What’s next for the rest of the Apple year? The company introduced new iPhones (16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max) as well as new Apple Watch models (Series 10) in September, an iPad Mini 7 in October and three new Macs (iMac M4, MacBook) in November. Launched. Pro M4 and Mac Mini M4), the question arises whether fresh hardware will come from the company in December also. Or is it just software? A look into the crystal ball.
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What is still missing in terms of hardware that needs updating
Apple managed to update major products this fall. Three of the six Mac series now have the latest SoC version with the M4. It has happened before that new Apple computers were released in December. However, the rumor mongers have maintained silence on the matter for now. Apple is said to be planning to bring Mac Studio and Mac Pro workstations to M4 version – again with M4 Max and M4 Ultra (Mac Studio) and M4 Ultra (Mac Pro). However, this is expected to happen by mid-2025. The probable date for the WWDC 2025 developer conference is May or June, in the worst case, it may take even longer.
The MacBook Air M4 is expected to appear earlier, but no longer even in December: there is speculation that it will happen in the spring – around March or April. Apple has recently updated Mac accessory products that are often released in December. The Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard are finally no longer equipped with Lightning, but USB-C. No further technical changes took place. Apple did a similar thing in September with the AirPods Max, which were now also equipped with USB-C, but didn’t bring any other innovations. Apple has only revised the standard versions of the AirPods earbuds; New AirPods Pro models likely won’t arrive until 2025. Innovation in iPads is also not expected until spring – for example in the form of a new standard model or a new iPad Air. Chips.
but fresh software is coming
But what happens in December? Lots of fresh Apple software. iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 are expected to appear early in the month. Among other things, they bring – but not initially to EU users – the new Apple Image Generator for Apple Intelligence, additional AI functions like Visual Intelligence, improved camera controls on the iPhone 16 and several smaller innovations, such as “Where Is?” ,
Vision Pro users can look forward to VisionOS 2.2, which finally offers widescreen and panorama modes for the virtual Mac desktop in Glass, announced over the summer. There is also hope for CarPlay 2.0, which has been postponed several times, since Apple announced that the first cars with expanded vehicle integration should appear in 2024.
(B.Sc.)
