8 New Apple Products to Expect This Year

Less than four-months into the 2018 calendar year, and already Apple has delivered a variety of exciting and promising new devices and accessories, including a refreshed education-centric iPad model boasting Apple Pencil and Crayon support, its highly-acclaimed but slightly overpriced HomePod Siri-speaker, and more.

Considering the current slate of rumors, with at least two major events including the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), still on the radar for the remainder of 2018, we can say with near certainty that there’s still plenty of exciting new Apple products in store for the year ahead. Use the right arrow to learn more about 8 products Apple is expected to release in the remaining eight-months of 2018.

8 Three Powerful New iPhones 

According to multiple reliable reports, Apple is expected to release three new iPhone models sometime during its usual September-October timeframe. Not only are these upcoming iPhones slated to represent the company’s most ambitious upgrades in the last several years, potentially spawning what some analysts have referred to as a supercycle of upgrades, but they’ll also embody the boldest, most radically-redesigned, and technologically advanced iPhone offerings in years.

Thanks to multiple analyst reports, including from the notably accurate Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is planning three iPhone X-styled handsets including:

• 5.8-inch iPhone X replacement
• 6.5-inch OLED-equipped iPhone X Plus
• Mid-range 6.1-inch iPhone model with a standard LCD display

All of which will feature TrueDepth camera systems, Face ID technology, and edge-to-edge form-factors doing away with the iconic iOS Home button.

7 New iPad Pro

Apple released its latest (10.5- and 12.9-inch) iPad Pro models at last year’s WWDC event in June and we currently have reason to believe, based on analyst predictions, that at least one of those iPad Pro models will be dramatically refreshed at this year’s WWDC event, slated for the same first week of June, 2018.

Among the most notable features anticipated of the upcoming model will be a top-to-bottom redesign, bringing its aesthetics more in line with that of the iPhone X — including a nearly edge-to-edge display and no Home button.

It’s not clear whether this display itself will increase in size, or whether Apple simply plans to shrink the chassis down a bit to render those aesthetics. But according to current rumors spearheaded by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the next-generation iPad Pro will not only feature a TrueDepth camera and Face ID technology, but a wealth of internal component upgrades including an Octa-core A11X SoC, a dedicated neural engine for advanced A.I. and augmented reality tasks, and much more.

In the event we don’t end up seeing this device launch at WWDC in June, other rumors have speculated that it’s possible a late-fall 2018 release is imminent.

6 AirPower

AirPower is one of Apple’s worst, best-kept secrets in years. AirPower allows users to juice-up three compatible Apple devices side-by-side and was announced during last fall’s iPhone unveiling event. Despite the company’s promise of an “early-2018” release, here we are rolling into mid-April without so much as a clue about when AirPower will be released.

Will it arrive tomorrow, next week, or maybe even next month? There’s currently no indication — and neither do we know how much it will cost, though some analysts have speculated it could potentially run somewhere between $150 and $200 given its advanced and proprietary charging capabilities.

Still, we’re left to wait and wonder for the time being, even though iPhone 8 and iPhone X users have plenty of other, more affordable ways to wirelessly charge their devices.

5 Apple Watch Series 4

Apple has released a refreshed Apple Watch device every year for the past several years, and while the rumors of an upcoming Apple Watch Series 4 are scant at this time, there’s still plenty of buzz about next-generation Apple Watch enhancements circulating in the rumor mill — leading us to believe we could see a brand-new model touch down sometime this fall alongside those swanky new iPhones.

Currently, Apple is rumored to be exploring microLED display technology for an upcoming Apple Watch display, and the company has been working on a variety of medical initiatives (including the development of advanced, FDA-approved hardware) some of which may see its way into an upcoming wearable device like the Apple Watch.

Other, more ambitious rumors have pointed to a redesigned Apple Watch featuring an even larger OLED display and a possible aesthetic redesign. This is also plausible given that we’ve seen at least three generations of the wearable boasting the same fundamental design hues, already, and that Apple has historically revamped the aesthetics of its most popular devices (like iPhone and iPad) with every three or four passing generations. 

4 Next-Gen AirPods

While nothing is set-in-stone at present, at least one credible report has hinted that Apple could release an updated pair of AirPods sometime during the second-half of 2018. KGI Securities Ming-Chi Kuo previously speculated that Apple’s next-generation AirPod wireless earbuds could boast “a smaller quartz component” in relation to the current AirPods, along with upgraded internals like a W2 chip, larger batteries, water resistance and better Bluetooth connectivity.

Apple is also slated to release a new inductive wireless charging case for its current AirPods alongside the aforementioned AirPower charging mat — allowing users to charge their truly wireless earbuds on the AirPower pad instead instead of via the Lightning-connected case.

3 New Macs

Apple released updates to its high-end MacBook Pro and iMac computers at least year’s WWDC event. And while it’s possible we could see refreshed machines launch at this year’s WWDC, too, it’s certainly not guaranteed.

Apple last refreshed its 21.5- and 27-inch iMacs back in 2015, prior to refreshing them at the 2017 WWDC event — so it’s possible we could see new models, but consider that possibility with a pinch of salt until further notice.

More likely, according to some rumors, Apple will unveil a new range of high-end Mac computers sometime in 2019, possibly being powered by the company’s own proprietary chips rather than Intel’s Core i-Series CPUs.

Other rumors, however, have hinted that Apple could release a budget-focused refresh of its popular MacBook Air, featuring updated internal components, alongside an insanely powerful new MacBook. And while a beastly, modular Mac Pro has been confirmed for 2018 several times before, that high-end machine is unfortunately not expected to arrive until 2019, according to the latest rumors.

2 New Software

As it has every year at WWDC, Apple is once again expected to introduce the next installments of its iOS and macOS operating systems in June — along with updates to watchOS and tvOS.

While we haven’t heard much of what to expect from the upcoming iOS 12, macOS 10.14, watchOS 5 and tvOS 12 updates, news previously spearheaded by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggested that Apple is at work putting the finishing touches on ‘Project Marzipan’ — an in-house initiative that will supposedly streamline iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS apps to operate fluidly and efficiently across the company’s range of devices.

We also know that iOS 12, specifically, will embody more of an under-the-hood update to iOS 11, bringing little in the way of new or otherwise groundbreaking new features but promising great enhancements in performance, speed, stability, security and app management.

? Wildcards: Mac mini, iPhone SE 2, and Apple Original Programming

While not guaranteed, or even hinted at slightly by any existing rumors, it’s possible we could see an update to Apple’s long-in-the-tooth Mac mini computer this year.

There’s currently no evidence suggesting we will, but Tim Cook, Apple’s soft-spoken CEO, has previously come out indicating that the Mac mini will be “an important part of the Mac product lineup going forward,” which is a tell-tale sign that one will arrive sooner or later.. It’s been nearly four-years since the Mac mini was last updated in October 2014, just for the record.. Click here to check out some amazing Mac mini concepts!

Another potential, but not guaranteed, product we could see in 2018 is a second-generation iPhone SE 2. Currently, there are very few hints suggesting this will be the case, but it was previously reported that Apple may be working on a revamped iPhone SE device at its new manufacturing facility in Bangalore, India.

If this ends up being the case, we could see the device be announced either at WWDC or alongside the other new iPhone models this fall, potentially featuring an upgraded A10 SoC, new camera hardware and more.

Last but not least, while there’s no guarantee, we could also potentially see the first-fruits of Apple’s Original TV programming productions arrive sometime this fall. While the company is currently at work on close to a dozen different series and programs, including dramas, comedies, thrillers, and even animated musicals, it’s unclear exactly when they’ll begin rolling out. Current rumors suggest that an early-2019 debut is likely for most of these new programs, but it’s also possible that Apple could decide to release them on a first to fruition basis, instead of all at once.