Apple in 2024: big launches, new iPads and a few surprises

See you later in 2023, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. While the year could have ended with a little question mark (who had the Apple Watch patent on their bingo card?), 2024 is shaping up to be a big year for the Cupertino company: new products, major updates, and maybe even a surprise or two along the way.

So to whet your anticipation for the 12 months ahead, I’m reviewing what I think will be the most significant Apple-related stories of the year ahead – the ones we’ll return to. following December as major movements of 2024.

I think, so iPad

One thing missing from Apple’s lineup in 2023? The iPad. The tablet has had a surprisingly difficult time during its ten-year existence: its sales have gone up and down more than perhaps any other Apple product. Lately, it’s faced challenges with hardware that far outpaces its software, a confusing product lineup, and inconsistent feature rollouts (landscape camera orientation on the tenth-generation iPad, for example).

With an iPad-less year behind it, Apple is poised to make some updates to the tablet in 2024. But the big question is whether these will be minor changes, slowly nudging models toward the next generation or a more significant overhaul of where the models sit. The iPad is part of the company’s mix.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Either way, every model – from the 10th generation iPad and iPad mini to the iPad Air and iPad Pro – is due for an update in 2024, and it will be fascinating to see if Apple can – or even intends – to get its ducks in a row. in a row. Rumors suggest a larger iPad Air could join the mix, while the iPad Pros feature OLED displays to set them apart, but for Apple the key is always in the story it wants to tell.

At your service

In a year when most of Apple’s business segments did well (if the billions of dollars raised can be called “good”), the company’s Services division continued its trajectory constant ascending. But that doesn’t mean Apple can just relax.

What’s interesting about the service sector is that its continued growth is based on several factors. First, and perhaps most important, is increased volume: the more customers there are on the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, etc., the more revenue Apple generates. Some of the factors are not directly under Apple’s control, like what content is available on the App Store or Apple Music, while other parts – Apple TV+ and Apple Fitness, to name a few – some – are more directly linked to the company’s investments.

And of course, there’s also a third element: what the company charges. Apple raised prices for several of its services in late 2023, which will undoubtedly help improve its bottom line, but could also lead more customers to question whether they’re getting value for their money. As digital service subscription fatigue begins to set in, it’s up to Apple to make its products both valuable and competitive. This could prompt the company to add more partnerships, such as its recently announced deal with The Athletic and The Wirecutter, or introduce additional services to its Apple One offering in an effort to retain existing customers and attract new ones .

Pro vision of the future

Okay, okay: I know I mentioned it in the list of biggest stories of 2023, and I’m reluctant to double down here, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the Vision Pro will be the most big Apple story of 2024, however it plays out.

Poorly received, it could solidify criticism – always behind the scenes – that Apple has lost its way, forgotten its roots, etc. There are a lot of factors working against it: an expensive product in version 1.0, that has to ship in small quantities, that seems a bit far-fetched and doesn’t have a clear use case – and did I mention it’s Dear ?

Done right, though, it will be a whole new platform for Apple, with all the benefits that entails. Not only is this valuable in its own right, but it could open the door to new services or significant updates to existing services (3D content in Apple TV+, more interactive Apple Fitness workouts, Vision Pro-specific games). And as difficult as it may be, no company is better positioned than Apple to pull a rabbit out of its virtual hat.

One way or another we are going to talk about Vision Pro a lot next year.

Petter Ahrnstedt / Foundry

Everything else

These are, of course, just the headlines. I expect a lot more in 2024: on the Mac side, that means more new computers powered by the M3 line, with perhaps even the addition of an M3 Ultra chip. (Though I don’t think the Mac’s 40th anniversary next month will get too much attention from Apple.)

Elsewhere, the company still faces changes in digital markets in Europe that could fundamentally alter the way it does business, from big platform updates that are rumored to focus at least in part about generative AI, and of course there will always be a new iPhone until the end of time.

I, for one, can’t wait to see what the next year has in store, and I hope you’re ready to sit back and enjoy the ride, whether in the real or virtual world.