Well, here we are. It’s the last day of the year. So like every other tech site out there, it’s time to reflect on what the year in tech was like. Here is my End of the Year Apple review.
Apple – A
The company itself gets a high score. I feel like while the company had some slip-ups last year, and some notable missteps this year, what it put out was some of the best stuff in a long time.
iOS 12, macOS 10.14, new iPhones, refreshed MacBook Air, Mac Mini, new Apple Watch, new iPads, new iPad Pros, refreshed MacBook Pros were all shipped this year. That’s a lot to ship in one year.
The stock price hit a high point this summer, making Apple a billion dollar company. It has recently dropped like concrete boots in water, but I know that it will rise again eventually.
With maybe the exception of the MacBook Air, every product this year seemed to really fix a problem or push forward something with the product. The MacBook Air is only slightly a let down because of the price per specs. It is still a really great machine, if not a little more costly than we were anticipating.
What’s missing? – A
Despite everything that was released this year, there were some things that never made it out.
I’m looking at you AirPower.
Lots of ink has been spilled about AirPower and it’s absences this year. Last year, it was announced to be coming this year. Every Apple event came with anticipation that something would be coming on the AirPower front, but Apple hasn’t said anything.
It’s hard to figure what is happening with AirPower, but I’m keeping my hopes up that we will see it in 2019.
Rumors most of the year have said that new AirPods are coming with wireless charging for the case. I would think if Apple is still building this into the updated AirPods, I would think that AirPower will still be coming. AirPods are just another example of something that was rumored but never came to fruition.
Hopefully, they will be coming early in 2019, since I’ve been waiting since early 2018 to replace the pair that I lost.
The iMac and iMac Pro also didn’t see any upgrades this year. I mentioned the other day what are some of the things I’d like to see in a new iMac, but I doubt any of it will be coming to a new model in 2019. I’d imagine that new iMacs and iMac pros will be coming in early 2019 since Apple hasn’t updated the chips inside the iMac to the latest Intel chips, which I believe are already ready.
Finally, the 12-inch MacBook didn’t see any type of upgrade either. I wonder what 2019 has in-store for the MacBook? Could Apple be holding out on updating the MacBook because they are working at getting an A12x chip inside it? I doubt it’s coming this year, but sometime down the road.
It would be nice of Apple to upgrade the MacBook but I’m not sure what they would upgrade to make it worthwhile compared to the MacBook Air.
Events – B
Apple held four events this year. Without really grading each of them, I’m going to give them a group grade of B.
The first event of the year underwhelmed with the iPad announcement and not much else. While it was nice to get a spring event, I don’t think that the entire event wasn’t really warranted. Maybe if they had unveiled AirPower or something else at the event, it would have been better.
WWDC came and it was fairly exciting. We got a glimpse of what was to come later in the year, and the stress of the event seemed to be on reliability and speed. This was almost like the “Snow Leopard” upgrade people wanted. There wasn’t any hardware announced, but the software was looking good. The beta coming out so soon and so strong after gave us something to be excited about after the event.
The iPhone Event in August was underwhelming. While there were new phones and watches announced, there wasn’t anything to get too excited about.
Finally, Apple finished the year with another event in October. This was, for me, the most exciting event of the year. There was new iPad Pros, New MacBook Airs, and Mac Minis. Better than anything, most of the stuff was ready to go by the next week.
At the events, Apple brought new people on stage, decreasing the amount of time an older white male was on stage. I liked meeting these new people, but really they need to be on stage a few more times before I even remember who they are. Still, I like the progress and realization that Apple brings by showcasing these new people.
Products – A
I’ve already listed the products above, but I don’t feel like Apple released any kind of
There’s many clamoring about the reported decrease in iPhone sales this year, but that happens every year and then Apple reports record numbers. I think this crop of iPhones are the best iPhones that Apple has ever released. The iPhone XR is a phone that does make compromises from the XS and XS Max, but not the type of compromises that limit a product.
The XR is my pick of the year for phones for most people, and I expect it to sell very well all year long. On the other hand, I love my iPhone XS Max. It is my favorite phone ever.
The iPad Pros are the future of computing. The only thing really holding back the iPad right now is the software, but I think it will have to catch up to the hardware now. I’m excited about what the future of the iPad is.
The Mac might have felt like a slow year, and it was software-wise, but Apple updated many Mac lines this year. Some that had languished for years (Air and Mini). They also gave us a sneak peek at what to expect this coming year.
While the iOS apps that were brought to the Mac this year aren’t the best, it does show us that things are going to pick up this year. Apple will be pushing to have iOS apps move over to Mac. I think this could bring a shot of excitement to the Mac that hasn’t been there for a while. It could also help bridge the gap between powerful Mac apps and simple iOS apps.
Wrap up
It’s been a great year for Apple this year. They’ve four events and updated so many product and product lines. But there have been some stumbles. The lack of AirPower and iMac updates didn’t really hurt Apple this year, but those waiting on updates had to keep waiting.
I updated more pieces of hardware than ever before myself. I bought a new HomePod, iPhone XS Max, 44mm Apple Watch, and 11-inch iPad Pro. At two points, I owned MacBook Airs but I couldn’t justify keeping it with all the other hardware I bought. So it was a good year for me.
What did you think of Apple’s year? Did you get everything you wanted? What products did you love and hate?