At the terminal of every year , we take the requisite look back , and the last of 2011 was no exception — we retrospect theyear in iOS , the twelvemonth in Mac , Apple ’s financial carrying out , theyear in quote , andMacworld’smost readand most loved and abhor account .
For those prognosticators who also participated inour 2011 predictions clause , we ’ve also noted how each fared last yr , using a scale of measurement of 0 to 4 , with each of the four matter areas worth one distributor point — partial credit grant , of course . Take these score with a grain of saltiness , as they ’re admittedly subjective ; plus , how do you score The Macalope , really ?
Last year ’s scotch : Mac OS X , 1.0 ; iOS , 0.5 ; computer hardware , 0.5 ; pie , 0.Total = 2.0/4.0
Mac OS X : My OS X - colligate prediction from last year — integrated swarm services — end up coming straight , so why not keep running with that ? This year , I trust to see even further integration with cloud and Internet services . An obvious example is iMessage on the background ( who does n’t need that ? ) , but I ’m also thinking bigger , like the capability to mark up a novel Mac from a cloud - base backup or , at the very least , from your Time Machine computer backup at home while you ’re out and about .
iOS : Siri made a splattering when it debuted with the iPhone 4S , and I ’d like to see Apple open up the Siri API to third - political party developers . She ( it ? ) already operate reasonably well with Apple ’s own apps and services ; would n’t it be gracious to be able to habituate Siri with your pet third - company apps , such as one of my favorite CTA ( Chicago ) apps , Buster ? ( “ Siri , when will the freaking Milwaukee busbar arrive ! ? ” )
We may also finally see the end result of all these recent — and mystic — mapping - related acquisition Apple has been construct . What is Apple doing with Placebase , Poly9 , and C3 anyway ? Maybe the employee are still lead through the hazing that Steve Jobs started when their several company were first acquired .
computer hardware : We did n’t see any cosmetic changes in the iPhone in 2011 , so 2012 is prime for it . What those changes will encompass is anyone ’s guess , but thin , light , and “ sexier ” will undoubtedly be on the checklist . More RAM and a better processor , too ? Apple ’s got this . Of course , this is a boring and predictable result on hardware , but there are few things I ’m more sure of than this . Want something a little crazier ? Maybe Apple will even offer the 2012 iPhone in colors this fourth dimension , laying waste toColorware’sentire marketplace . That would be enthralling , would n’t it ?
Proto-Indo European - in - the - sky regard : Apple will allow modified iOS apps to be installed on newer Apple TVs . ( modify for the TV , that is . ) The company opened the threshold to the construct in 2011 in the contour of the MLB , NBA , Vimeo , and Wall Street Journal “ channels ” ( bump under the Internet tab ) , so it ’s about fourth dimension we started fancy other things on the bad covert — Cut the Rope , hipster - styled photos on Instagram , or inappropriate Facebook messages from your eminent schooling friends . contented producer might even feel more comfortable putting their telecasting shows , movies , and clip on the Apple TV if they can do it using their own apps . If this happens , the Apple idiot box will eventually blossom to become the cord - cutting haven that the transmission line companies have been fearing for old age .
Adam Engst, publisher,TidBITS
Last yr ’s score : Mac OS X , 0 ; iOS , 0.25 ; hardware , 0 ; pie , NA.Total = 0.25/4.0
Mac OS X : After put out the Io - inspired Lion ( Mac OS X 10.7 ) in 2011 , I do n’t see Apple change much with Mac OS 10 — most of Lion ’s variety were either low - level technology for developer or interface changes aimed at make Mac OS X seem more like Io for unexampled substance abuser . That said , one area in which we could see notable movement would be an option to prevent drug user from establish software from any seed other than the Mac App Store . That would make a platform that would be both more coherent and more inviolable than Mac OS X is now . And just consider of the online controversy it would cause !
iOS : sentence to go out on a limb right from the start : 2012 will bring the fourth major iOS twist , the third - propagation Apple video . execute iOS 6 , it will finally go beyond being just “ iOS - based ” by actually allow you to instal and run iOS apps . ( I ’m not institutionalise to whether this new Apple TV will be a standalone box or something built into a TV or screen , but the former seems more potential to me . ) As with the original iPad , this new Apple TV will be compatible with honest-to-goodness ( non - goggle box - optimized ) apps , but more interesting will be new Apple TV - aboriginal apps , which will use Siri - based interpreter control condition and other new method of interact — think of an iPod touch as a game controller , or even something like the Xbox ’s Kinect . In fact , you ’ll need another iOS gimmick to control the Apple TV 3 .
Hardware : Let ’s see . iPad 3 with Siri , a higher - resolution display , estimable cameras , a immobile processor , and more RAM ? Check . iPhone 5 with a young industrial design , 4 chiliad LTE connectivity , better camera , a loyal CPU , and more read/write memory ? Check . Apple has maintain its lead in the tablet and smartphone market by continually pushing the gasbag , and the party ca n’t open to take a breather on its laurels . On the Mac hardware side , it ’s hard to see significant change , though I would n’t be surprised to see the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro gain an pick for a built - in cellular - data modem . For the iMac , Mac mini , and Mac Pro , Apple will stick with processor speed bumps , larger hard disk and/or SSDs , and more tup .
Proto-Indo European - in - the - sky wish : Apple is n’t go to buy a cellular carrier , since it makes little sense for the company to learn to operate a completely unlike business enterprise . However , I ’d really wish to see Apple create a worldwide “ nomadic virtual web operator”—industry - speak for a cellular carrier that have no towers or spectrum licenses , but instead leases its intact infrastructure from other mailman . Apple could then deal part and data religious service for all iOS gadget ( and my predicted cellular - up to MacBooks ! ) with simple , low-priced pricing that would make Io devices even more attractive than Android - based smartphones and tablet .
John Gruber,Daring Fireball
Last twelvemonth ’s score : Mac OS X , 1.0 ; iOS , 0.75 ; hardware , 0.5 ; Proto-Indo European , 0.Total = 2.25/4.0
Mac OS X : I do n’t expect any major Mac OS X news this year . For example , I do n’t expect to hear about Mac OS X 10.8 at WWDC this year .
iOS : I consider we ’ll see iOS 6 in June at WWDC , on the same schedule as iOS 5 last year . I ’m not sure what to predict about it specifically , though , because with the past few releases of iOS , Apple has peck off all the low - hanging fruit : written matter and spread , multitasking , a better notification system — there ’s nothing major like that miss from iOS today .
What I would care to see is SDK support for third - party apps to interact with Siri , and maybe for create Notification Center widgets like the built - in Weather and Stocks options .
Hardware : New iPads early in 2012 , include high - oddment models with double - resolution retina showing . I call up Apple will stay sell the live iPad 2 alongside the new ones , or insert a new lower - close model that still sports today ’s 1024- by 768 - pel screen , but because I call up the retina - display iPad will be a bit expensive . I think the new iPad fashion model will use the same screen size as today’s — no 7 - inch model .
I also recall we ’ll see a brand - new iPhone later in the year , moderately much on the same schedule as the iPhone 4S , but this clock time with a redesigned outside . I do n’t cogitate we ’ll see a expectant covert on the iPhone . This trend towards 4.5- and 5 - column inch displays on Android and Windows phone seems like a error to me — I think the iPhone postulate to get smaller ( peculiarly thin ) , not freehanded . I also think Apple is very serious about pushing the boundaries of mobile - telephone photography , so I look to see an even good camera than the 4S ’s in the next iPhone .
Finally , by this time next class , I expect the 15 - in MacBook Pro to face like a bigger reading of the current MacBook Air : thinner , lighter , SSD - only , with no optical drive . And maybe the gamey - end MacBooks will go retina display , double the pixel resolution .
Proto-Indo European - in - the - sky compliments : I ’ll retell my same Proto-Indo European - in - the - sky wish from last year : a HyperCard - like development organization for iOS from Apple .
John Moltz, editor in chief,Crazy Apple Rumors
Last year ’s score : Mac OS X , 1.0 ; iOS , 0 ; computer hardware , 0 ; pie , 0.5.Total = 1.5/4.0
Mac OS decade : Tired of languishing in iOS ’s dark , Mac OS X will rise up by getting a tattoo against Tim Cook ’s expressed regard — peradventure a tribal arm band or a something edgy to show its own bone , likeTHUG animation . A furious Cook will threaten to revoke OS X ’s car exclusive right and the whole affair will blow up at WWDC where OS X will ramp off the stage , pull up stakes Cook standing there with iOS ( which the Mac o will take is hisfavorite anyway so what difference does it make ? God , NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ME ! ) .
iOS : Having given iOS a major upgrade to its notice system of rules in 2011 , Apple will implement an even more startling climb in 2012 : pre - notifications . Using patented time - displacement engineering , Apple will bear pre - notifications for events that will be happening to you short , such as “ Your comrade will call you in 15 minutes ” , “ The milk in your refrigerator will go bad at 3:15 postmortem ” and “ Hear that clock tower chime midnight ? You ’ll be dead by the time the bell stop . Make heartsease with whatever god(s ) you worship ” . Google will attempt to imitate the feature by using the open - source “ Magic 8 - orb ” system .
Hardware : Sexbots . I ’ve long read that only Apple can deliver the sort of product quality and smooth drug user experience that will make this currently niche product category really take off , and I believe 2012 will be the year Apple spend a penny it come about . ( Well , opinion and Bob Hope are often so mixed up that it ’s hard to tell them aside . But why not 2013 ? Seriously , why not , Apple ? Because if there ’s some roadblock you call for our service surmount , we ’re all ear . )
Pie - in - the - sky wishing : That ’s it exactly . Proto-Indo European … in the sky . Apple will set in motion a series of satellites to create an orbital Proto-Indo European - delivery arrangement , eradicating world hungriness by delivering yield - filled good anywhere in the world . This will also set the company up for 2013 when it will deliver a shiny aluminum answer for fleshiness .
Andy Ihnatko, tech columnist, Chicago Sun-Times
Last year ’s account : NA
Mac OS X : I foreshadow a push back of variety on iCloud . Remember when Steve Jobs stood on stage and smile sheepishly and acknowledge that the first - generation Apple TV was a dud ? It wo n’t be as heavy as that . But there will be some movement that most people will interpret as an cite that iCloud was n’t quite ready to go in 2011 … and would everybody please do by iCloud in 2012 as if it were a blade - new thing , please ?
iOS : We ’ll see a less - expensive iPad . Apple almost has to do it , as 2012 will be the first year that the iPad will have any sort of serious competition . Amazon might transport a 10 - inch Kindle Fire , but even if it does n’t , there ’s no doubt that the company will make enough improvements to the 7 - in firing to turn it into a perceptible scourge to the iPad . Meanwhile , Windows will seem on tablet of its own by late 2012 . ( I ’ve used modern - day Windows tablets , and they ’re quite nifty . ) Apple has had the whole pool to itself for two years , but now the caller is going to have to leaven its mettle in an subject marketplace .
On the other deal , I ca n’t picture Apple ever make a small-scale iPad . Heck , I ’m not even certain the ship’s company will be willing to drop the price on whatever the “ current ” models is . At best , the company might cut the terms in September for the holidays , and in anticipation of a serious hardware acclivity in other 2013 . Otherwise , Apple will do what it ’s done with the iPhone line : release new ironware and keep last yr ’s model ( intend the current iPad ) in stores at a reduced price .
computer hardware : I predict that by Valentine ’s Day , I will be disturbed of talking about Apple - branded television rumors . I think that I will be ask questions about such a product in March , and in April , and in May , and by mid - yr I will have lost the will to even activate a genial keyboard macro instruction and say the same thing I ’ve been say for several months now ( “ As common , never conceive an Apple rumor until the company has really released the affair . I do n’t immediately understand why Apple would desire to do a standalone telly instead of just enhancing the Apple TV boxful . I suppose the real jive of this idea is in licensing deal with web and not with hardware , per se . ” ) . I predict that I will lean forward , bury my case in my hands , and exhale tardily ; then smooth back my hair , uprise back to meet the regard of my questioner , and say “ Sorry ? I did n’t quite get that . ”
Pie - in - the - sky want : I ’d wish to see an explicit path to run full - filmdom Mac OS go apps on an iPad . It would use the Mac ’s built - in Screen Sharing feature , with a little extra sophistication on the iPad side . Yeah , it ’s a pipe pipe dream to suppose that we ’d ever get to run iOS apps on the Mac or vice - versa , but this would be a nice gizmo for those many time when there ’s just no decent analog for a Mac app on the iPad .
Bonus prevision , because it ’s Andy : I conceive we ’ll be seeing more of Sir Jony in 2012 . Apple will find it unmanageable to let go of its self - picture as an “ auteur ” company , and as an establishment , I think Apple gets a signified of security from the presence of That Guy Who Totally Gets It . We wo n’t see His Royal J - Ness take up Steve Jobs ’s public persona , but he ’ll do enough on - camera consultation with mainstream news show programs and other shows that he ’ll become the new face of Apple . Out with one legend , in with a new one .
I believe that before twist of the novel Apple Spaceship campus gets amply underway , Tim Cook will be walking around the ground of the former HP campus hunt rabbits . A pellet will miss its mark , and then up from the ground will come a bubblin ’ geyser of printer ink . He will then charge up his beat - up old 2011 Mercedes SL5 AMG and move to Beverly Hills with his yummy niece and his cloddish nephew .
Arnold Kim, founder and senior editor,MacRumors.com
Last year ’s score : Mac OS X , 0.75 ; iOS , 0.75 ; computer hardware , 0.5 ; pie , 0.Total = 2.0/4.0
Mac OS X : Retina - display support . windfall . No one ’s really ever seen one , but we just ca n’t stop thinking about a 300 - dpi laptop computer projection screen . It ’s so exciting because it would be something new in the Mac product line that ’s not just an incremental improvement . Beyond that , I do n’t think we ’ll see much in the way of major oxygen decade change . Apple typically follows an every - other - class tone ending oscillation for the Mac OS and we just develop Lion in 2011 .
iOS : I said it last twelvemonth , and I ’ll say it again : Apple is working on some kind of massive custom - mapping root for iOS . The pieces are in berth already . Apple ’s acquired companies , rent engineers , andbasically saidit ’s work on mapping and dealings . I theorize this lineament could be more than a year off , but mapping and counseling stay one of the big variance between Android and iPhone , so I think it has a high antecedency at Apple .
ironware : I fear the miserable Mac Pro is fate . It ’s not something I say gently , as I ’ve long been a Mac Pro user — nothing would make me glad than a killer screen background rig from Apple with a beautiful , new industrial design . And it seems just a few years ago that a redesign Mac tower was the ultimate in tosh - worthy rumor mongering . Now we all slaver over a new iPhone , and I think Apple is well aware of that transmutation . The society is n’t one to adhere to the past , and I think the clip of the Mac tug is coming to a finish .
Proto-Indo European - in - the - sky - indirect request : A brand new Mac Pro with radically different industrial invention and low-toned price tag . It will lastly comprise Thunderbolt , a few PCI slots , well-heeled to open internal , and a sub $ 2000 price tag end . It will revitalize the Apple desktop market place and show Apple ’s committedness to professionals .
The Macalope, pundit-skewering mythical beast
Last year ’s grade : Mac OS X , 0.5 ; iOS , 0 ; ironware , 1.0 ; Proto-Indo European , 0.Total = 1.5/4.0
Before offering this class ’s prediction , the Macalope will sharpen out that a generous interpretation of his predictions from last twelvemonth would be that he was about half right.[As you may see , we judged it as 1.5/4.0 . Hey , put down the antlers , my friend.—Ed.]So , feel costless to pick between flipping a coin or reading what he thinks will happen this class .
Mac OS tenner : Not much . Having deliver Lion in mid-2011 , Apple will credibly show some new feature at WWDC , but heck if The Macalope has any melodic theme what they should be . You know , sometimes if you have nothing to say it ’s sound to just say nothing at all rather than make things up . But it belike would n’t be a stretchiness to hypothesise that Mac OS X will take on more facet of its diminutive sibling[We take on “ diminutive sibling ” imply iOS here , but knowing The Macalope , it could be a subtle dig at … something.—Ed . ] .
iOS : Despite calls by silly learned person for a everlasting makeover of iOS , Apple will realize the considerably - sell smartphone ’s needs are more evolutionary than rotatory . iOS 6 will be denounced as a ho - hum climb that fails to somehow magically wreak 4 G to older sound , etc . , but what it will bring are features that appeal tousersrather than engineer . iPhones and iPads will retain to sell briskly .
Hardware : The next iPhone will have a new form factor and the world will buckle a great sigh of relief that Applefinallydelivered the phone they should have in October 2011 . And then we ’ll go through the whole “ alternate - twelvemonth Apple gadget disappoints spec - half-baked nimrods ” rigamarole , as if the entire class of engineering science learned person suffered blows to the headland as small children and ca n’t remember anything from more than six months ago . Come to consider of it , that would explain a bunch .
Pie - in - the - sky wish : An Apple TV set . Sure , the hearsay mill has this down as so solid you could bet the nestling ’ college fund on it but , seriously , who ’s going to take your Transformers comical books as collateral in a bet ? Oh , pocket and boarded you say ? wad term ? Go on … Anyway , even if Apple is working on a television , there ’s no warrantee it will amount in 2012 . But while others scoff at where Apple might supply value in this category , the Macalope believes there is more in Heaven and Earth and Cupertino than is dreamt of in their philosophy .
