It’s finish. 2021 ends in a matter of hours, leaving Apple financially strong after twelve months of launches across all of its product and service lines. It’s time to look to 2022 and all that this new year will bring us. Because we cannot predict exactly what will happen, but we can launch our predictions.
Yet another product, yet another leg on the stool
2021 has been a year of linear presentations and improvements, or what comes to the same thing: we saw more or less what we expected. Better processors, better cameras, better chips and new generations of products that we already know. Perhaps the most striking were the new iMac or the AirTag which is the exception of the novelty.
2022 is likely to be a more important year, as rumors indicate that we will see the arrival of a brand new product that could energize a market that has so far grown relentlessly but slowly. An augmented and / or virtual reality viewer would be the first entirely new product that Apple would launch from the Apple Watch in 2015, and it would also be the first product (and not an accessory) in which Steve Jobs would no longer have anything to do with it.
My feeling in the virtual reality market is that history can repeat itself. Before the iPhone, we lived in a world dominated by PDAs and Nokia mobiles, until Jobs blew us away with the multi-touch screen and interface of the first “iPhone OS”. Likewise, before the Apple Watch, what was called a “smartwatch” consisted of a mazacote with much less functions and autonomy.
The iPhone has put the mobile market around and a half. The Apple Watch did the same for smartwatches. I could be wrong, but I see no reason not to think that after a few “Apple glasses” the VR market can change until it is unrecognizable, which we cannot even imagine at the moment. Like when the iPhone rumors were about an iPod capable of making calls.
Of course, this can be the start of something that can change. The iPhone started selling without an App Store. The Apple Watch started out as a fashion accessory rather than a health accessory. It will take a few years to see how technology, demand and marketing align. But 2022 is going to be the start of what can be a new revolution technological hand in hand with these … diving goggles that we see in the makes.
Of course, we will have more news:
- The iPhone 14, with faster chips and a new design.
- A new third generation iPhone SE called to be the economic option par excellence.
- The new high-end iMac.
- The new MacBook Air, which would lead to the arrival of the M2 chip.
- A new Mac mini with more powerful chips and a smaller design.
- A Mac Pro with the maximum expression of Apple Silicon chips.
- New iPad models.
- Some new AirPods Pro 2.
- The Apple Watch Series 8, probably with a new design and new sensors.
- New series and movies on Apple TV +.
- New services or better integrations between existing ones.
- iOS 16, iPadOS 16, tvOS 16, watchOS 9, and macOS 13.
- New accessories, emphasizing those designed for the home. New HomePods?
At the presentation level I don’t think we’ll be seeing anything face to face again in the short term. The Omicron variant is wreaking havoc around the world, being the most contagious COVID-19 mutation to date. Getting rid of it and its possible subsequent mutations can take months, and that means more speech Apple pre-registered. Patience.
He is also waiting to see what will happen with the logistics crisis and the semi-components crisis throughout 2022. It appears to be declining, but it will be slow and there will still be supply issues until the next New Years Eve. This can cause changes to Apple’s schedule and further delays in returning to offices and reopening stores. Apple Stores which have closed again. Once again, patience.
These are weird times, but they will be entertaining. 2022 could be the year Apple changes again. And it will be very interesting to watch.
Image | Aditya joshi
