Apple has been doom for decades , if the steady current of headlines about the troupe , its stemma price , and its product lineup are to be believe . IfThe Macalopehas teach us anything , it ’s that the Apple deathwatch business is a brisk ( and bizarre ) one . The truth is much more complex . But by any measure , 2016 was a particularly rugged class for Apple .
The troupe endured a caustic sound competitiveness with the FBI , saw its first taxation declension in more than a decade , and confront backlash over ironware tweak in its upgraded flagship product : the iPhone 7 ’s want of a 3.5 mm sound diddly and the overhauled MacBook Pro ’s less - than - pro specs for a decidedly pro price .
But there were also some brilliant spots : the succeeder of the 4 - column inch iPhone SE , the upgraded Apple Watch Series 2 , and the release of iOS 10 , which turned Siri into a political program . rent ’s look back at 2016 , the twelvemonth the phone knave died .
RIP, headphone jack
When rumour that Apple was planning to remove the headphone labourer from the iPhone first started swirling , the cyberspace collectively freak out out . Some call it an straight-out user - hostile determination . Was everyone supposed to sacrifice their wired headphones and other peripheral gadget for Bluetooth single ? When Apple senior VP Phil Schiller officially announced the variety and called the decision “ courageous , ” Apple critic scoffed .
But then theiPhone 7and7 Plusdebuted , and it turn out that a mountain of people were hunky-dory with Apple ’s decisiveness , specially because a duad of Lightning phone and an audio jack dongle were included in the box . The company has n’t yet reported its vacation quarter earnings , which would reflect just how many iPhones it sold , but the iPhone 7 Plus and jet dark iPhone 7 werecompletely sold out on launching solar day . A case of modified supply or over - the - top need ? It seems like the latter .
While Google celebrated its cellular inclusion of the headphone jack in its flagship Pixel earphone , Samsung is reportedly hitching its wagon to Apple ’s conclusion ( of course ) by ditching the headphone jack in its next equipment .
Delayed AirPods
Apple did n’t just exhaust a earphone jak - less iPhone . It had a fellow traveller accessory lined up , its own cordless Bluetooth phone called AirPods . The $ 159 accessory was slated to ship in October , Apple said at its September iPhone launching result , but the earpiece were check for month , reportedly due to connectivity issues .
Apple commence taking preorderson Dec. 13 and dispatch began arriving on Monday , Dec. 19 , but availability both online and in - stock was limited — none could be find in NYC , for example , and shipping estimates speedily slip to Febuary . But at least Apple made it in clock time for the holidays , even just barely .
The in effect news : They’re pretty amazing .
Second-gen Apple Watch
The AirPods may have ship months after they were scheduled to , but the overhauled Apple Watch appeared right on time . Apple released two versions at different price points , both with upgraded processor that made native apps turn tail much faster ( a big sticking point with the first - gen picket ) .
TheSeries 2impressed us with GPS , a brilliant presentation , and its new water - resistance , arrant for swim - tracking . If you do n’t postulate all of those features , the Series 1 is just as hefty , but gaudy . Some say the Series 2 is what the first - gen watch should ’ve been , but Apple ’s intensified focus on wellness and physical fitness is a natural onward motion .
Apple vs. FBI
In February 2016 , Apple confront one of its greatest challenge ever : pressure from thefederal governance to unlock a terror defendant ’s iPhone . The iPhone at the center of the legal firestorm was a 5c model lock with a passcode and set to destroy all of its data after 10 wrong passcode unlock attempts . So the FBI asked Apple — then try out to legally compel Apple — to write software that would permit the government to bypass the iPhone ’s security mechanism . Apple refused .
The result weeks - long legal battle put Apple at the center of a debate about encryption , privacy , and what technical school companies are obligated to do for their user and for the authorities . Apple argued that any software program it create for the so - yell “ good guys ” wouldeventually finish up in the wrong hands .
The FBI end up happen another way into the iPhone and dropped their lawsuit against Apple .
iPhone sales start slipping
Apple reported itsfirst quarterly tax revenue declinein 13 year in the second quarter of 2016 because of slide iPhone sales , a trend that proceed as the year progress .
This year , the caller reported itsfirst year - over - year revenue declinesince 2001 , down from $ 233.7 billion in 2015 to $ 215.6 billion . For comparing , Microsoft ’s revenuein the 2016 financial year slipped from $ 93.6 billion to $ 85.3 billion class - over - year .
Can the iPhone 7 Plus ’s insanely peachy camera , the MacBook Pro ’s Touch Bar , or Apple ’s laser focus on service reverse the downward revenue trend in 2017 ? Apple for sure hopes so .
MacBook Pro finally gets a refresh
Apple finally gave its professional - form MacBooks a refresh after four years of modest pinch , and it sure was a big alteration . The company replaced the keyboard ’s function keys with a contextually aware OLED touchscreen strip that changes according to the app you ’re using . Apple also went all - in with USB - C larboard .
The Touch Bar has been a big hit with reviewers — we have sex it , too — but the refreshed 13- and 15 - column inch laptops have been roundly criticized for their pricing ( $ 1,800 for the smaller floor model ) , 16 GB max RAM , andissues with computer graphic glitches . There were also reports about battery life , but Apple resolve those with amacOS Sierra updateaddressing the stamp battery time reckoner .
The Apple Car that will never be
… Or will it ? Rumors that Apple was working on a self - push back car started purl in late 2015 , but this year the rumor mill kicked into overdrive . There were report of staff upheavals and transfer strategies , and in the crepuscule it became clear thatApple was switching gear mechanism . The society is no longer building its own car from starting line — or else , it is looking to build an automotive system to power an autonomous car developed by a cooperator experienced in orbit where Apple is not . As it turns out , mass - create vehicles and mickle - producing iPhones are not the same .
considerably for Apple to bow out before found a product designate from the commencement than to proceed just to prove a point .
iPhone SE launch
One of Apple ’s under - the - radiolocation succeeder in 2016 was theiPhone SE . Who acknowledge there wassuch a huge market place for a small phone ? Apparently , Apple sleep with , which is why the company released the 4 - in SE after supersizing its lineup with the 6 and 6 Plus in 2014 .
The SE has the lowest start price of any iPhone at $ 399 , the stylish looking at of the iPhone 5 ( a purpose favorite ) , with the velocity , power , and same great tv camera as the iPhone 6s . It also has a headphone squat , if that ’s your jam .
Released in March , the SE reportedly prevented a potentially larger iPhone sale slip than Apple have this year . Turns out that if you give the people what they need , they will buy it .
iOS 10 opens up Siri
Apple ’s articulation helper Siri has languished behind its chief rivals , Amazon ’s Alexa and whatever Google is calling its voice - activated helper now ( Google Assistant or Google Now , depending on what twist you ’re using ) . Part of that is due toApple ’s hardline privacy insurance , which limits Siri ’s capabilities . But Io 10 made Siri more open by permit third - political party app integration . Now you may use Siri to hail an Uber , send a Viber subject matter , search for restaurant on Yelp , or find double on Pinterest , among aslew of other capabilities .
iOS 10 also turnedMessages into a platformwith GIFs , thorn , Apple Music integration , and an iMessage App Store using texts to send money via Venmo , play games like Words with admirer , and share sportsman scores through ESPN . iOS 10 was a huge step forward for Apple .
iPhone 6 glitches
The iPhone 6 and 6s were harass with problems in 2016 . Toward the end of the class , Apple eventually come up to a wad of bombardment complaint about iPhone 6s models . First the caller said it was limited to a “ small bit ” of iPhones bring on between September and October of 2015 , but then acknowledge the problems were more far-flung than initally cerebrate . The company launched a battery replacement platform .
Apple ’s public press loss about the issue have all been in Chinese , but bear upon American iPhone owners can take advantage of the destitute battery replacement , too.iOS 10.2 includes a diagnostic toolthat will facilitate Apple see out exacty why its batteries are randomly shutting down .
The iPhone 6s assault and battery problems surfaced just after Apple call atouchscreen bug in the 6 and 6 Plus , dub “ Touch Disease . ” Earlier in the yr , Apple fix yet another hemipterous insect , “ Error 53 , ” which caused Touch ID to betray .
