Since Tim Cook took over for the late Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple something seems to have been missing from the tech giant. While Apple’s sales keep climbing, the company as a whole seems to have hit a wall. Are they taking on too many projects at once or did they forget how to innovate? The market is often set by the release of Apple’s new products due to their ever- growing amount of fans, but they haven’t knocked anything out of the park in so long. Could this be the year for them?
iPhone: With the 10 year anniversary of iPhone approaching going into WWDC, expect Apple to pull out some of their best/poorly kept secrets. Rumors have been circulating of wireless charging, edge to edge display, and invisible home buttons. Unfortunately, nothing that really says “look how far we’ve come”. It seems Apple has been playing catch up with developers for years. Where are the groundbreaking improvements that made people flock to Apple? Expect Apple to continue their push for monitoring health, bring to the forefront things they’ve been behind on, and dazzle with the one feature that makes it all seem so much cooler. Just don’t expect to be blown away with advancements.
iOS 11: With each new iPhone/iPad comes a new OS. Apple has shifted their focus away from the user’s experience with their device and focused more on the device interacting with everyday life. iOS more than likely will focus on more health monitoring or interactivity around the home. Remember when Apple would update iTunes and change the way we viewed the web? Apparently, those days are long gone. Yes, Apple will ultimately give the masses groundbreaking features they’ll love, but don’t expect them to be related to the phone specifically.
iPad: iPad could be where the company makes the biggest leap forward. A new iPad Pro is rumored to be on the way. With the company wanting to shift focus to handheld devices as opposed to desktops and laptops, a fresh take on the device could be more than welcome. With the addition of Apple Pencil, larger displays, and keyboard add-ons, the shift seems to be making the iPad more than a touch-screen video player. Can they finally push this growing device to replace computers as we know them?
MacBook: Everything other than a few minor tweaks has been “wash, rinse, repeat” for Apple when it comes to their MacBook lineup. They’ve done little to change from the normal and plan on riding out the success of their current product. Expect this year to be no different. Sure, they’ll have some software upgrades or faster hardware, but the look and feel of MacBook won’t change at all.
“Siri Speaker”: A new personal home assistant device seems to be the biggest rumor coming ahead of WWDC. Apple’s answer to Google Home and Amazon Echo seems to be on the way. If the rumors are true, look for the largest upgrade to Siri since the personal assistant’s announcement. The focus on in-home assistance has shifted over the years and Apple has to play catch up. In theory, everything they’d bring to a stand-alone device would also be integrated into their handheld devices. Siri will be the primary focus should these rumors be true.
Exclusive software: When Apple announced Mario Run as an early iPhone exclusive fans went crazy in anticipation. Ultimately the app alone didn’t live up to expectations. Will Apple be
partnering with Nintendo again for more exclusive content? Is there another unknown partnership on the horizon? There are plenty of avenues to explore after the buzz of Pokemon Go and Mario Run but they have to be rolled out correctly.
With WWDC scheduled for June 5th anticipation is high. The rumors have been high due to the 10 year anniversary of the iPhone. Apple cannot continue to tread water. It is time to push the envelope back to the forefront of design and connect with users. The company has been ever growing and so has their popularity. If they can’t break away from the hold-pattern they’re in, favor might continue to shift. Can they snap criticism this year with their latest models?