What to expect from Apple in 2020

The past 12 months have not been the year anyone expected, but as we move into 2021, we have all crossed our collective fingers for a brighter future. This was a year of big moves for the company, some of which set the stage for more major announcements in the coming year.

Let’s put the past aside for a moment and project forward. While 2021 is still not going to be “normal,” whatever that means now, Apple has shown that it can continue to deliver the high-quality, innovative products that we have come to expect from it, even in the midst of a global pandemic. . What could be happening in the company’s pipeline?

As usual, there’s little more than speculation at the moment, but that’s not going to stop me from looking deep into the leaves of my third cup of tea to see what might have been in store for me.

To M2 and beyond!

Apple’s switch to custom silicon started with a bang in 2020, but a significant chunk of the company’s customers have found themselves waiting for the other shoe to drop. Those first three M1 Macs are impressive to be sure, but they also represent the lower end of Apple’s lineup.

Rumors about Apple’s upcoming silicone Macs have already started to appear, but it seems more likely that we will see transitions from the higher-end 13-inch MacBook Pro (perhaps increased to a 14-inch screen?), 16-inch MacBook. Pro, and perhaps a low-end iMac sooner rather than later, as they are the next rungs on the ladder. The last to arrive will surely be the Mac Pro, which reports have already suggested won’t appear until early 2022, although it is said to have some truly amazing specs, including up to 32 high-performance cores – four times the size of the M1. Mac, not to mention that each core itself will likely be faster than we’ve already seen.

These chips are likely to make up for the M1’s limitations in the number of ports and amounts of RAM. But among the high-end graphics performance and processor enhancements we’ve also heard may be in the works, they promise to be some impressive machines, which should dismiss any suggestion that Apple can’t match Intel. -on foot.

At the cellular level

As long as we’re on the subject of Apple-made chips, processors aren’t the only things the company is looking to incorporate. In 2019, Apple bought Intel’s

Qualcomm

business and the company has begun queuing its process to design its own custom cellular chips for use in its mobile devices.

While this might not provide the same profitability that Apple gets from designing its own CPUs, graphics chips, and neural engines, Apple’s trend continues to identify key parts of its infrastructure and bring them under control. your own control. In recent years, Apple has relied on Qualcomm to provide modems for its iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches; A six-year agreement between the two companies, also in 2019, covers Apple’s use of Qualcomm’s intellectual property, presumably until such time as it can replace all those chips with its own modems.

That doesn’t mean those chips will necessarily appear in 2021 – the acceleration of next year’s iPads and iPhones has probably already begun, and it will certainly take a while for the company to build, test, and scale production of its own modem hardware. But that doesn’t rule out the possibility that more details will appear in the coming year.

Computing in the era of COVID

A bit of a wild card, but I’m curious to see if Apple’s plans for 2021 extend to continuing to adapt to the situation the world is in. Company executives have praised its staff for being able to continue to do great work during the pandemic, but there are many places the company could continue to significantly improve people’s lives over the next six to twelve months.

Right on the top of your head – All Apple users would likely benefit from FaceTime’s continued enhancements that bring more features online with competitors like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. (And especially given the former’s onslaught of privacy and encryption issues, which would seem to send Apple plummeting.) Not to mention finally beefing up the front cameras on some of its Macs. And while Fitness + has just been released, it would be interesting to see if Apple could improve the service beyond physical wellness to include mental wellness as well.

Much more

There’s a lot more at stake for next year: The Apple TV appears to be in need of an update, and persistent rumors suggest the company could take another shot at gaming and perhaps even redesign the remote. The iPad Pro is currently being overtaken by last fall’s iPad Air, and that situation may not last long: A new model, possibly with microLED technology and an improved processor, could appear as early as spring. What about the mysterious tracking tags that have never materialized? And of course, the big question: Will Apple launch an iPhone 13 line? Or will superstition demand that it be called something else? (Hey, there was never an iPhone 9.)

One thing’s for sure: next year is going to be anything but boring in the Apple world. We are looking forward to following the topic closely and we hope you stay on the journey. By 2021.