Apple hasn’t introduced anything radically new since the original iPad almost two years ago, and even that was viewed by many at the time as simply a “bigger iPod touch.” While Cupertino continues to incrementally advance the Mac and its iOS platforms, the recent release of the iPhone 4S disappointed many who were looking for something totally new and exciting. Which got us thinking: What will Apple think of next?
Of course, our handful of answers are pure speculation at best, but some have been prognosticated by analysts for months or even years. Apple’s shift away from being known as “Apple Computer” to simply “Apple Inc.” was a clear sign that the company planned to expand beyond its historical presence in the PC market -- and we fully expect that to continue.
So without further ado, here’s a few ideas we think Apple could have on the boards or even be toying with prototypes for. Just remember, you heard them here first!
More than five years ago, Apple previewed something called “iTV” at a press conference, which then became the first-generation Apple TV by the time the company started taking preorders on January 9, 2007 at Macworld Expo. That has led many to speculate that the company may resurrect the iTV name when it finally launches its long-rumored television set, presumably a 50-inch (or larger) HDTV with all the functionality of the existing second-generation Apple TV built in -- and most likely, iOS apps will come along for the ride. (After all, they can’t call it “Apple TV”… can they?)
Official Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson poured fuel on that fire of speculation with the revelation that Jobs had “nailed” the interface for an Apple television, which many believe will be blessed with the powers of Siri, the voice-activated assistant technology introduced with the iPhone 4S. We may have to wait until this time next year to see the fruits of Apple’s labor (and even longer -- 2013 -- to presumably own one), but according to The New York Times, “it’s not a matter of it, it’s a matter of when.”
No, we don’t think Apple is about to get into the automobile industry -- however, they could very easily uproot Microsoft’s flawed SYNC technology by partnering with one or more of the big automakers in Detroit, or countless others around the world. The idea would be to bring iOS technology into the dashboard, with the capability to run key apps from the App Store and even be able to add and update others over a 3G connection.
Sure, the idea isn’t revolutionary since many other companies are already attempting it, but the same could be said for every other market that Apple has entered and subsequently disrupted. The idea is to be first, it’s to be the best, after all. Bottom line, touchscreen and voice-activated technology in automobiles still has a long way to go, and Apple is clearly poised to take advantage of their rivals’ weaknesses yet again.
Many longtime Macintosh veterans fear Apple is planning to kill off the Mac one day soon, presumably replacing it with something more touch-friendly that would run a souped-up version of iOS. Yeah, yeah, we know -- isn’t that what OS X Lion already is? Sort of, since iOS is essentially a trimmed-down version of Mac OS X to begin with. But at its heart, OS X Lion is still the same basic experience Mac users have enjoyed since 1984, which is like a lifetime in computer years.
Of course, Apple has already positioned iOS 5 as the first step toward a “post-PC era,” assuming that many of us can get by just fine without sitting at a desk using a desktop or even a laptop computer. So, we predict that sometime within the next few years, Apple will unleash The Next Big Thing: The predecessor to the Macintosh. We have no clue what it would be called, how it will work or what it might look like, but it’s safe to say that the Mac can’t live on forever -- as much as many of us might wish it could. (Feel free to get creative in the comments about what MacLife.com might be called when that day arrives…)
With all due respect to the iPod accessory maker of the same name, at some point in the future we foresee Apple expanding into other areas of interest throughout the home that could sorely use it. Siri-based home automation is a given, but Apple technology could also be embedded into many of the products we use every day -- toasters, refrigerators, washers and dryers, coffee makers, microwave and traditional ovens, the sky’s the limit.
While we’re having a hard time picturing being able to drive over to the Apple Store to pick up a new Apple-branded coffee maker, this could be one area where new CEO Tim Cook could really make his mark, by partnering with a company such as Cusinart who’s already known for doing great work in the kitchen. After all, Steve Jobs famously used Cusinart products as inspiration for the design curves of the original Macintosh, so it’s not a totally absurd notion…
There are plenty of low-cost NAS (network-attached storage) boxes available from a wide range of companies, but Apple is not one of them. Sure, the company produces the Time Capsule for doing wireless backups from your networked Mac computers, but there’s currently no easy way to share media stored on such a device without the computer running iTunes.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Apple needs to create a network-attached storage box that will blow the market wide open. It can connect with multiple users’ desktop iTunes and even iOS devices, serving up movies, TV shows, music, podcasts and much more, throughout the home and even remotely via 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi connections. Companies like Pogoplug have been slugging away at this idea for years but no one has quite found the perfect way to do it. Sound familiar?
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
(Images courtesy Guilherme M. Schasiepen, BresciaDomani.net, Uncyclomedia Commons, Fantom-XP)
Goldie07
February 21, 2012 at 9:50pm
TV ? No thank you. I don't want Apple experimenting on my wallet while they go through three or 4 iterations of their TV before they get it right. And what type of panel will they use?
jasonbaum
February 21, 2012 at 9:24pm
I think people are underestimating the fight for the living room. Look at the penetration of television sets in the US vs. any other device. I would imagine the size of the market dwarfs all other devices combined. Couple the market size with the opportunity to loosen the chokehold cable providers have. Now add in exclusive content provision into the model. Considering Microsoft's multiple failed attempts to take ownership of the last bastion of old school media delivery, it seems pretty obvious there are huge bucks here to be had.
I agree completely with universe1fry, Apple looks at existing technologies and reinvents them as game changers that renders the competitive landscape irrelevant. For old school television viewing, I'd argue the remote is a throwback to a previous century in desperate need of artificial intelligence, anticipating what you want to watch by your habits, making recommendations and I hope, buttonless. But that's just a band-aid. The real opportunity is the convergence of television and computing to provide truly interactive experiences that allow customized viewing to such an extent that our current time-shifting abilities will feel as primitive as the transition from hand-cranked starters on horseless carriages to key-initiated ignition.
mrshev
November 21, 2011 at 11:50am
I think some of these theories are a little 'out there.'
iTV is probably the one with the most legs but I wonder what kind of price they're going to be charging for what is essentially a computer monitor and as someone has rightly said the service providers are not going to give up content provision easily.
iCar would essentially make Apple a Microsoft - providing software for hardware they cannot control. Also, it would need to be for an international car producer with convergent brand values and caché - Audi anyone? I cannot see Apple sticking an iPad in a Chrysler - it ain't gonna happen.
iHome - just, no. iServe - I think iCloud is a bit of a hamfisted first go at this.
I do think that computing has reached a semi plateau (until the new 3D intel chips ship) and we are seeing a bottlenecking in what computers can do in our everyday life. I wonder if the next breakthrough is going to be how we compute - if an iPad (and iPhone, and iTV) are relegated to input devices and our 'real' computer is sat at home running the show. I dunno, I'm just riffin'!
Good piece though. Thought provoking.
iDanonX
November 18, 2011 at 12:46pm
I don't know about you guys but I think the iTV is a great idea. Considering the thunderbolt already looks amazing for movies and gaming and stuff, why not make it even bigger?.. sure its going to be a huge money waster, but don't we pay for Apple quality? The Siri integration would be genius. But I do disagree with the whole "iComputer". Why kill something off that is one of Apple's revolutionary products? If you're gonna get rid of something kill off the Air.
Why would we need iCar?.. thats what Siri is for. Plug your iPhone in and you're good to go.
TrainAss
November 15, 2011 at 3:29pm
Curious, what exactly is "flawed" with Sync? I have it in my Fusion and have no issues with it. It connects to my phone just fine, it plays all the music on the HDD I've installed, voice commands work great. Phone calls are clear, it connects automatically once my phone is within range.
What do you find is flawed with it, that Apple could "improve" upon? Apps? Ya, 'cause you know, people need MORE distractions while driving. 3G? Hardly. With everyone having smartphones these days, just pair your phone to the car, and you're done. Touchscreen display? Same as the apps bit. We need less distractions.
Geoduck
November 15, 2011 at 2:23pm
iComputer
"So, we predict that sometime within the next few years, Apple will unleash The Next Big Thing: The predecessor to the Macintosh."
Do you mean the SUCCESSOR to the Macintosh? The Apple II was the predecessor.
I can see this. It's disturbingly apparent that Apple is pulling away from the high end, and increasingly looking like normal computing is low priority as well. The FinalCut X fiasco, the way the Mac Pro is languishing without a badly needed update, dropping Computer from the name, hints are all around. I could even see Apple dropping the Macintosh all together to concentrate on more profitable lines, phones and pads. I really don't know what I would do then.iTV
I just don't see it. We have TVs. Apple can't improve the interface that much. Most importantly what Apple could bring to the game, online content via an iTunes-like service is DOA. The cable companies have made it explicitly clear they will throttle broadband any time it appears likely to threaten their Cable TV cash cow. Simply ain't gonna happen.iServe
I like the idea. Sure iCloud is fine for some things but there would need to be a quantum level improvement in both remote storage costs and broadband speeds for me to want to be regularly backing up my 250Gb of data to the cloud. I have a NAS on my local network and even over Cat-5e it takes 10 minutes for TimeMachine to do an incremental. Over the cloud it would be both inefficient and unworkable. The other problem with the cloud for everything is that many people are not in an area where they have connection all the time. IT's fine in the bay area but for people here in rural Canada, or in the flyover states in the US it's hit and miss.
universe1fry
November 15, 2011 at 4:46pm
Other nerds, take a note: THIS is how you pick apart an article. Insightful, grammatically sound, and not terrible. Well done, hoser.
universe1fry
November 14, 2011 at 8:50pm
(Generic nerd whining and nitpicking).
No, they don't have a NETWORKED-ATTACHED storage box. They have iCloud, which, last time I checked, ISN'T NETWORKED ATTACHED, IT"S THE GD CLOUD! The difference is that one is online only. With a network-attached storage box you are required to be online, because offline it is still a box of storage ATTACHED to your NETWORK (see what I did there? That's called reversed structure. Go rhetoric!).
And yeah, an iTV wouldn't be a 100% new idea; TVs already exist. Apple isn't really in the business of making things never before seen; there were touchscreens and cell phones before the iPhone, there were computers before Macs, there were online stores wherein one could pay for music and applications and such before iTunes. (very nearly) EVERYTHING is built off of something else. Technological advancement isn't one Genesis after another, it's an evolving process; from time to time something will radically depart, but those times are rarer and rarer.
And crikey, "bigger screen am good" isn't a new advancement. Does missing that extra 14.2% REALLY make a difference in your usage? We're supposed to be geeks up in this piece; leave the "bigger is better" attitude for the guys who drive needlessly big-ass trucks and rev their engines constantly.
Y'all are really good at complaining about free media. I'm better at complaining about your complaining.
knurd
November 14, 2011 at 7:49pm
How about just releasing an iPhone that can compete with the other 4"+ phones out there. I'm not a droid fan but it's seriously a few steps ahead of Apple. So disappointing. Also, what about console gaming? They should team up with Sega. Console system + AppStore = iHome or whatever.
bazaarsoft
November 14, 2011 at 4:54pm
"Apple needs to create a network-attached storage box"
It already has. It's called iCloud. People don't want to mess with local storage, backups, etc. Everything in the cloud. Next up: your video content in iTunes.
Rich364
November 14, 2011 at 10:10am
Though I'd certainly add the iServe to a Wish List - I feel it's unlikely to the point that it shouldn't be included on this list as a possibility. Apple has demonstrated it's desire to maintain, organize and distribute our content for us... through the Cloud. Selling an iServe product would move away from that plan (it would be like them giving us more storage space in the AppleTV again). But hey - that's just my opinion (regardless of much I'd like an iServe for myself).
HERBSMAN441
November 14, 2011 at 10:04am
I don't see anything here that hasn't already been done. Still nothing radically new, or isn't some Apple version of a product that already exists.
