The Apple Beat: Apple's year in Review

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Looking back at Apple’s 2016, it was hard to expect the company to match the frenetic pace of product releases from 2015. After all, the previous year saw the introduction of the Apple Watch, iPad Pro, the remixed Apple TV, new and improved iPhone 6s as well as major moves in the areas of car infotainment (Car Play), home automation (Home Kit), Health (Health Kit) and the inception of Apple Music. So, let's look back at what 2016 was all about.

Low key in comparison 

By comparison, 2016 feels rather low key for Apple in terms or product releases even if profits continued to rise. The company opted to revise and refresh its various product lines to stay the course.

The iPhone 7 wasn’t a Tock in the usual Tick-Tock pattern of releasing an iterative ’S’ model following a major revision. iPhone 7 was more like a Tick-Tock-Tock, while it brought water resistance, stereo speakers, improved cameras and a new Touch ID and Taptic Engine into the mix, the look and feel were reminiscent of the past two generations of iPhones. 

Apple received a lot of flak for removing the headphone jack (even if the iPhone 7 was just as thick as the iPhone 6). Phil Schiller’s “Courage,” comment as a response on why this very ubiquitous and useful port was deleted, drew the ire of many who felt the move premature and rather unfair for customers.

To their credit, Apple did provide various options out of the headphone jack debacle. A free dongle to connect old headphones, new lightning EarPods, and the AirPods which just started shipping out but are sold out everywhere.

Making noise by removing features

Apple would continue to remove familiar features from their MacBook Pro line which received a huge overhaul. While the new MacBook Pros made the workhorse portables thinner and lighter, they also did away with all the ports (MagSafe, SD Card, USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, HDMI-out) save for the, wait for it, headphone jack. Apple also retired the entire row of function keys. No other company can appear to add value by subtracting features.

Four general purpose USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports now serve to provide power and I/O but at the expense of additional adapters, which, are unsightly to say the least. But necessary if your need to connect anything from an iPhone 7, a USB thumb drive, a monitor, or another Mac. Realizing that this was a big, and in many sectors of their market, unwanted change, they discounted the price of most of their USB Type-C adaptors. 

Apple did add a new solid state trackpad (much larger, for gestures), a new flatter keyboard, much improved stereo speakers and a stunning new wide colour gamut Retina Display.

Touchbars and fallen Titans 

Apple did bring notable innovation to the MacBook Pros with the OLED TouchBar serving as a malleable collection of buttons that morph depending on what app you have open. Basically, an embedded iOS device, the TouchBar gives users far more options within reach while closing the gap for Apple non-touch displays. 

Apple’s ‘Project Titan,’ their much ballyhooed ‘Car’ project, was under scrutiny even if the company never formally announced they were creating a vehicle. Various high profile poaching, hiring’s and firings later, it seems that Apple’s desire to play in the electric or smart car future would be relegated to software and ecosystem solutions rather than a top-to-bottom car a la Tesla.

Seeing as many would-be competitors in the electric and autonomous driving car segment have either spun off (Google’s WayMo is one example), or have thrown in with traditional carmakers for more collaborative projects, it is hard to gauge where Apple will fit into what is becoming one of the most competitive sectors in high technology.

Apple’s Retail Stores are also reportedly going to undergo a refresh, this time with various design touches from Jony Ive in conjunction with Senior VP of Retail Angela Ahrendts. Apple also released the “Designed by Apple in California,” hardbound picture books which are only sold in a few US stores and which is a collection of stunning product photography of what seems to be the Golden Age of Apple Industrial Design.

Apple is transitioning towards becoming a services company. The App Store, iTunes, Apple Music, Apple Pay, AppleCare, brought in approximately $6.3 billion in 2016. Apple Music, which now also has video exclusives, like the 808 documentary on the famed Roland drum machine, and is reportedly appropriating ‘Carpool Karaoke,’ sans host James Corden for some reason. Apple Music now has 20 million paid subscribers which is half of what market leader has at 40 million paid users.

Recent reports that Apple’s put Mac hardware at the back burner as well as the reality that zero Mac desktops were introduced since October 2015 has a lot of Mac loyalists wondering whether there’s still a commitment to create industry leading desktops for consumers and pro creatives. Tim Cook did stress that Macs are important and that some new ones are in the roadmap, but it seems he singled out the iMac which leaves a big question mark on where the Mac Pro, and to a lesser extent, the Mac mini stand in Apple’s future.

Mac users, the struggle is real

Those complaining about Apple's current Mac lineup are not haters, they're lovers. They've spent 10+ years and 5+ figures on Macs.

— Jeff Johnson (@lapcatsoftware) October 29, 2016

There’s been audible furor, surprisingly from some of Apple’s oldest and most hardcore fans, that the lack of new Mac hardware is a letdown. As we close the year, Apple is now in a defensive position with competitors like Microsoft stating that “the MacBook Pro a “disappointment” and said more users than ever were switching to its Surface laptops.” Of course, as a longtime frenemy of Apple, who now makes its own hardware, Microsoft will use each and every opportunity to take digs at the company it once so desperately tried to emulate. What's changed is that Microsoft now also makes the 'whole widget' of hardware, software and ecosystems and, as Apple knows all too well, this tight integration has been a recipe of success and profit.

If there’s any company that can rally back and quell the rumblings it is Apple, but the company must move decisively and quickly. If reports that Mac products are being treated like the red headed step child at Apple, who is focusing more on bread and butter products like iPhone and iPad, then something needs to change.

Yes, Macs may only add up to 10 per cent of revenues, but the people who buy and use these products run the world of advertising, content creation, multimedia, programming, art, music, film and culture. Their influence cannot be underestimated. These have been Apple’s champions that have supported the company during its leanest times and leaving a door open for them to walk away in would be tragic.

2017 promises to be an exciting year for Apple. Expectations are higher than ever for a truly game changing re-imagining of the iPhone on its 10th year and Apple needs to seize every opportunity to continue their hot streak. I, for one, am interested to see where the focus of Apple will be in the coming year and how those decisions directly influence the rest of the technology sector’s trends.