“I don’t really think 2016 was a particularly great year for anybody. Why would any year that starts with the losses of Lemmy and David Bowie be anything other than awful?” Jonny Evans writes for Computerworld. “Apple felt it too, and it will take even more corporate courage for the company as it moves into another year of transition in 2017.”
“Apple’s new spaceship-shaped campus is expected to open for business next year with around 12,000 employees moving to the new office,” Evans writes. “We don’t yet have a huge selection of available 4K content, but it seems inevitable. Apple is in the position to kick start this with iTunes, UHD movie rentals (big broadband only) and 4K support in Apple TV.”
“The Apple Watch needs to be a connected product to truly shine. It needs its own SIM. Once it has that you can predict a range of new medical sensors and services, and FaceTime camera,” Evans writes. “iPads will all go Pro. I am hoping for an iPad Pro Mini, which I think would be popular, However, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks the company will offer 9.7-inch, 12.9-inch and10.5-inch iPad Pros, with the smallest model being a lower powered version. I hate that idea, by the way, as it adds an unnecessary level of complexity for no compelling reason that I can see.”
Many more predictions in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: 2016 was actually a great year, even for Apple. iOS 10 and macOS Sierra are significant improvements (after – ahem! – a few point releases) and we got the stellar iPhone 7 Plus (in gorgeous Jet Black, no less) and the new AirPods (which even shipped a few units before Christmas) hinting at a post-iPhone world. The new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models are excellent, as are the Apple Watch Series 2, Apple Watch Nike+ and watchOS 3. Apple’s Services business revenue skyrocketed and, most importantly, Apple stood up to U.S. government overreach protecting everyone’s privacy rights in the process!
That said, we expect Apple to execute better in 2017 and the sooner they finally get their asses into the spaceship and eliminate that massive distraction the better!