac Rumors threads and posts revolve around the practicality of booting from external SSDs, how hot external SSDs run, what the best housings are for keeping them cooler, how to get Apple Intelligence to run when operating off one, etc...? How many YouTube! influencer product reviewers reiterate that Mac SSD upgrade prices are basically predatory and it's idiotic to pay them? Plus without extra empty internal storage slots for 3rd party SSDs (aside from ridiculously expensive MacPros), this is what we're locked into.
It makes Apple look bad. And for crying out loud, at least 512-gig minimum SSD in Macs.
2.) Pour some money into making more gaming happen. I don't expect the Mac to be on par with the Windows or console gaming world. This is an area you get dinged on a lot.
3.) Wifi 7 across your wireless product line.
4.) For the Apple Studio Display, include VESA mounting holes in all (not just without a stand) and the height-adjustment feature in the base stand. Yes, we get capitalism and a for-profit company. We also get the subtle feeling like we're being mugged. While you're at it, put an HDMI and Display Port on it and up the refresh rate to 120-Hz and add KVM switch so it's useful for a 2nd computer and/or console.
The ASD is so expensive that people coughing up nearly 2 grand (remember, Apple Care + and sales tax) want to get maximum utility out of their display. ASUS has an $800 5K 27" display out, and lots of people already have external speaker systems - Apple's offering could use a serious value-add update.
Oh, and make the ASD a Thunderbolt 5 hub with downstream TB 5 ports. It's my understanding the current version is only 'Thunderbolt' between the Mac and ASD, and the downstream ports are USB-C. TB5 offers some bandwidth potential.
5.) Support 4K 27" monitors. I'm on a Dell now and it looks sharp, but you know some people are determined that (to them) 4K 27" monitors on Macs don't look as good as on Windows, and Mac displays should offer around 220 dpi - which in the mainstream 27" display world means 5K, which runs from $800 - $1,600. We've read Macs don't do sub-pixel anti-aliasing.
So here's a 'challenge' for your engineers - since a great many Mac users use 4K 27" external monitors and a very small minority use 5K (other than discontinued old 27" iMac users), have them modify the MacOS to support 27" 4K directly. Is there some reason this can't be done?
6.) Facial Recognition on MacBooks.
7.) 10x Optical Zoom telephoto power in iPhone 17 like JosephAW mentioned; iPhones are the main cameras in use by many people, and it opens up a number of wildlife photography opportunities.
It makes Apple look bad. And for crying out loud, at least 512-gig minimum SSD in Macs.
2.) Pour some money into making more gaming happen. I don't expect the Mac to be on par with the Windows or console gaming world. This is an area you get dinged on a lot.
3.) Wifi 7 across your wireless product line.
4.) For the Apple Studio Display, include VESA mounting holes in all (not just without a stand) and the height-adjustment feature in the base stand. Yes, we get capitalism and a for-profit company. We also get the subtle feeling like we're being mugged. While you're at it, put an HDMI and Display Port on it and up the refresh rate to 120-Hz and add KVM switch so it's useful for a 2nd computer and/or console.
The ASD is so expensive that people coughing up nearly 2 grand (remember, Apple Care + and sales tax) want to get maximum utility out of their display. ASUS has an $800 5K 27" display out, and lots of people already have external speaker systems - Apple's offering could use a serious value-add update.
Oh, and make the ASD a Thunderbolt 5 hub with downstream TB 5 ports. It's my understanding the current version is only 'Thunderbolt' between the Mac and ASD, and the downstream ports are USB-C. TB5 offers some bandwidth potential.
5.) Support 4K 27" monitors. I'm on a Dell now and it looks sharp, but you know some people are determined that (to them) 4K 27" monitors on Macs don't look as good as on Windows, and Mac displays should offer around 220 dpi - which in the mainstream 27" display world means 5K, which runs from $800 - $1,600. We've read Macs don't do sub-pixel anti-aliasing.
So here's a 'challenge' for your engineers - since a great many Mac users use 4K 27" external monitors and a very small minority use 5K (other than discontinued old 27" iMac users), have them modify the MacOS to support 27" 4K directly. Is there some reason this can't be done?
6.) Facial Recognition on MacBooks.
7.) 10x Optical Zoom telephoto power in iPhone 17 like JosephAW mentioned; iPhones are the main cameras in use by many people, and it opens up a number of wildlife photography opportunities.
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I'd like somebody to come out with a decent doorbell with HomeKit Secure Video. I'd also like some way to turn of the awful, terrible Apple Intelligence suggestions in Messages.
What I actually want from Apple in 2025
What I expect we’ll get from Apple in 2025
- Cheaper RAM/SSD upgrades
- Cheaper iCloud storage tiers
- macOS on iPad Pros
- More pro apps on iPadOS if we’re not getting macOS
- A better Siri that just acts as a front end for ChatGPT because Siri is atrociously bad as a voice assistant
- Better home automation integration (like with Home Assistant)
What I expect we’ll get from Apple in 2025
- New iPhones with an incrementally better camera
- New computers and iPads with a slightly faster processor
- Some insane attempt at a foldable iDevice which goddamnit I will buy because I have no self control or self respect.
- That stupid microphone enabled mouse which will make absolutely no sense but somehow they will sell 30 million of them in the first month - except it’ll still have the charging port on the bottom
Updated XDR, with ProMotion, but I fear that will require Thunderbolt 5.
We can chat in another thread somewhere if you really want to get into it, but:
1. It's not an engineering challenge, it's more of an art problem. Adding retina to Macs was very easy because they just quadrupled the resolution of every bitmap asset (2x higher, 2x wider). Accurate assets on a 27" 4k display would be 1.75x the old pre-retina models (or roughly .8x current ones)…
2. …so you're suggesting redrawing every single bitmap in MacOS to support displays that are objectively worse.
I'd also challenge the notion that a "very small minority" of users are on 5k displays. The "very small minority" is users who are on desktop computers at all, like 5% or less. This would add significantly to the overhead of the OS for, what, just a handful of dudes on Mac Minis with cheap displays that they didn't even buy from Apple? Why would they care?
Oh, oh, oh...one last niche thing that could bring a little goodwill from the user base and some environmentalist 'green' points. You know those online 'how to' videos and articles, and Mac Rumors threads, on covering old 27" 5K iMacs into stand-alone external displays? How about having Apple Stores offer that service for a fixed cost?
If you could make it happen for $400 + tax (cheaper would be nice, but we're talking about Apple), you might get some business and an opportunity to talk about landfills, fighting e-waste, 'Apple cares,' etc...
If you could make it happen for $400 + tax (cheaper would be nice, but we're talking about Apple), you might get some business and an opportunity to talk about landfills, fighting e-waste, 'Apple cares,' etc...
Here is what I want:
-iPhone 17 Pro Max that's design actually makes sense
-M5 iPad Pro
-An answer to what they are doing with Pixelmator Pro
-An updated Studio Display (might actually buy one)
-Airpod Pro 3s that ACTUALLY FING WORK ( I had terrible experience with the Pro 1s)
-In MacOS ability to use your iPhones camera for video and see your phone on the screen at the same time, dark icons
-A cheaper apple vision
-iPhone 17 Pro Max that's design actually makes sense
-M5 iPad Pro
-An answer to what they are doing with Pixelmator Pro
-An updated Studio Display (might actually buy one)
-Airpod Pro 3s that ACTUALLY FING WORK ( I had terrible experience with the Pro 1s)
-In MacOS ability to use your iPhones camera for video and see your phone on the screen at the same time, dark icons
-A cheaper apple vision
How difficult would this be for Apple to implement?
I dispute your assertion that the very small minority is users on desktop computers at all, because a number of users run MacBooks in 'clamshell mode' much of the time (functioning as desktops), hooked to external displays. 4K 27" Monitor users, judging from Mac Rumors posts and YouTube! review videos and online articles, are NOT 'just a handful of dudes on Mac Minis with cheap displays.' Nor are all 4" 27" displays cheap (well, if you define anything less expensive than Apple's offering as cheap...). A quick look at Amazon's monitors section alternatively comparing 5K and 4K offerings shows the 4K segment is way larger.
Why would they care? Because it impacts the user experience for their customers. And 'Let them buy an Apple Studio Display' sounds too much like the infamous 'Let them eat cake!'
User replaceable batteries in all iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks. A couple of screws to open a cover, disconnect a cable, a couple of screws to remove the battery, reverse to install a new battery. Yes, it might make the iPhone or iPad slightly thicker, but a good tradeoff in my opinion.
Yes, I know there are kits from Apple, but the process provided by Apple is not without risks that most people will not undertake.
Yes, I know there are kits from Apple, but the process provided by Apple is not without risks that most people will not undertake.
I would love to see HDR displays across more devices and not just pro devices. In particular we need more desktop HDR options that are not a $6,000 6k display.
Apple has done so much to bring a solid form of HDR to many users with the 14" and 16" MBP, iPhones and iPad Pro devices. I would like to see that become a universal standard across many devices.
The desktop space is really lacking in Apple HDR options. In the portable space users can get an iPad Pro for a bit over $1000. A 14" MBP can be a solid HDR option for $1500. In the desktop space the only current option is the $6000 6k display which is kind of an older HDR panel now.
I personally use a Asus Pro Art 32" 4k display that was only $1,200 but it would be nice to see Apple give more HDR love to desktop users.
The one thing I do love about my 14" MBP XDR display is how it can adapt to both SDR and HDR at the same time. Only the portion of the screen that plays HDR content will be HDR. My Asus is all or nothing and HDR mode can look a bit odd with the UI and other SDR content. Right now my Asus is only used as a video output display so it works. Having nice apple XDR options that are more affordable would be very welcome.
Apple has done so much to bring a solid form of HDR to many users with the 14" and 16" MBP, iPhones and iPad Pro devices. I would like to see that become a universal standard across many devices.
The desktop space is really lacking in Apple HDR options. In the portable space users can get an iPad Pro for a bit over $1000. A 14" MBP can be a solid HDR option for $1500. In the desktop space the only current option is the $6000 6k display which is kind of an older HDR panel now.
I personally use a Asus Pro Art 32" 4k display that was only $1,200 but it would be nice to see Apple give more HDR love to desktop users.
The one thing I do love about my 14" MBP XDR display is how it can adapt to both SDR and HDR at the same time. Only the portion of the screen that plays HDR content will be HDR. My Asus is all or nothing and HDR mode can look a bit odd with the UI and other SDR content. Right now my Asus is only used as a video output display so it works. Having nice apple XDR options that are more affordable would be very welcome.
An upgraded studio display, the ability for iPad OS to run Mac OS apps (without Mac OS style multitasking), and third party browsers on iPadOS/iOS having all rendering engine restrictions removed (for parity with the EU).
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Quick follow up to prevent misunderstandings. I acknowledge Mac Minis + Mac Studios (desktop only Macs) are a really small % of the total Mac market. That said, many MacBooks are used predominantly in clamshell mode as de facto desktops or at least often used attached to external displays, even if also used as portables. Many of these external displays are 4K monitors in the 27" to 32" size range.
Do we have any credible numbers on what % of Mac users use 5k displays (Apple, Samsung, LG, the new ASUS ProArt 5K, etc...) - that aren't old discontinued 27" iMacs? If we include old iMacs, 5k is more common than I credited (one sits on my desk, too), but that's a discontinued line and most people won't go through the ordeal to convert them to external displays. Until the ASUS came out, 5K displays tended to be nearly a grand and up. Many discussions of Mac Rumors feature people struggling with whether to go for an M4 Pro over a base M4, 24 gig RAM over 16, 512-gig SSD over 256, etc... I suspect to many of them, 4K 27" displays look pretty good.
this is offtopic, let's discuss it here or someplace https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/why-so-much-hate-for-4k-monitors.2445661/
That is probibly thne root cause of Apple's recent problems. They put an accountant in charge and just as you would expect Apple makes a ton of money but innovation and leadership is replaced by utra-conservitive incremental changes.
The same thing happened in Hollywood when accountants take over. All they do is remakes and sequals of the hits.
iPhone Mini, 12" MacBook under a kg and without a notch, a new iPad without a camera bump.
From Apple's point of view, the Mac is a small and minor product. Apple has become an iPhone company.
Forgot the bloody magsafe. Both in phones and laptops, just kill it. In phones it takes up space, space that should be used for the battery. And for laptops, at least make the usb-c to usb-c cable the default or a free alternative option.