What's Coming From Apple in 2015: Apple Watch, iPad Pro, iPhone 6s, 12-Inch MacBook and More

[Crosscreek]

The only thing I can say here is that if you want Apple to do better with the Mini make your voice heard.

That being said I actually expect a Mini upgrade from Apple in 2015. Why? I actually think they had plans to put Broadwell in the machine as that would have nicely improved performance. In 2015 Apple may have both Broadwell and SkyLake to choose from, so the hardware will be there.

As for chips to actually put in the Mini, in 2015, I'd be surprised if there isn't a quad core option however that is more up to Intel than Apple. As it is I think this years Mini gets unfairly knocked by a lot of people in the media. Yes the platform lost the quad cores but it also gained much better GOU performance which is a big advantage for the majority of Mini users. With Broadwell and SkyLake we have the potential to see improvements in both areas of the SoC.

In a nut shell I'm no where as negative with respect to a Mini upgrade as many in these forums. It might be late 2015 but I see great potential here.

I hope your right. I really would like to own a quad core Skylake Mini to replace my 2012.

 

[Aluminum213]

What is the kind of improvement that you were expecting for the iPhone?

I wan't expecting anything else, I'm just making the point that the yearly updates for the iPhone aren't any better then then the iPad Air updates. But this year the iPad Air 2 update saw significant performance update because it's the first iOS device with 2GB RAM, something we will see with the iPhone 6S

 

[roadbloc]

Regretfully, no Apple products appeal to me at the moment. I'll just stick to the ones I already have. Can't be arsed with loss of features and buggy software. Apple need to shape up and start fixing some bugs instead of just thinking how they can make stuff thinner and what hardware feature they can get away with removing this time around.

 

[porky]

Please finish the Photo App, and bring the OSX version! Why does it takes so long???? I don't want to use iPhoto anymore because it's EOL, and it doens't sync with my icloud photos app.

 

[ravenvii]

Regretfully, no Apple products appeal to me at the moment. I'll just stick to the ones I already have. Can't be arsed with loss of features and buggy software. Apple need to shape up and start fixing some bugs instead of just thinking how they can make stuff thinner and what hardware feature they can get away with removing this time around.

Agreed. I love Apple hardware, but the software is what really makes the hardware worth buying, and with iOS 7 and iOS 8, Apple has been churning out really buggy code. Mountain Lion and Mavericks were excellent, so I hoped the bugfest is confined to the iOS division, but with Yosemite, I see it leaking over.

I'm going to wait until WWDC 2016 and see how they deal with this. If they go into Snow Leopard/Mountain Lion mode with both OS X and iOS, I'll give them another chance. If it's just more of iOS 7 and Yosemite, I'll look at another options.

 

[OneMike]

Please finish the Photo App, and bring the OSX version! Why does it takes so long???? I don't want to use iPhoto anymore because it's EOL, and it doens't sync with my icloud photos app.

Good apps take time. Otherwise everyone would be saying. Why is this app so buggy.

Not sure about the sync issue you're having though.

 

[scott911]

Was this reporter being sarcastic?

The only thing of any relevance Apple released this year was the iPhone 6 and maaaaybe Yosemite if you want to be very generous.

2014 was a very, very, very poor year from an innovation standpoint.

I agree completely... it was a disappointing year.

edit to add: just bought the roku 3 this morning.
I first regretted it, as I've had most versions of the apple TV and wanted to stay in the eco system...

But now that the roku's on the way, I'm looking forward to it.
The charm of the little apple symbol is starting to loose it's charm, fast.

 

[dabirdwell]

I think wearables are more like PDAs and MP3 players. They were hot for a time, but who buys one these days? They're totally dead.

Except...that the technology, features, and functionality they had have been rolled into a newer package: The smart phone. Now we have a device that we can hold in the palm of our hand, and it's as convenient and useful as we're ever going to get. There is no more innovation to be had, there. Some things will be called innovative by some, but others will sneer and say it's just an iterative change, or an adaptation of existing technology. It won't be true innovation, such as when the first smart phones combined MP3 players, PDAs and phones into a single completely new and never before seen combination.

Wearables will have their day in the sun, but future generations will have the sensors implanted into their bodies, and the displays transmitted directly to their optic nerves. They'll look at "wearables" in museum displays (sitting next to "smart" phones), and wonder how their parents and grandparents ever managed with such primitive technology.

This is the right answer. Wearables are the beginning of publicly acceptable applied cybernetics and continue the vector begun by the calculator, portable computer, and mobile phone.

 

[IbisDoc]

Only a complete idiot would have laughed at that line. Apple delivered a very broad array of new products and services this year (well last year now). People can play dumb about it all they want but in the end it doesn't say anything good at all about that person.

Only a complete idiot would think that the list of products that were mentioned were in any way examples of "an impressive display of innovation and new ideas."

 

[TMRJIJ]

You’re joking of course. They made it thinner and……………?

Might you mind answering what constitutes ‘such a leap’?

iPad Air 2 was not only thinner but has a powerful A8X chip, better camera than previous model, Touch ID, Apple Pay support (somewhat), 2 GB of Ram.
What were you expecting? Holographic projection?

 

[TMRJIJ]

Was this reporter being sarcastic?

The only thing of any relevance Apple released this year was the iPhone 6 and maaaaybe Yosemite if you want to be very generous.

2014 was a very, very, very poor year from an innovation standpoint.

Did you miss the 5K Retina iMac, or the thinner yet more powerful iPad Air 2, or even Apply Pay which made the NFC thing more relevant. The Apple Watch also has some promising features but we'll wait on that until launch.

 

[subjonas]

Macbook Pro is too big and bulky and needs to be replaced with Macbook Air Pro with retina, Broadwell and Iris graphics as minimum with much better discrete GPU than 750m as optional.

So you want a MacBook Air with MacBook Pro performance? I'm sure Apple would love that too, but there are such things as limitations in reality. Might as well say I want Mac Pro performance in my iPhone. I think we can all be sure Apple made both the MBA and MBP as thin and light as they could while still maintaining their respective levels of performance. Not to say technology can't incrementally improve.
Personally I wouldn't mind the MBP to be bigger and bulkier if it meant it could perform closer to Mac Pro levels.

 

[porky]

Good apps take time. Otherwise everyone would be saying. Why is this app so buggy.

Not sure about the sync issue you're having though.

Sync : iphone (icloud) photos syncing with the macbook (iphoto can't do that, only photostream). I can't even see the photos in my iCloud folder on the macbook. Only through the icloud website or on the iPhone. Just look at "ADOBE Revel"...

 

[paulsdenton]

Only a complete idiot would think that the list of products that were mentioned were in any way examples of "an impressive display of innovation and new ideas."

Kind of a silly statement in view of the fact that millions of people voted with real green money ($170 BILLION worth) to recognize that Apple makes things that they want. Maybe Apple isn't making what YOU want, but so what?

I have one of just about everything Apple makes (no iMac and no Apple TV) but everything I bought is a fabulous piece of equipment that has worked flawlessly and met all my expectations. I have never had a problem with IOS 8 or Yosemite; so I am amazed at all the complaining about them in these forums.

When I look at my iPhone 6 plus next to my old 4S and even 3GS (and the Galaxy S3 I tried for a year) it is light years ahead of where smartphone technology was just a few years ago. This isn't innovation?

My new Mac Pro (predicted to be a complete failure by the geniuses bitching it out in these forums) is a complete marvel of power and awesome video processing speed.

It is absolutely hilarious to listen to the carping of all these "experts", and then see Apple meet the needs of millions of people all over the world, absolutely BURY the competition, and make oodles of money in the process.

There's an old saying that "Money talks and b**l ****** walks", and I think more and more that the latter commodity is beginning to reign supreme in these discussions.

I can't wait to get myself an iWatch and then buy a bunch more for my grandsons. I do hope that the inner workings can be periodically replaced so that I don't have to buy a whole new watch as the technology advances in future years.

I hope 2015 is as great as 2014 was!

 

[Patriot24]

This post is making my wallet ache.

 

[nelsonammo]

I hope they reduce the bezels in the next iPhone. I love the 4.7" size but it would be easier to grip if the side bezels were smaller.

 

[IbisDoc]

Kind of a silly statement in view of the fact that millions of people voted with real green money ($170 BILLION worth) to recognize that Apple makes things that they want. Maybe Apple isn't making what YOU want, but so what?

I have one of just about everything Apple makes (no iMac and no Apple TV) but everything I bought is a fabulous piece of equipment that has worked flawlessly and met all my expectations. I have never had a problem with IOS 8 or Yosemite; so I am amazed at all the complaining about them in these forums.

When I look at my iPhone 6 plus next to my old 4S and even 3GS (and the Galaxy S3 I tried for a year) it is light years ahead of where smartphone technology was just a few years ago. This isn't innovation?

My new Mac Pro (predicted to be a complete failure by the geniuses bitching it out in these forums) is a complete marvel of power and awesome video processing speed.

It is absolutely hilarious to listen to the carping of all these "experts", and then see Apple meet the needs of millions of people all over the world, absolutely BURY the competition, and make oodles of money in the process.

There's an old saying that "Money talks and b**l ****** walks", and I think more and more that the latter commodity is beginning to reign supreme in these discussions.

I can't wait to get myself an iWatch and then buy a bunch more for my grandsons. I do hope that the inner workings can be periodically replaced so that I don't have to buy a whole new watch as the technology advances in future years.

I hope 2015 is as great as 2014 was!

I think you're confusing innovation and profit. There are countless examples of products that are not in any way innovative, but are massively profitable. I don't believe that a thinner iPad, a larger iPhone (begrudgingly made in response to consumer demand), an embarrassingly obsolete iPad mini, an OS update, etc, are signs of some incredible run of innovation by Apple. However, that doesn't mean that they're not good products (in some cases), or that they're not massively profitable.

Make sense?

 

[teslo]

I have one of just about everything Apple makes (no iMac and no Apple TV) but everything I bought is a fabulous piece of equipment that has worked flawlessly and met all my expectations. I have never had a problem with IOS 8 or Yosemite; so I am amazed at all the complaining about them in these forums.

...you and about 99% of everyone else. this forum is simply a skewed bizarro world where everyone gets together to complain about how awful apple is (against all evidence and general logic)...

do some people get bugs, lemons, and frustrations? YUP. just like every other tech company, though i'd venture to argue (even with yosemite and ios8) that you're more likely to experience tech-drama with the other guys. to these people i say: go there. go to those companies. and **** already. you can't POSSIBLY - even for a second - think that the worst bugs and hiccups apple had this year affect more than .5% of users - and that's being supremely generous. antennaegate and faulty GPUs for those couple years in mbps were apple's only true screw ups as far as i can tell. the rest is media-driven sensationalism, supported (FULLY) by the vocal minority.

sorry if you've had problems (and I know they do exist for a very few select people), but the world doesn't revolve around you and your experiences. you are the exceptions. hearing a few others who bray and complain alongside you doesn't make your numbers any greater. you just happened to have found another 'teamster' to crow endlessly with.

 

[peterdevries]

There's an old saying that "Money talks and b**l ****** walks", and I think more and more that the latter commodity is beginning to reign supreme in these discussions.

Indeed.. I was planning on responding to that post myself, but it is immediately clear that you will receive an insult back, however well written your post might be.

In an earlier post I explained what types of innovation there are and how complicated innovation is, but for most people in this thread those points fly about 2 miles over their heads.

 

[teslo]

I think you're confusing innovation and profit.

i've yet to hear anyone speak of innovation and truly define what apple has to do to do it. everyone suggests that apple - essentially embodying Moore's law - doesn't 'do it'.... but what does? a totally new product line that no one has thought of? how often should that happen? what would it have to BE in order to please the cynics? the iPhone itself is only 7 years old. what company has innovated so much that they're free of this complaint? microsoft and the surface? samsung and their... uh... spec-heavy iPhone/iPad shoot-offs?

i'm not even defending apple here implying they DO innovate, but that word has lost most of its meaning.

 

[Traverse]

Apple: We MUST make thinner.
Us: No, you MUST increase battery life!

If they're going to go any thinner (or even just stay where they are) they need to invest in higher quality chasis material. That super thin aluminum is actually quite brittle. The iPad Air 2 build quality is a testament to that.

 

[IbisDoc]

i've yet to hear anyone speak of innovation and truly define what apple has to do to do it. everyone suggests that apple - essentially embodying Moore's law - doesn't 'do it'.... but what does? a totally new product line that no one has thought of? how often should that happen? what would it have to BE in order to please the cynics? the iPhone itself is only 7 years old. what company has innovated so much that they're free of this complaint? microsoft and the surface? samsung and their... uh... spec-heavy iPhone/iPad shoot-offs?

i'm not even defending apple here implying they DO innovate, but that word has lost most of its meaning.

Since Apple's board previously expressed concern about its own company's lack of innovation, I'm pretty sure that this is not just a concern of the "cynics". However, I do understand why Apple defenders find this to be a convenient characterization.

 

[Lankyman]

Your comment would hold some weight if Apple wasn't renowned for selling some of the lowest quality earbuds the world has ever known. Trendy or not, Beats is a ginormous step up from Apple's earbuds.

So Apple trade poor earbuds for mediocre ones...

Who the heck uses earbuds anyway? You need a decent set of cans for pure listening pleasure.

 

[teslo]

Since Apple's board previously expressed concern about its own company's lack of innovation, I'm pretty sure that this is not just a concern of the "cynics". However, I do understand why Apple defenders find this to be a convenient characterization.

you're assuming my question was 'defense' of solely apple... i like many different companies for what they do well.

conveniently, those who bray about innovation never say what innovation is or who's doing it. so i ask again: what companies making phones and tablets are 'innovating'? that modular phone google makes comes to mind... maybe the surface pro... but that's just waiting to be surpassed. hmmm... i'm racking my brain here.

so does every company worry that they're not 'innovating'?

to me, it just sounds like people have become bored with the most ridiculous outpouring of tech innovation in recent decades. and all it took was about 7 years.... dismissing moore's law with the roll of their eyes

 

[Icaras]

Apple: We MUST make thinner.
Us: No, you MUST increase battery life!

No..... they don't. You want increased battery life for the sake of thinness. Not "us". Certainly not me.

Please bring on even thinner iDevices in the future please, Apple.