What to Expect From Apple in 2018: Three New iPhones and iPad Pro With Face ID, HomePod, Refreshed Macs, and More

[iReality85]

Is there really a need for a notch on something the size of an iPad?

I get the whole notch thing for the X; the physical dimensions of a phone can only be so big (realistically speaking). So yeah, you want to maximize the screen size while keeping the bezel size to a minimum. But for a tablet? I don’t know. IMO, a notch would be silly to have, especially on an iPad Pro. So what if the iPad has a little bezel on the top and bottom?

That’s not to say Apple shouldn’t include FaceID on the iPad, but I don’t see why they’d have to introduce a notch. Space isn’t exactly a premium at that size. I hope they keep TouchID too.

 

[robertcoogan]

I got an Alexa as a Christmas gift. Sound quality is like listening through a wet blanket. I do think that the HomePod wont sell well at first due to the cost. But I'm pretty sure that it will still be a money maker for Apple, and from what I hear about the sound quality it won't disappoint.

 

[anonymous13579]

Buy your iPad now. A notch on the Pad wold be horrible. Plus, being able to unlock it in horizontal mode would be critical. Does that mean two notches (or maybe three so you can unlock it horizontally with either edge up??).

Lol they probably won’t put a notch, the iPad screen is big enough so the could put a small bezel around it, just big enough to fit the Face ID ****.

 

[Googlyhead]

If it's not blatantly obvious now, touch ID will not be here for next years iPhone. Apple me that clear when I said They said Face ID was their future. The only phone that might retain touch ID, is if Apple updates the iPhone SE. Which we should find out in a few months if they hold a spring Keynote.

If / when they update the iPhone SE; they're going to have to trim the rest of the iPhone line. The current one benchmarks on par or better than the 7's, if it's not already embarrassing that the 6s' are still sold.
Not only would any upgrade absolutely slaughter exactly half of the product range that they're trying to charge more for, but if we were to use such past performance as a guide, it would also put their "flagship" iPx to shame.

 

[makingdots]

Also an iPhone 9 with Touch ID please. Thank you.

What more do you expect for iPhone 9? Just get the iPhone 8 Plus.
Same processor and almost same camera as iPhone X.

OLED HDR screen will never come to non-flagship iPhone anytime soon. Maybe after 3 years or so.

 

[Malarkey]

What to expect: I build my first PC (specs from sites like Logical Increments or PC Parts Picker) and finally have a powerful computer again, plus gaming. Goodbye, Apple.

 

[daniesy]

And plenty of lawsuites. We'll see a lot of Apple lawsuites in 2018.

 

[riverfreak]

Awesome year ahead and great overview.

Have to say I think Apple management is missing the forest for the trees with the ~$350 Homepod. The world is buying these (<$100 Amazon Echo and Google Home) as their base for continuous verbal communication to the computer ecosystem. Apple needs to get after the cheaper end of the market as well and push the fact they're the only ones not wanting to data mine the heck out of everything you say to sell you something.

Totally. Selling high-dollar speakers with voice assist obviates the true goal: data acquisition for faster and better training. If Apple hasn’t already lost the AI race, they almost surely will. A six month head start may as well be a century. Siri continues to suck badly.
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And plenty of lawsuites. We'll see a lot of Apple lawsuites in 2018.

Lawsuites are the best, especially if there are heavy appetizers and an open bar.

 

[DocMultimedia]

I'm buying the HomePod, and hoping for an updated Air. If a new iPhone with vastly better camera shows up, I'll get that. But the camera on the X is really nice.

 

[ckhris1613]

I sure hope the larger iPhone X is at least 2,000

 

[FelixDerKater]

Possibly a new SE-like iPhone?

 

[craigknipp]

I’m hoping for a new SE model early next year as I would like to upgrade from 16gb model. The current SE is getting hard to find in the marketplace right now so maybe there will be a new model in 2018? ‍♂️

 

[Totally]

It takes courage to defy the laws of physics like that! 2018 is gonna be awesome!

View attachment 744290

Maybe that stand is made out of depleted Uranium or Lead or something so that even though it looks light, it really weighs like 10 pounds. And then it wouldn't defy the laws of physics

 

[kstotlani]

2018: I expect a small settlement paid all owners of an iPhone 6 and newer that has the same battery. I'm not being snooty, I'm being serious. I think this is not going to go well for Apple and the start of 2018 is going to be rough.

While Samsung and Apple's strategies were different for dealing with power issues on their respective devices Apple did not disclose the matter like Samsung did. And the latter did it with power management after a recall was issued.

I personally have an iPhone 6 and the battery issue was documented by Apple twice. The issue magically went away in iOS10 but brought the issues of what a downgraded performance which was also documented. However, never was it told to me to that this was down by Apple without my knowledge or say in the matter. It's going to be a rough start for them.

I replaced my iPhone 6 with an 8 plus which I really didn’t need. Apple refused to change the battery in India and a couple of stores in the US. They kept saying I had a funny app causing the slowness or some bad data. Restored my phone 3 times from scratch and never from backup. After this I had no choice but to buy a new phone. I am so pissed right now.

 

[PickUrPoison]

For me, the most exciting thing Apple announced in 2017 was the HomePod. And here we are at the end of the year and we have NO idea when it will be released. Hell, we can't even be sure that it *will* be released.

Mark

In mid-November, when Apple announced they weren’t going to ship in December after all, they said they needed “a little more time.” They further said they would start shipping in early 2018.

Early 2018 means “before the end of April” in Apple-speak, but if I had to guess I’d say sometime in January or February. That’s my idea of “a little more time” anyway. Others have their own interpretation.

 

[BrettApple]

Honestly the one single thing I actually want from Apple next year is improved software quality. Not only for iOS, but for macOS too, and watchOS, even their own applications could use some good debugging and stability improvements. I couldn't tell you how many times the Photos.app has unexpectedly quit on High Sierra, just give me an updated Aperture and I'd be happy.

Or iOS 11, we all know how well it's doing this year, and 10 still has it's share of bugs too. Not saying Android Oreo is without it's flaws either, but it has a lot going for it right now.

I just want Apple to be Apple again, good software paired with good hardware, not just amazing hardware with mediocre software.

 

[MarkB786]

Lol they probably won’t put a notch, the iPad screen is big enough so the could put a small bezel around it, just big enough to fit the Face ID ****.

Three face ID sensors in one ipad? Sounds expensive for Apple. Maybe the face ID iPad will be the premium model at the $1200 level or so.

 

[PickUrPoison]

I'm buying the HomePod, and hoping for an updated Air. If a new iPhone with vastly better camera shows up, I'll get that. But the camera on the X is really nice.

Depending on your requirements, the 12” MacBook can be a pretty decent update to the Air.

 

[UltimaKilo]

A few things that Apple should update;

AirPods: need a volume up/down ability, 6+ hours of battery

iPhone: better battery life, lighter designs, improved camera, support for 15w wireless charging, stronger glass, 3.5gb RAM, fast charging

MacBook: Kaby Lake-R/Cannonlake, an extra port

MacBook Pro: Kaby Lake-R, DRR4 RAM, faceID, improved battery life, improved GPU.

Mac Mini: Kaby Lake-R, 32GB DDR4, dGPU.

iPad: edge-to-edge display, improved GPU/CPU, improves battery life, faceID, improved keyboard.

Apple Watch: if they can’t significanty improve battery life or the health sensors, they should skip a year; AW3 is plenty quick.

Services: Apple should start seriously creating video content and expand Apple Radio without making any major acquisitions. Apple Music also needs a redesign.

 

[DakotaGuy]

I sure hope the larger iPhone X is at least 2,000

I don’t think they will push it to $2,000, but honestly they could probably charge $1,499 and it would sell very well. It would be a good way to maximize corporate profitability. More then likely the base 64 GB model X Plus will sell for $1,099 and the 256 GB for $1,249.

It all depends on how this year’s X sells. If it turns out to be a hot seller Apple should probably adjust pricing higher on the X Plus. Leveraging the brand as hard as they can when smartphone sales hit a plateau is good business to drive profits.

 

[Fallenight]

A new feature for iOS love to see is extend display to another device. Full a graphics app, able to have the brushes, colour and others, on the iPhone, when drawing on the iPad. Still be nice at times to use the iPhone as a keyboard for the iPad. Or having two iPads and able to drag and drop from one device to the other.

With older devices still working, but want to get a newer device; be nice to able seem them into a one work flow.

 

[aaronhead14]

Mac Pro should be at the top of this list! It's pretty much the only Apple product I'm really looking forward to at the moment, hahah.

 

[xxray]

I’m really curious about the low cost iPhone being $649-$749 while still having FaceID and the “bezelless” design. That would mean that the smaller OLED screen on the iPhone X would have to be worth $250-$350 more, as that would be the only main feature differentiating the two, except maybe a slightly worse camera or less premium build design on the lower cost iPhone.

I hope this means that the X will drop in price ($799-$849?) and the X Plus would be $899-$999. The cheaper the better of course though.

 

[mebehere]

Fix the existing iPhones. Screw next year’s lineup. Stupid is as stupid promotes.

 

[spotlight07]

I hope they address the MacBook Pro issues. I activate the touchbar when I don’t want to and the app context buttons are rarely what I want. It’s pure annoyance for me but I couldn’t get one without it on the 15 inch. The keyboard is awful and painful to type on. No MagSafe. If this year is more of the same I’ll be disappointed. I can’t believe I enjoy using my Yoga 910 more than my top of the line MBP. And I hate hate hate Windows. That’s how bad Apple hardware has fallen.