This year was somewhat uncharacteristic for Apple in terms of product announcements, as the company unveiled or preannounced a number of new devices that didn't actually ship in 2017. Rather than needing to rely on rumors or guesswork, we can tell you with a greater degree of certainty that these products are officially on the horizon from Apple.
With the Series 3 and watchOS 4, Apple continued to push the Apple Watch steadily forward in 2017, above all making the important leap of adding LTE cellular.
In an effort to grow services revenue, in 2017 Apple released the Apple TV 4K to support higher resolution televisions, and started investing heavily in video programming for the future.
Apple's iPad lineup got bigger and more expensive than ever in 2017, with the introduction of new high-end Pro models. But the company also pivoted and introduced a budget-priced 9.7-inch model that marks the most affordable entry price for an iPad ever. The combination helped sales return to long-awaited growth.
At the start of 2017, it was thought that Apple was falling behind other companies in developing virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) related technologies in its products. By the end of the year, Apple has taken small steps towards establishing itself in the VR industry, but it has made great strides in the field of AR, with ARKit being the main driver for its progress.
After years of no updates to Apple's "Pro" desktop line, the company uncharacteristically made some public statements in April about a forthcoming line refresh, which led to the iMac Pro's release in December. But, the remarks made may or may not ultimately lead to what Apple fans want to see.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, Apple released the iPhone X — that's pronounced "ten," as the company is eager to point out. While it may not be an earth-shaking revelation, it's an important signpost for where Apple plans to be 10 years from now — assuming we're even still using smartphones in 2027.
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Neil Hughes
Roger Fingas
Mike Wuerthele
Malcolm Owen
