If early indications are anything to go by, 2016 looks to be a relatively big year for Apple. After an ‘s’ year of iPhone upgrades, no new iPad Air model, and the original Apple Watch hardware going on two years of age, there is huge potential for the company to impress users and investors alike. We’ve already seen a handful of leaks and rumors pointing to possible releases for Apple this year, which makes us wonder: What rumored 2016 Apple product excites you the most?
The first product to come in 2016 will likely be the iPhone 5se. Mark Gurman reported last month that the iPhone 5se will likely feature Apple’s A9 processor, M9 chip for always-on Siri, updated cameras, Live Photos support, NFC support, and a 4-inch display. As far as the design goes, the device is said to closely resemble the iPhone 5/5s, which 60 percent of iPhone customers are said to still be using. The iPhone 5se, however, is said to feature “softer curves” like the ones on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s. The iPhone 5se will likely be debuted in March.
Furthermore in March, Apple is expected to unveil an updated iPad Air 3. Apple surprisingly did not update its traditional 9.7-inch iPad line in 2015, rather introducing the 12.9-inch iPad Pro and a nearly unchanged iPad Mini 4. Leaked design schematics and case images have suggested that the iPad Air 3 will feature four speakers, support for Smart Connector, and rear-facing flash support. We also reported that Apple has been testing versions of the iPad Air 3 that support Apple Pencil.
Finally in March, Apple will likely introduce new Apple Watch models. While the actual hardware of the Apple Watch will likely remain unchanged, Apple is expected to introduce multiple new colors for the rubber sport bands, new colors for the Hermes bands, a black version of the Milanese Loop, and an additional band line made out of a new material.
Heading further into 2016, we can likely expect Apple to introduce new MacBooks. Ben Lovejoy did an excellent job of breaking down what potentially could be in store for Apple’s various MacBook lines in 2016. He suggested changes such as incorporating Intel’s Skylake processors, improving battery life, adding Touch ID, and closing the design gap between the 12-inch MacBook and other larger models. KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo even went as far to suggest that the new MacBooks could help Apple offset lower iPhone sales.
One idea that has been rumored for what feels like ages is that Apple will launch its own streaming bundle of TV channels for Apple TV users. Apple has reportedly had trouble negotiating the networks to meet the $30-$40 price tier it has in mind, but could 2016 finally be the year that Apple is able to launch the service? Doing so would truly help the fourth-gen Apple TV standout from the competition.
At Apple’s annual World Wide Developer Conference in June, we’ll likely see Apple introduce iOS 10 to developers, with a public launch occurring later this year. It’s unclear as to what Apple has up itself for iOS 10, especially with iOS 9.3 being a surprisingly feature-rich update. Nevertheless, we can certainly expect a handful of changes to come with the release of iOS 10.
Last but certainly not least, Apple will likely announce the iPhone 7 this fall. With many analysts suggesting that Apple has reached “peak iPhone,” there’s a lot riding on the iPhone 7 and what Apple can bring to the table. There are a variety of rumors circulating concerning what the iPhone 7 will feature. Perhaps the rumor with the most traction is that Apple will ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack in an effort to make the device even thinner. Rumors have also suggested that the iPhone 7 will be waterproof, feature a new casing material, and much more. Last month, we ran a poll and 24 percent of our readers stated that they were most excited about the possibility of the iPhone 7 being waterproof.
Personally, I’m most excited about Apple continuing to innovate with its MacBook lineup. Back in December, I wrote that the 12-inch MacBook was the 2015 Apple product that most excited me for the company’s future. I explained that in a time when many were skeptical of Apple’s design choices, the 12-inch MacBook showed that Apple still could innovate. I love my Retina MacBook, especially the ultra-light and thin design that it features. One thing I would love to see, however, is a 13-inch Retina MacBook with the same ultra-thin design and stunning display, but with a slightly larger display.
What rumored 2016 Apple product excites you the most? Let us know in the comments and by voting in the poll above!
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I just want a new Mac mini
“Apple will likely announce the iPhone 7 this fall.”
Apple will announce the iPhone 7 this summer.
That’s correct, because summer ends September 21st. The last 4 iPhone announcements: 9/12; 9/10; 9/9; 9/9
I think it’s that they only consider it from a business perspective. Most businesses see each season as having 3 months (Winter: Dec.,Jan.,Feb. -Spring: Mar., Apr., May. -Summer: June, July, Aug. -Autumn: Sep., Oct., Nov.). Of course, I guess it all depends on the geolocation too.
I do t know why so many sites refer to the iPhone event as a fall event. The unveil event depends when Labor Day falls. The 4s was the only iPhone announced and released in the fall. The 6s was announced in summer released in the fall. The first 4 iPhones has a mix of spring and summer announcements and releases.
Not to counter your accuracy, but I think a lot of people (myself included), especially with kids, view the unofficial start of Fall as after Labor Day or when primary and secondary school starts. At least in the U.S.
I’m kind of waiting for the Apple Watch 2, the iPad Air 3 or the iPad Pro 2. I do play simulation video games on my iPad and I want to make sure it’s fast and will last me 3 or 4 years. I know the A10X is forthcoming and that’s supposed to be super duper fast.
I don’t think we will see a major update of Apple Watch this year. It will most likely be a .5 revision with a FaceTime camera and minimal battery or processor updates. They wouldn’t be releasing new cases of the existing Apple Watch in March if they were planning a major refresh. We might see a seperste more health ordinated device this year.
If the iPad Air 3 gets 4GB of ram and same processor as the IPad Pro I think you will get the 3-4 years oou of it pretty easily. I think with even 3 GB of ram the iPad Air 3 would get you 3-4 years of good reliable use.
I don’t believe the Apple Watch, or any generation of it in the future, will have a FaceTime camera. It is a very poor idea to put a camera in a watch. Aside from the fact that FaceTime conversations would be inherently the worst experience imaginable, you’d also be left with less internal space which is the basis for advancement of that product. Moreover, the camera would be 1-1.5mp, and just absolutely terrible.
I believe in the fall there will be an Apple Watch 2 released alongside the iPhone 7. I believe it will include a new case material, the same as the iPhone 7, and it will have a Smart Connector in one or both of the band grooves. It will be slightly thinner, and have the S2 chip. It will have similar battery life and more sensors. They’ll introduce smart bands and a Made for Apple Watch smart band requirement. Apple will release their own battery band, and first sensor bands. At least that’s what I hope.
You left out new Apple Watch, not sure why. As far as game changing, there is one product that Apple has that can fundamentally change the world in the coming years, and that is the Apple Watch, or adjacent wearables, due entirely to biometric sensors.
I’m not sure why Macbook’s excite people. They are fantastic, but they just launched the MacBook, and it won’t be getting a redesign for years, and there haven’t been any solid rumors that the others would be getting a redesign that I’m aware of. If anything the MacBook Pro will be redesigned and made a little thinner with some MacBook technologies, and that would be interesting, but that’s it. Macs are generally boring, because they are redesigned infrequently, and thus they typically only get minor spec bumps each year, which are sleep inducing.
The Apple Watch won’t be getting a major update this year unless later in the year they release a health tracking model or other new wearable.
Apple should waited and released the original health tracking watch they planned and scrapped. Instead they released a product they didn’t and don’t know how to promote. They showed doodles, sending your heart beat, basic fitness apps(stand up) and lacked a vision of who or what the Apple Watch is for.
Looking at the Health app and HealthKit you can see Apple did have a game changing device planned. The sensors were not reliable enough and the battery wouldn’t last a day. Apple. Could have released a revolutionary device instead they released a fashionable accessory for the iPhone.
With new metal casings and new straps Apple will not be releasing a major refresh to the Apple Watch this year. It might get something like a FaceTime camera in a minor refresh. Apple is still rolling it out to. Se Countries if it had a major update planned they wouldn’t keep rolling the current model into new markets and release new metals and colors in March or April.
Hopefully we will get to see a truly revolutionary wearable for health tracking this year. As is stands the Apple Watch is a disappointing beta device with no true purpose or killer feature.
I agree it was too soon to launch. I think they should have waited until 2017-2020 to release the Apple Watch, and adjacent wearables. They have one purpose which is worth their existence, and that is tracking the person wearing it, everything from muscular activity, to kinetics, to biometrics.
Wearables will be world changing once these are able to be done accurately.
iPhone 7 of course.
You left out iPhone 6 mini!
And included the iPhone 5scAreYouSureMark?
;-)
I’ve used the Macbook for web development for 6 months now and it’s fantastic. More battery life would always be welcome though!
mac books have updated several times, you missed the point. it’s the mac book pro that we’re waiting for
Not sure how Apple Watch bands were listed in place of an Apple Watch 2 given its a list of rumoured products.
I think Apple are going to pull a big surprise with their iSee range of glasses. Imagine google glass done properly.
A+ trolling here
what I’m counting on is a revised rMBP13, slightly thinner and lighter (weight being my only -minor- complaint with the current product). I also hope the MacBook’s ultra-thin keyboard does not go to the rMBP as well. I prefer the “old” keyboard better (having repeatedly used the thin one).
If Apple, however, decides for the MacBook 12 to up the performance and price it more reasonably, that’ll be a much tougher choice between it and the rMBP.
I’m dying for some macs sporting the latest and greatest specs. A revamped iMac design, new Mac Pro would be nice too.
I have had an Apple Mac Pro since 2013. It’s time for me to upgrade the Pro (desktop), but want a 2016 version. Don’t think my 2008 Pro will last until 2017.
2015 was a very busy year for me as an Apple user. Bought the iPhone 6s, iPad mini 4, Apple Watch, Apple TV 4 and last Friday I switched to the MacBook. So I’m not planning on buying any product from Apple in 2016. I am however very excited about iOS 10 and OS X 10.12. :)
The iPhone 5se mostly, can’t wait to gift that to the wife.
But beyond that, in hoping my premonition is true and Apple has finally worked out solar charge supplementing for iPhone 7.
We don’t need to wirelessly charge our phones from 0 to 100%. What we DO need is to leverage all the natural and artificial light being absorbed by that glass display to continuously recharge the battery at a minimal rate. The effect could be anything from a few extra hours, to days or beyond.
Distance wireless charging will be the only new charging method the iPhone gets, and that’s all it needs. Once that comes to the iPhone, you will naturally have more battery life always, because in several places where you normally are using your phone, it will be charging, without you even thinking about it, and thus, it will always have more battery life. Bigger batteries are not the answer, distance wireless charging is, because with that, you essentially have a tremendously larger battery capacity, as I described, because it will almost always have more charge when you finally are away from a distance charging base.
Solar has been tested extensively I’m sure. You have to consider the reasons why solar is not a viable charging solution or even supplemental charging solution. I think it has a low efficiency still, it probably would make the device thicker, and that’s assuming they could even build a solar layer into the display, and it would probably offer little extra battery life, because people don’t use the devices in direct sunlight extremely often, and they’re kept in dark places like the pocket, or a purse. Moreover, the device would have to consciously be turned screen-up which is never good in my opinion. I think Hey, Siri muting when the device when face down is an awful idea. It basically makes Hey, Siri worthless, because you have to consciously think to sit the device face up which actually goes against logical reasoning, as you want to protect the glass.
New MacBook Air 13; Skylake i5/i7 15W; up to 16gb ram and 1tb ssd; Retina display with no bezels; 3 Thunderbolt 3 ports (one for charging); 2.5#. Make it so Number One.
I don’t think you can characterize the iPad mini 4 as “nearly unchanged.” It’s a significant upgrade in computing power.
The 27″ Thunderbolt Display is by now 4 1/2 years old. This is probably the oldest piece of hardware in the Apple lineup. Needs a 5K refresh and some Notebooks that can also power such a Pixel beast.
Not interested in any single rumors. These are not “rumors”. These are Apple’s own leaked news to get cheap hype and publicity.
Mac Pro !!!!!! Broadwell-e, Dual AMD Polaris GPU, and 10 thunderbolt 3 usb-c ports… heaven! i expect it to be announced at WWDC
Please add the option of.. none of these? Iterative changes at best
5se: gimped phone with skimped parts for maximum price.
iPhone 7: hopefully not as ugly as the 6 series…
9.7″ version of ipad pro. nothing new here.
Macbooks: spec bump. nothing more. Macbook (not pro) will STILL be a ripoff.
Watch Bands: really? it a flippin watch band.
iOS 10: looks and acts EXACTLY like iOS 9 with some gimmick added. No innovation here. Next.
Streaming: Cook don’t have any hair on his peaches; he will have to buy his way into this.
Same ol thing. over and over. Nothing new to be excited about, other than hoping the phone is less ugly.
I’m looking forward to some good-looking multicolor watch bands as well as some made of woven fabric.
if those are the only options, then none. No new mac mini. No new iMac. No new Mac Pro workstation. The only thing with an amoled display is the watch. Maybe 2017 will be better.
A new MBA and MBP refresh is in order.
New skylake cpu’s, 4k perhaps.anything.
MBA especially , it’s once iconic flagship laptop hasn’t changed in years.
iOS 10 (as i voted). because Swift. We should be switching major apps to the new programming language. IMO, it’ll bring a lot of stability to the OS. right now, i believe just the calculator app uses swift, and dock on OS X
I want the 13 pro (or 14″ with reduced bezel) in March, don’t care about thinner, just need to change my mid 2010 15″ badly !
“Finally in March, Apple will likely introduce new Apple Watch models. While the actual hardware of the Apple Watch will likely remain unchanged..”
Think before hitting Publish… New colors and bands are not new models.