As Apple make more and more money by sell more and more iPhones , it seems like the ship’s company barely has to seek to rest at the top of the heap . And yet 2015 was one of Cupertino ’s biggest geezerhood ever in terms of innovation , with product refreshes almost across the board ( sorry , Mac Pro ) , a raw machine category ( hey , Apple Watch ) , and a cyclosis inspection and repair to rival Spotify .
But the shiny patina of new machine did n’t distract anyone when Apple miss the Deutsche Mark this year , as it sometimes does . From the weird staggered rollouts of the Apple Watch in outpouring and Apple Pencil in fall to Apple Music ’s iCloud disaster , Apple was n’t without its missteps in 2015 .
Then there were the head - scratching rumor , the indecipherable Cartesian product decision , and more moments that made us go , “ hold back — what ? ”
Let ’s recap Apple ’s big year .
Record-breaking iPhone sales
Apple made $ 32.2 billionby sell 48 million iPhones in the last fourth of 2015 , capping off what CEO Tim Cook called Apple ’s “ most successful year ever . ”
The company ’s tax income grow to almost $ 234 billion in the fiscal twelvemonth , which included just two mean solar day of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus gross sales . Apple sold 13 million iPhones during that launch weekend , and is expecting to make between $ 75.5 billion and $ 77.5 billion when it describe vacation twenty-five percent net at the ending of January .
The iPhone has been on the market for eight years , so how does Apple retain to betray so many ? It’sthanks in part to China — the Chinese continue to buy iPhones in droves , and this sentence around , the country was one of the latest example ’s launching day markets .
(Almost) everything is new
Apple did n’t just put out fresh iPhones , as it does every gloam . Practically every ware in the companionship ’s lineup was refreshen in 2015 . We get new MacBooks , admit a 12 - inch gold model , iMacs , thelong - awaited 12.9 - inch Proand a luxuriously - powered iPad mini , a completely overhauled fourth - generation Apple TV , an only new ware category with the Apple Watch .
These hardware update were n’t minor ones , like the lacklustre iPad mini 3 release last fall . The newiPhone ’s flagship featuresinclude 3D Touch and a revamped camera ; theiPad mini 4is now as powerful as an iPad Air 2 , thenew MacBookis the most portable laptop computer around ; and the Apple TV has a full - fledged App Store and Siri integration .
This class was huge for Apple hardware .
Apple TV’s long-awaited reboot
Thenew Apple TVdeserves a freestanding shout - out for being areally , really undecomposed sic - top box . Apple waited three years to overhaul the television , and in that time it was impart in the dust by rivals Roku , Amazon Fire TV , and even Google ’s Chromecast streaming joystick .
That ended in November with the new Apple TV , which has its own App Store and a healthy roster ofmust - have apps , plus a brand novel touchpad remote withSiri integration . It can even back games , with the touchpad distant substituting for a game accountant ( unless you need to husk out more for an MFi biz control likethis one ) .
The Apple television is n’t gross — although it ’s gotten well after akey software update — andmore tvOS appsare desperately needed . Plus , we still have promise that Apple will cut through the red tape and commit off animated TV cyclosis servicethat will let us in the end geld the electric cord . But the fourth - gen TV is effective than ever , and its $ 149 starting price tag is n’t too bad , either .
Apple wins over Taylor Swift
Apple Music ran into trouble before it even launched ( and then some more fuss afterward , which we ’ll get into after ) , but the fellowship managed to get the world ’s great pappa wiz on its side .
Apple Music and the scrambled libraries
Apple rolled out Apple Music on desktop with iTunes 12.2 , bundling its cyclosis depository library with your iTunes purchases with the help of iCloud Music Library . But when iTunes users enabled iCloud Music Library to unify cyclosis track with purchased ones , they watchediTunes mangle their subsist libraries .
In some case , there were minor trouble like album artwork gone wrong . In other , more serious circumstances , iTunes wipe or profane M of tracks from some libraries , resulting in hundreds of raging Apple support forum complaints andone very high - profile blah .
Where’s the Apple Pencil?
The 12.9 - column inch iPad Pro launched in November with two complementary accessories , the Modern Smart Keyboard andApple Pencil , the party ’s first iPad stylus . Without the stylus , the new lozenge is just a really , really big iPad . With it , creatives have a puppet that makes the most of all that screen real demesne . So when the iPad Pro live on on sale and its appurtenance , specifically the long - awaited Pencil , were in short supply , Pro purchaser were more than a footling unhappy . While the Smart Keyboard was also on back orderliness , Apple was also selling an excellent third - party alternative , Logitech ’s Create . Apple Pencil has no equivalent , so its absence was a thwarting one for Pro users who had to wait workweek to expend the giant tablet to its full potential .
The strange Apple Watch launch
For its most personal gimmick ever , Apple restricted leverage to online only . Buyers could n’t line up at Apple store to snag anApple Watchat the height of the hype , and some watch framework were on back - order for weeks after launch .
Not being able to grease one’s palms Apple ’s latest machine anywhere but online at Apple.com was a second of a blow for purchaser used to encounter the latest gadgets in retail store , too . In fact , asMacworld columnist Jason Snell say , the real Apple Watch company did n’t set off until six month after its dismission , when Apple finally was able-bodied to fulfill demand in launch countries and let out the watch ’s handiness to admit third - company retailers .
Malware hits iOS App Store
2015 will be remembered as the yearmalware in conclusion penetrate the iOS App Store , prove that Apple ’s walled garden is n’t impervious to contagion . Before this year , you mainly had to interest about malware on jailbroken equipment , because Apple ’s App Store commendation unconscious process is notoriously tough . But this yr , the iOS App Store was hit doubly with malware panic , both times in China .
Apps infected with malware managed to bypass the company ’s surety safeguard by using a modified , sketchy version of Xcode , the codification used to write apps for iOS , OS X , watchOS , and tvOS . Developers in China downloaded XcodeGhost , an infected version of the codification , from Chinese server because the process was faster . Then those apps parcel out the malware after gaining entry to the App Store . YiSpecter , another malware stock , popped up just weeks later , also in China , but was less dangerous than XcodeGhost .
XcodeGhost did n’t have a huge impact on apps , but it test that sometimes developers will take shortcut that Apple did n’t counter , jeopardizing the safety of your devices in the process . Thegoing rate for hacking iOS is $ 1 million , so Apple ’s software is still fantastically secure , but the scares this year try it ’s not double-dyed .
The new MacBook
Apple ’s lithe 12 - inch MacBookcombines technologies that are n’t yet stock , but could be one daylight . The Force Touch trackpad , ace slight keyboard with reduced key travelling , and lonely USB - C port make the new MacBook a truly next - multiplication laptop computer , which is awesome in hypothesis . In world , the keyboard is n’t the gentle to typewrite on , and the USB - one C connector makes the newfangled MacBook uncongenial with fundamentally every other gadget you own .
It ’s frustrating for now , because theUSB - C ecosystemis still so small . That will change in the future , but citizenry who drop $ 1300 on the 12 - column inch MacBook will face struggles that buyers of other MacBook models do n’t , at least for for a while longer .
The Apple Car rumors
This one is a head - scratcher for certain : Earlier this class , hearsay set out to whirlpool that Apple was recruit a slew of car expert to join the company . At the same time , Apple CEO Tim Cook and design chief Jony I ve start hinting in pressing interviews that the automobile blank was an interesting one . Of course , Apple has n’t come out and order , “ Hey , macrocosm , we ’re building an galvanic automobile ! ” But all signspoint to a secret auto projectin the works at 1 Infinite Loop .
get ’s survey the evidence : Apple has lease not just cable car expert , but specialists in deep learning and unreal intelligence service . It ’s unclear if Apple is search an electric car or a ego - driving one , but over the summer , text file revealed that Apple was on the hunt for aprivate facility to screen something — presumably a car , since that facility is a former naval post where other self - driving vehicles have been tested . Then in August , Apple White House take on with California Department of Motor Vehicles reps to talk about thestate ’s self - driving fomite regulations .
Apple has been concerned in cars for some metre — that ’s why the company modernise CarPlay , which puts the iPhone experience in your automobile ’s dashboard . We would n’t be surprised if I ve plan the coolest car on the cube — we’re just not expect it anytime presently .
