What's Next for Apple

There were some analysts who thought that Apple is just going through the motions right now and will not be coming up with new innovations in the next couple of years.

When there is a constant growth in sales in nominal terms, Apple may find it hard to change what is not broken and stick to their existing business strategy rather than adopt a scattergun approach of it rivals.

Hence, everyone should not expect Apple to release new product lines next year, but everyone should also still expect a lot from Apple.

1. Apple Watch: The widely circulated rumor is that there will be an event in March to update the Watch although it might come later. Likely improvements are extra health sensors, better battery life and improved features for when it is not paired to a phone. 9To5Mac, which has a great record of Apple predictions, says the new Apple Watch will have a FaceTime camera so you can make video calls on your wrist.
2. The iPhone 7 (4.7-inch display) and 7 Plus (5.5-inch) will come out in September and is set to be the biggest selling iPhones ever. It will have a major revamp in features which could include dropping the home button and even dropping the earphone jack to ensure a slimmer form factor — although that’s a change that would be likely to anger as many people as it impressed.
3. Apple TV came out in the last part of 2015 but momentum will mean the app store will grow significantly in the next few months, boosting its dual roles both as a media hub and a games console. There could be some news too on the Apple TV streaming service.
4. A new iPad is definitely on the cards. Rather than release an iPad Air 3 this year, or whatever they will call it, Apple instead released the 12-inch iPad Pro. The Air 2 will be getting long in the tooth by the end of next year and Apple may bring the tablet release date ahead from the traditional October period. Whenever it comes, the extra development time could mean more features apart from the traditional "faster chip, thinner form" improvements that have been the way with recent iPad upgrades.
5. While the iPhone 6 "phablet" was a hit for Apple, there are still plenty of people who bemoan the lack of a recent 4-inch iPhone. There are plenty of rumours that an iPhone 6C, or it will perhaps be called the 7c, is coming as early as April. If it does, it is unlikely to match the bigger iPhones in specs although it’s just as unlikely to be a truly "cheap" iPhone. Smaller and cheaper, not small and cheap.
6. There will be updates to the Apple Mac range, perhaps by adding new MacBook Air computers or a follow-up to the ultraportable MacBook which started the frustratingly slow transformation to the USB-C all-in-one port.
7. New software is coming to a device near you. Last year the mobile iOS operating system went "flat" with a new modern look, this year it got new features including better power efficiency. Next year will bring who knows what — what we do know is that it is coming and we can expect to hear more at the WWDC conference in June.
8. You can expect the emphasis on smart phone photography to continue. Apple launched the Shot on iPhone 6 campaign last year to highlight how ordinary people can take terrific photos with their phone. The recent US 60 Minutes report on Apple showed that a team of 800 people are working on improving the iPhone camera.
9. Apple Pay will arrive in several countries but just in limited form, being available to everyone who have an American Express card not issued by their bank. By this time next year, you can expect to pay for your Christmas shopping with a flick of the iPhone or a flash of your Apple Watch regardless of who you bank with.
10. The Apple Car is coming in 2016 _ it just won’t arrive in 2016. If Apple is working on a car as the rumours suggest, it will be some time before those rumours turn into reality.