apple gurman 2022 preview
6 months ago
Published January 2, 2022 by

Mark Gurman: Here’s what Apple has in store for ’22

From Gurman’s “Power On” newsletter, posted Sunday to Bloomberg.com subscribers:

By revenue, 2021 was the most successful year in Apple’s history. But while its product lineup had some solid additions—namely the new MacBook Pro—it wasn’t a smash hit year of introductions…

This year should be a lot stronger. The company has a bevy of new pro Macs in the works based on the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips that are already inside the MacBook Pro. That includes a smaller Mac Pro with up to 40 CPU cores and 128 graphics cores, a new Mac mini and a large-screened iMac Pro. I’d expect Apple to finish its transition to its own silicon from Intel chips as early as June at WWDC 2022.

Also look out for the biggest MacBook Air redesign in the product’s history, an updated entry-level MacBook Pro, and a new iPad Pro with wireless charging. Given that the performance of the iPad Pro is already so strong, and that the M2 chip is still a bit far away from launch, I wonder if Apple will stick with the M1 or wait for the M2.

Speaking of Macs and iPads, I’m hoping Apple’s next external monitor—destined to be about half the price of the Pro Display XDR—launches in the coming year.

In terms of phones and watches, look for a 5G version of the iPhone SE in the first half of the year, along with a revamped iPhone 14 range with a hole-punch-sized notch in the fall. Also in the works are three new Apple Watches: a new SE, a Series 8 and a rugged version aimed at extreme-sports enthusiasts…

The holy grail for 2022, of course, will be if Apple announces its first virtual reality headset (with some AR features), codenamed N301, and its accompanying rOS, codenamed Oak. But the timeline for that product has slipped before. Apple originally targeted 2020, and then WWDC 2021 and then WWDC 2022 for a debut. Stay tuned.

My take: He many get it all right, but as Jason Snell reminded us, Gurman is a good reporter with good sources.

12 Comments

  1. Daniel Epstein said:
    Sentence after My take needs editing. Happy New Year!

    2
    January 2, 2022
  2. David Emery said:
    I’ve been using Macs since ’85. In that time, I’d rank 3 machines I owned as Major Classics, the SE, the II CX/CI, and the Ti PowerBook. I think my new 16″ M1 Max is likely to be the 4th. So producing a -once in a decade- machine puts 2021 in the “smash hits” category for the Mac.

    2
    January 2, 2022
    • Robert Paul Leitao said:
      David: I’d go with the SE/30 (added an external monitor for accounting work), the Mac IIci and the “TiBook.” Of course, the original Bondi Blue iMac was an amazing computer it its time and an absolute “game changer.”

      2
      January 2, 2022
  3. Horace Dediu said:
    The goodness of his sources is measured by their willingness to violate the contracts they signed.

    15
    January 2, 2022
    • Jonny T said:
      Well reminded Horace – lest the world falls further into its hole of sleaze and muck.

      1
      January 2, 2022
  4. Fred Stein said:
    Happy New Year. It sure looks like Apple will keep making us customers and investors happy.

    Now, about the M2 launch “still a bit far away”… Why? Are they waiting for 3nm process from TSM? Are they going for even higher high-end performance or for game-changing lower power consumption needed for a headset device?

    1
    January 2, 2022
  5. Horace Dediu said:
    The biggest new product introduction of 2021 is, of course, AirTag. Delivery times still running at 2 weeks. It changes everything.

    9
    January 2, 2022
    • David Emery said:
      I’m surprised you say that. Could you elaborate on how ‘it changes everything?’

      1
      January 2, 2022
      • Horace Dediu said:
        Until now the iPhone has spoken to its owners. From now everything will speak to the iPhone.

        2
        January 3, 2022
        • David Emery said:
          Got it! Not quite sure I agree with you on the magnitude of the change, but it’s certainly a significant change!

          0
          January 3, 2022
  6. bas flik said:
    happy new year! i would like to know how succesful airtags are. 2 weeks delivery looks good. my target of 225 apr 2022 stays. a bit ambitious. i still see street under estimation of iphone sales.

    1
    January 2, 2022
  7. Robert Paul Leitao said:
    I view things differently. What Mr. Gurman details are parts or components of Apple’s continuing success. We have been just a bit busy over the past two years contending with a once-a-century crisis and looking at Apple’s results, the company was front and center with the products the world needed to communicate and conduct commerce. Apple will deliver what it delivers in 2022. I’m looking at 2025 and beyond. Guess what? Apple will continue to deliver impactful products and services that will be relevant and transformative in our digital age. “Holy Grail”? Seriously? Nah. It’s one more component of an evolving success story.

    9
    January 2, 2022

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