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

[Serban]

+1

The biggest product release in 2014 was the iPhone 6/6+. Everything else was incremental. Conversely in 2015, it will be the Apple Watch. Again, all other releases this year will be incremental spec-bumped product.

sorry but i have to say along side with iphone 6/6+ the 5k imac was the first of its kind

Apple will add 12" macbook air with 1.6 dual core, 8 gb Ram, 128/256/512 ssd
iGPU 13-15% better than HD5000 at least these are the results in our tests. Thinner and lighter than the current 11" MBA, no mechanical trackpad. We already saw the more dark space grey of the next mba along side the same aluminium silver color but we don't see/hear/heard about a gold option so small chances for that color.

Apple TV will come in 3 colors black, silver and gold of the product along side with its 3.5" widescreen remote to color match the apple tv.

the 21.5" 4k iMAC and the 12" macbook air will be introduced at WWDC 2015

 

[rish]

This is all very dull? It's a rehash nothing new coming through when you exclude the watch.

It's an indication that perhaps best years of new product categories are behind them.

This year in terms of the software launches had been diabolical. Bugs in both IOS 8 (and the update to fix the bugs) and Yosemite. Let's hope for a better response in the next series of launches. Hiccups are completely unacceptable.

 

[StoneJack]

sorry but i have to say along side with iphone 6/6+ the 5k imac was the first of its kind

Apple will add 12" macbook air with 1.6 dual core, 8 gb Ram, 128/256/512 ssd
iGPU 13-15% better than HD5000 at least these are the results in our tests. Thinner and lighter than the current 11" MBA, no mechanical trackpad. We already saw the more dark space grey of the next mba along side the same aluminium silver color but we don't see/hear/heard about a gold option so small chances for that color.

Apple TV will come in 3 colors black, silver and gold of the product along side with its 3.5" widescreen remote to color match the apple tv.

the 21.5" 4k iMAC and the 12" macbook air will be introduced at WWDC 2015

What will be changed in inner parts of AppleTV? or software? or developers?

 

[thekeyring]

This is all very dull? It's a rehash nothing new coming through when you exclude the watch.

It's an indication that perhaps best years of new product categories are behind them.

1998: "Nothing new when you exclude the iMac."
2001: "Nothing new when you exclude the iPod."
2007: "Nothing new when you exclude the iPhone."
2010: "Nothing new when you exclude the the watch."

Even if you are going to write off every upgrade - iPhone 6, Retina iMac, etc - AND Apple Watch, there's still Apple Pay, which is brand new. So even your incredibly harsh critique of the company seems false.

Besides, Apple isn't about tons of new products - it's always been about a new version of last year's product, or expanding a product line (e.g.: multiple iPods).

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Cook's statement can apply to any company to be honest .

Sure they survived the change of CEO, though at the same time , one can argue that Apple has dropped the ball in regards to innovation, their computer range has dropped the ball and gone backwards in some instances. Sure Apple is doing fine, though it's not the same company without jobs, I'm not sure there is a masterplan, plan seems to be maximise profits at all costs.

Yes, there's been a change. But I'm surprised people still forecast doom and gloom because they're not "excited" by Apple, without stopping to consider that perhaps Steve Jobs' showmanship was what made them so excited, not only the products themselves.

 

[Mtmspa]

It's not just you. None of this excites me.

As long-time Apple fans and users we have to accept that, as much as they try to market otherwise, Apple doesn't have the soul of their early days. They are now every bit as much a Microsoft as they once claimed to despise. They are not outsiders and they don't think differently. They think only about money and how they can get more of it.

Tim Cook has got to go as head of Apple. I'm calling it now. It was perhaps always a poisoned chalice to follow Jobs. I'm sure Steve did say to Cook not to think about what he would do, but that shouldn't extend to rubbishing the brand, its soul and identity. To be fair I think this already began during Jobs tenure as he gradually relinquished control and responsibility due to his ailing health.

A minor disclaimer that as a science grad with an engineer brother I have a seething disdain for financial or marketing types that think they know what's best for a company. In all modern workplaces the real innovators and workers have become subordinate to corporate management and this is very sad. It should be the other way around. Accountants, lawyers, paper pushers and corporate nobodies should be subordinate to the real drive and soul of a company. Technical experts, engineers, programmers and scientists should be the ones calling the shots and rise to positions of management and power.

Apple needs a technician, engineer or programmer as its CEO. Someone who's willing to to tell investors and Wall Street to shove it when necessary. There is no evidence that Tim Cook is this person and lots to the contrary.

I have a seething disdain for engineers and programmers that think they have a clue about how to run a company like Apple. They should be the subordinates and leave management to those that don't wear pocket protectors and tape on their glasses. Apple doesn't need a nerd to negotiate with China, IBM, and suppliers.

 

[thekeyring]

Yes, not a lot of room to innovate now, its all been done. The complainers here want innovation though.The post above yours asks for a 17" MBP, Tower MacPro, non soldered RAM, but thats also not innovative.

I feel Handoff is innovative, as is Continuity.

Can someone list out the innovative changes made by other manufacturers this year. Not improvements, upgrades, but Innovative new features, keen to know.

Completely, agree with you.

Innovation seems quite hard to spot, too. Look at the iPad naysayers when the iPad was first launched. It was hard not to agree with criticisms like "No multitasking & no Flash in a product that costs more than a netbook".

Also, working out how to combine multiple parts into one part; Creating a more powerful chip that draws less power; Working out how to get 10 hours of use from a smaller battery... All clever, innovative things. Yet people yawn at "Thinner, lighter, faster."

 

[Mtmspa]

OS X is burying itself in bugs.
iOS 7&8 are still crashy and still an eyesore.

The hardware is great and keeps improving, but the software hasn't been able to keep up for some time.

Eventually, they're going to have to quit catering 100% to sales and focus on stabilizing their existing products so we, the users, can actually get some work done. Otherwise, it's going to start reflecting in the sales anyway, when we start looking for alternatives.

Use both all day with no issues...

 

[prowlmedia]

My apple fantasies for 2015:
-Ipad air 3 (pls update the CPU/GPU, and offer 2gb RAM -this would be a killer combo

iPad Air 2 - Aready has 2gb Ram. And the CPU/GPU is fastest in class already.

 

[Mtmspa]

Why doesn't Apple just take a year to get all their existing stuff to work? Apple is becoming the General Motors of technology. Looks like Apple Pay is the latest FUBAR.

Really? Have you even used it?

 

[prowlmedia]

OS X is burying itself in bugs.
iOS 7&8 are still crashy and still an eyesore.

The hardware is great and keeps improving, but the software hasn't been able to keep up for some time.

Eventually, they're going to have to quit catering 100% to sales and focus on stabilizing their existing products so we, the users, can actually get some work done. Otherwise, it's going to start reflecting in the sales anyway, when we start looking for alternatives.

Zero problems with OSX. Yosemite - even on my 2008 mac pro. Heavy user too - 3d / Video / CAD use.

iOS seems to be much better with the updates - iPad was a bit jittery - I just reset all the settings and a hard reboot. All smooth as butter now. I do get some crashes from old apps that have not been updated in a few years.

As for liking the look - Subjective. I love it and I love the fact that Android users said it looked childish... Have you seen Lollipop!!

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Why doesn't Apple just take a year to get all their existing stuff to work? Apple is becoming the General Motors of technology. Looks like Apple Pay is the latest FUBAR.

Er. What? Works great. People love it. What are you going on about?

 

[rish]

Apples mobile web page doesn't seem to be working. The two horizontal lines representing additional options doesn't provide the obvious. A continuation of poor implementation (http://www.apple.com/uk/).

Then there's Safari. Sometimes it will load other times it decides it won't display a previously visible web page. Continuation of poor implementation.

Apple pay - Agreed - only new fascinating service to come from Apple.

 

[peterdevries]

<snip>
A minor disclaimer that as a science grad with an engineer brother I have a seething disdain for financial or marketing types that think they know what's best for a company. In all modern workplaces the real innovators and workers have become subordinate to corporate management and this is very sad. It should be the other way around. Accountants, lawyers, paper pushers and corporate nobodies should be subordinate to the real drive and soul of a company. Technical experts, engineers, programmers and scientists should be the ones calling the shots and rise to positions of management and power.

Apple needs a technician, engineer or programmer as its CEO. Someone who's willing to to tell investors and Wall Street to shove it when necessary. There is no evidence that Tim Cook is this person and lots to the contrary.

It is clear that you and your brother have never bothered to look a bit beyond your own field of expertise to see how real businesses work. There is a reason why technicians, engineers and scientists are rarely at the C level of a company (unless they have received additional business qualifications). That reason is simple: they lack the knowledge to manage a full operating company and often focus only on the technical aspects (as you also clearly do in your argumentation).

I work as a consultant and advisor to biotech startups (I have a biotech degree and an additional business qualification). Most early startups I consult in both the medical devices and biotech space are manned by scientists that in all cases focus only on the scientific and technical aspects and burn so much money that they would run the company into the ground before it has a product on the market. The absolute majority of these people have absolutely no idea how to run a company.

The bottom line is that you need marketeers, managers, MBA's and finance managers to make a company work. They are specialists in their fields just like you are. And they are better in running a company than you are, just as you are likely better in your scientific field than they are. So just as much as you don't want a marketeer to write code, calibrate sensors and sequence DNA, it is also not a good idea to have scientists run a balance sheet and plan a supply chain.

For small technical startups and small established companies it makes sense to have engineers in the advisory board (and of course CTO position) to focus on the technology. Apple also has these positions.

But a company such as Apple that is in a mature lifecycle stage in a very competitive and mature market needs a CEO that squeezes the company to high profitability while focussing on ensuring successful products stay successful. In the current lifecycle position that the market and Apple are in it is too much to ask for a blockbuster product every year. I suggest to look on HBR for business and market life cycles and read a bit up. It will explain a lot why Apple is not releasing an iPad-like product each season.

And finally. A CEO that would tell the investors to "shove it" would be out of the business in short order. The reason is that investors (as the name says) invested into the company and own the company. They are within their rights to demand high profit margins, stable product pipelines and low cost bases.

 

[handsome pete]

Agree. Innovation in technology can be improvements to existing methods, not just new products. Plus the "welcome to 2009" line used by some to describe the new iphones is downright childish.

Then you must never get excited about any new products because according to you, companies cannot introduce "innovations" unless they are brand new products introduced throughout the year. Sorry but I don't see any new products introduced by anyone. They are all iterations of existing ones.

I think the bigger issue is the overuse of the word "innovate." Spec bumps are a perfectly reasonable expectation for most product lines, but let's not get carried away with calling most of them innovative. If we look beyond the scope of the Apple universe, what can we truly call innovative when competitors have offered similar solutions in their product lines?

Well then go innovate something...

Funny thing is, so many complaints and everything and yet what do you use your devices for? Emails? Facebook? Typical mundane everyday things that are irrelevant to the rest of the world? How about you let us creative types that actually make a difference in the world complain when something isn't up to snuff. Haha! And that's my contribution. Later, folks!

How about you stop pretending to be arbiter for all the "creative types?" As a creative professional, with the way Apple products have been trending, I wouldn't be surprised if all of my work is being done strictly on Windows/Linux machines a year from now (with Apple stuff being relegated to the casual fun usage).

 

[rish]

1998: "Nothing new when you exclude the iMac."
2001: "Nothing new when you exclude the iPod."
2007: "Nothing new when you exclude the iPhone."
2010: "Nothing new when you exclude the the watch."

Even if you are going to write off every upgrade - iPhone 6, Retina iMac, etc - AND Apple Watch, there's still Apple Pay, which is brand new. So even your incredibly harsh critique of the company seems false.

Besides, Apple isn't about tons of new products - it's always been about a new version of last year's product, or expanding a product line (e.g.: multiple iPods).

Apple pay. Agreed. Launch of tons of products also agreed. Everything else is rehashed. This company no longer intrigues me anymore. I've been an advocate of all things Apple since before 2003 - because it just works. That doesn't seem to be case anymore. Safari doesn't work as well both iOS and Yosemite were launched with bugs with the former being updated and still creating issues. Nothing short of debacle. TC has spent his leadership being political instead of honing in on the very things thatskes the company as awesome as it had been.

My critique is harsh with good reason. In Apples term 2014 was nothing short of a cock up - other companies would be glad to be in these shoes.

 

[mr.bee]

My biggest concern for every product they release is that they make the entry levels "look affordable" but the bto (build to order), to buy an actual device you can use for more than 2 years, will be so ridiculous expensive that it's aggravating for long time customers.

the bto of the imac is already a hot topic since this year if I recall correctly.

 

[Col4bin]

No iPods? Those devices launched into the spotlight! :O

The iPod is dead (or slowly dying)

 

[MarcelEdward]

A utopia where software and technology doesn't have bugs will never exist, so stop dreaming of one.

Apple delivers products and software following the highest standards.
I can do no more than hope and expect they will continue that path in 2015, and will be delivering the best hard and software one can get in the next year.

A bug which benefits the users is called an unexpected feature. But we surely can do without the other bugs

 

[malexandria]

I'm Done.

As a long time Appletard, I'm getting off the bandwagon in 2015.

I have no faith that their software will get better since everything they released in the last year has contained truly awful UI changes that took AWAY features instead of adding to them (like iTunes and iMovie) and the hardware has been getting progressively worse all for the sake of thinness. My iPhone 6 and iPad Air barely have functional WiFi.

All I wanted was an upgraded MacMini and they totally gimped that machine and the AppleTV clearly isn't made for HD Streaming as I can barely stream HD Content on a consistent basis because it's constantly stuck in Buffering Hell or it'll take 4 hours "before content is ready to play." I'm sick of their arrogance and making excuses for my expensive, barely functioning purchases.

It's like, let's all just ignore how crappy and substandard Apple's product line up has truly become, just because it looks pretty and it's expensive. The sad thing, the Windows side ain't much better, I can't stand Windows 8 and now Windows laptops are getting just as expensive and featureless as Apple's (primarily because everyone looks to them as the "leader.")

Current state of the industry is overall just crappy. Charge a LOT more for a LOT less and just say ooooh, look at how "thin" and "light" it is.

 

[Serban]

the only thing that they can come with some nice touches is the Television. Here is a large market in the world (i think they better did the TV and after the watch)

 

[malexandria]

I have a seething disdain for engineers and programmers that think they have a clue about how to run a company like Apple. They should be the subordinates and leave management to those that don't wear pocket protectors and tape on their glasses. Apple doesn't need a nerd to negotiate with China, IBM, and suppliers.

Amen. Like Engineers have any idea what consumers actually WANT. It's why a lot of modern products end up eventually failing. All the Engineers that I've ever known are pompous *****s, who, especially in college didn't care anything about business or liberal arts courses. And these are the people the OP thinks should be running companies like Apple?

 

[Tech198]

All I wanted was an upgraded MacMini and they totally gimped that machine and the AppleTV clearly isn't made for HD Streaming as I can barely stream HD Content on a consistent basis because it's constantly stuck in Buffering Hell or it'll take 4 hours "before content is ready to play." I'm sick of their arrogance and making excuses for my expensive, barely functioning purchases.

It's like, let's all just ignore how crappy and substandard Apple's product line up has truly become, just because it looks pretty and it's expensive. The sad thing, the Windows side ain't much better, I can't stand Windows 8 and now Windows laptops are getting just as expensive and featureless as Apple's (primarily because everyone looks to them as the "leader.")

Current state of the industry is overall just crappy. Charge a LOT more for a LOT less and just say ooooh, look at how "thin" and "light" it is.

I agree, however i can vouche for fact the "ready to play in" is Apple update issue.

The same bandwidth u always have had, nothing has changed in terms of slower speed, congestion on your network or ISP's, yet it takes longer to watch, but only after an Apple TV update is applied

This clearly isn't one of this cases as Apple is alerting you of a slow connection. If it was, it would be happening all the time....

iPhone and iPhone 6 Plus, I'm sure Apple work wonders with battery life, but with the bigger screens, people also do more too... so what u u expect ?

Maybe better battery life in 2015. Mac mini to have SSD finally there is enough usb ports anyway, and uses will not be forced to move half of their library or keep it on a larger external anyway. Your gonna back it up right ? You may as well save the trouble.

 

[wizard]

Sounds like a good time to seriously consider going Hackintosh desktop when Skylake releases and keep my 2012 quad Mac Mini around.

The Mac Mini future looks bleak at best.

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.

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Eddy Cue only has half a day left to deliver on his "later this year, we've got the best product pipeline I've seen in my 25 years" promise

It actually was a very strong year for significant product asvancements. Apparently people don't realize what is in their new machines.

 

[Tech198]

well.. Apple will have to keep something around as being the cheapest Mac desktop, or Apple TV box. You don't expect these to just sit and never be updated hardware-wise, yet Apple still sells them.

 

[wizard]

You got an upvote from me!

I seriously hope Apple slows down on the yearly IOS and Mac OS upgrades, and instead focuses on all the bugginess and complexity of current software.

A few bugs I can handle, dozens upon dozens in shipping software is just plain ugly. Beyond that I really don't understand how they managed to kill Mac OS performance wise. Yeah we got new features but I don't see how that would have impacted performance as badly as it did.

The company is seriously jeopardizing the "It Just Works" quality of (former) Apple products, and once that public trust is lost, it takes a lot to get back.

I have to agree. They are pushing too hard with new features and not enough on performance and stability. Beyond that they still don't seem to have a clue as to how to handle iCloud.

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Local John Lewis out of Airs and non-retina MacBooks.
“When are you getting new stock?”
“We're not getting new stock. We're expecting **new models** from Apple in January.”

I'm expecting Intel to announce shipping of Broadwell before CES so that would mean in the next week or two. This would allow the worlds laptop makers to debut their new Broadwell based laptops and other stuff at CES which is about two weeks away.

Hey if I'm wrong we will know very shortly.

The thing here is that I'm hoping even more so that the new Airs get at least a 15 watt Broadwell so that we get a real performance boost out of the platform.
I have no desire at all to see a 4 watt processor in the Air.

----------

I doubt the local john Lewis sales dude has the inside info on when apple will launch new products

I'd put down £100 there will be no new products in January. Apple watch will be the first new product in 2015

I'm not one to waste money gambling but I think the odds are good for new Airs before the end of January.

 

[Mtmspa]

As a long time Appletard, I'm getting off the bandwagon in 2015.

I have no faith that their software will get better since everything they released in the last year has contained truly awful UI changes that took AWAY features instead of adding to them (like iTunes and iMovie) and the hardware has been getting progressively worse all for the sake of thinness. My iPhone 6 and iPad Air barely have functional WiFi.

All I wanted was an upgraded MacMini and they totally gimped that machine and the AppleTV clearly isn't made for HD Streaming as I can barely stream HD Content on a consistent basis because it's constantly stuck in Buffering Hell or it'll take 4 hours "before content is ready to play." I'm sick of their arrogance and making excuses for my expensive, barely functioning purchases.

It's like, let's all just ignore how crappy and substandard Apple's product line up has truly become, just because it looks pretty and it's expensive. The sad thing, the Windows side ain't much better, I can't stand Windows 8 and now Windows laptops are getting just as expensive and featureless as Apple's (primarily because everyone looks to them as the "leader.")

Current state of the industry is overall just crappy. Charge a LOT more for a LOT less and just say ooooh, look at how "thin" and "light" it is.

Enjoy your Android and Windows life.