Gadget Reviews, Product News, Electronic Gadgets

 

CES has come to an end, and we’ve seen all of the Ultrabooks, the new TVs, the phones, the tablets, and the toys. We’ve seen what virtually every electronics-related company is currently working on, from Microsoft and Intel to Motorola and Samsung.

The only company that’s still a mystery is Apple. We don’t know what the company is up to, what its working on, and we haven’t seen any concrete hints of what’s to come. So what’s Apple going to do in 2012?

The answer? Nothing special. Apple is going to continue to do what Apple does best – release gorgeously designed high-quality devices that we’re all going to scramble to buy. There will be a new iPad. There will be a new iPhone. There will be a new Macbook Air/Pro. Just like there is every year.

Luckily for Apple, there wasn’t a single drool-worthy tablet at CES. While there were plenty of Android and Windows 8 tablets to see, they were all relatively unimpressive. No wow factor. Possibly the most news worthy tablet was Samsung’s little Galaxy Note tablet/phone hybrid. Cute, but I don’t see it selling any better than the Galaxy Tab. It’s like everyone has realized there’s no competing with the iPad and simply given up.

Of course, we haven’t really seen the Windows 8 tablets in action, and we haven’t heard anything from Amazon on what’s coming this year as far as Kindle Fire updates go. Still, Apple has nothing to worry about right now in terms of competition. They’re so far ahead of the pack that Amazon could give free Kindle Fires away and we’d still line up to buy our iPads. 2012 is not the year that the iPad is going to fall off of our radar.

That doesn’t mean that Apple’s going to unbutton its pants and relax on the couch with a beer for the rest of the year. The iPad 3 is going to be awesome because that’s just what Apple does – Apple products are always a step ahead, and Apple needs to continue being a step ahead to keep its edge.

The iPad 3 will have a doubled resolution, a better battery life, better cameras, Siri, more RAM, and a faster processor. It will be as much or more of an improvement than the iPad 2 was compared to the original iPad, and it will be released during the same timeframe. March or April. There won’t be a 7-inch iPad, but since the cost of components is always going down, a cheaper iPad 2 is a reasonable expectation.

What about an iTV? Smart TVs are all the rage right now, with Samsung showing off its new line-up complete with TV apps. Samsung’s director of audio-visual, Phillip Newton, poo-poohed Apple’s rumored iTV, claiming that it wouldn’t match Samsung’s offerings. A silly statement, because no one knows what Apple’s going to bring to the table yet. Maybe it’s going to take the market by storm like the iPhone and the iPad, or maybe it’s going to have a lukewarm reception like the Apple TV. Either way, Samsung’s got another year to strut around with its TVs, since we won’t be seeing an Apple-branded television set in 2012.  Why not? Because there’s been no inkling of it. No content deals. No leaks. No hints that its on its way at all. While we might hear about it this year, we won’t see it until 2013, if at all.

The iPhone 5 is a product that we will see this year, unlike the Apple iTV. No surprises there. Like the next generation iPad, the next iPhone will feature a faster A6 processor, more RAM, a better camera, a better battery, and likely, LTE support. It’s also due for a redesign, if it ends up being in line with previous releases. What will it look like? Thinner. Lighter. Bigger. Summer is the earliest we’d see it, but fall is probably more likely.

Apple’s Macbook Air and Macbook Pro are in for some major updates this year, with better displays (possibly retina) and ivy bridge processors, which come on the market in March. That means they’ll be ready for a summer update. Personally, I’m hoping for a 15” Macbook Air, which there have been some rumors about, but I’m not holding my breath for that one. The newly updated Macbooks will put this year’s Ultrabooks to shame. Like the iPhone 5 and the iPad, these are also due for a redesign.

Will we see another major iOS update? I think so. We’re going to see more cloud integration (a desktop-based iMessage, similar to AIM?), better GPS and mapping systems (and possibly a move away from Google Maps), and maybe, apps that are able to integrate with Siri, if Apple releases the API.

Apple’s first announcement is coming up in just a few days, and according to the invitations, it’s an something educational. It’s likely going to be the debut of a partnership with textbook companies, which is just the first of many content deals we may see Apple signing this year. Though we won’t see an iTV this year, we may see the company start to enter agreements with various content providers in preparation.

Sure, there’s some great stuff coming up, but really, Apple’s always got good stuff in the pipeline. We’re going to get our regularly scheduled product and software updates, like last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, and so on. Apple isn’t going to blow our minds in 2012, but its offerings are not going to disappoint either.

Via:Padgadget