Here’s Everything We’re Expecting to See From Apple in 2020

A New Year is upon us — a new decade in fact — and with it we’re expecting some pretty amazing things to come from Apple, both in 2020 itself, and in the new decade beyond.

It’s hard to believe that ten years ago, we were still sporting the iPhone 3GS, and even the iPad was merely a glimmer in the rumour mill. 2010 was a big year for Apple — it saw the release of the iPad in April, along with the iPhone 4 which introduced FaceTime, the first iPod touch with front- and rear-facing cameras, and the second-generation Apple TV, which began the redefinition of Apple’s living room strategy that would eventually culminate in Apple TV+ at the end of the decade. 2010 was also the year that iOS 4 was released, which was the “coming of age” of Apple’s mobile operating system, which prior to that had been called “iPhone Software” and hadn’t even included things like basic multitasking, custom wallpapers, and app folders. This was also the year that Apple entered a new service area with its release of iBooks.

Meanwhile, the company broke sales of 125 million iOS devices in 2010, only three years after the original iPhone was released, selling 40 million iPhones that year alone, and increased its sales and profits over 50 percent from the previous year. Apple’s then-CFO Peter Oppenheimer called it a “monumental year for Apple.”

What’s Coming in 2020

However, by all reports, we’re expecting 2020 to be even more “monumental” as Apple continues its big push into services and takes the market by storm with its first 5G iPhone.

Firstly, Apple’s “iPhone 12” (although of course nobody’s totally sure that’s what Apple will call it) sounds by all estimations like it’s going to be an awesome new iPhone to usher in the new decade. Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro already broke new ground with its advanced triple-lens camera system, amazing battery life, ultrafast Wi-Fi 6 support, and “visually indistinguishable from perfect” display — and even its cool Midnight Green colour was a new direction for Apple, but by all estimates the company has a lot more up its sleeve.

In the iPhone 11 alone, there are features lurking just beneath the surface that haven’t reached their full potential yet. Apple’s new U1 chip does little more than help people AirDrop right now, but it’s expected to do bigger things, including offering up support for indoor navigation in places like airports, stadiums, and shopping centres, as well as driving Apple’s new AirTags to offer extremely precise object tracking. All of the pieces for this are already in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, so it’s just a matter of enabling them, but 2020 will likely be the year we see it start to come to fruition. We also heard that two-way wireless charging didn’t quite make it into the iPhone 11 last year, so it seems like a given for the iPhone 12.

Of course, there’s a lot more new stuff that’s coming in the iPhone 12 too. It’s almost certainly going to offer 5G support — likely across almost the entire lineup — and we’ve already seen mockups of at least one possible new design that also suggests that support for the Apple Pencil could finally be coming as well. It’s also a throwback to the iPhone 4 design that’s more in line with Apple’s current iPad Pros, which will make for a small but refreshing change from the past four years of more rounded edges.

There’s a lot more that could be coming too, including at least one model with in-display Touch ID, plus better OLED displays and higher refresh rates on the higher-end “Pro” models, and a new time of flight 3D laser camera system that could allow for much more advanced photography and augmented reality applications, along with advanced image stabilization technology.

Five or Even Six New iPhones?

While the most recent mockup actually threw some cold water on rumours that Apple might offer new sizes, this still can’t be ruled out entirely, since some recent reliable reports have indicated that Apple could actually launch five new iPhone models this year (some have even suggested six), so there’s still room for alternative sizes, and we don’t even know if the mockup is final or merely a prototype design that’s simply under consideration.

Among the five new iPhones this year, however, we’re also expecting to see the spiritual successor to the much-loved iPhone SE. More recent reports have dubbed this the “iPhone 9” which makes sense since every rumour we’ve heard suggests that it’s going to be a spec upgrade to the iPhone 8 (which Apple still sells), bringing it up to a current processor (likely the same A13 found in Apple’s iPhone 11), and possibly bumping a few other specs. This is in line with what Apple did with the original iPhone SE, which was basically just an iPhone 5s with a new CPU. The “iPhone 9” would most likely arrive in a few months, and analysts expect it to start at $399. The rest of Apple’s iPhone lineup still appears to be slated for a more typical fall release.

What Else Does 2020 Hold?

Of course, there’s more to Apple’s product lineup than the iPhone, and it stands to reason that we’ll see the other usual product updates.

An Apple Watch Series 6 seems like a given, since Apple has updated its little wristband computer like clockwork each year, and although we haven’t heard much about what is in store for the next-generation wearable, it will probably continue to be somewhat iterative, adding more health monitoring features like sleep tracking, along with faster performance and better wireless connectivity. There have also been rumours of even better water resistance, which could make the new model more suitable for water sports activities like scuba diving and water skiing.

In the meantime, recent reports have also suggested that Apple could introduce its first (PRODUCT)RED Apple Watch, an red-encased aluminum version of the current Series 5 that’s unlikely to add any features beyond the new finish.

Many expected to see Apple release a new iPad Pro last fall, since that’s been a traditional time for the company to roll out its iPads. However, it looks like the Pro models may have moved to an 18-month release cycle. While the 2018 iPad Pro update came in the fall, the models prior to that arrived at WWDC in the spring of 2017. Hence it makes sense to see a spring release for the next-generation iPad Pro on the books this year. While the update will likely be mostly incremental — we’re not expecting any big design changes — it looks like Apple may add a triple-lens camera, bringing the iPhone 11 Pro photography capabilities to its Pro tablets. It would be a big jump for iPad photography, but’s also one that’s long overdue.

The rest of Apple’s iPad lineup is harder to predict. We’ve heard few rumours of anything beyond the iPad Pro refresh. Apple could have an iPad mini and iPad Air update in the works for this spring, or it could be moving all of its iPads over to a longer release cycle. With the exception of the fifth- and sixth-generation iPads, which were released a year apart in early 2017 and early 2018, it’s actually been quite a while since Apple has released iPads on a consistent annual basis.

On the other hand, Apple has upped its game with its MacBook Pros over the past couple of years, refreshing them even more often than once a year. Last year already saw refreshed 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros, the latter of which only lasted six months before it was replaced with the new 16-inch MacBook Pro. Apple’s MacBook Air gained the True Tone display in a summer refresh that came only 10 months after they received a much bigger (and long overdue) update to Retina Displays in late 2018, and with this Apple also simplified its MacBook lineup by killing off the 12-inch MacBook, which had become somewhat of an oddball in the mix.

Both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro families will almost certainly be refreshed this year, and in the very least will see a move to Apple’s new scissor-switch keyboards, marking a final end to the era of the beleaguered butterfly keyboard. There are also reports that Apple could bring Mini-LED technology to at least some of its MacBooks, and possibly even the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

As for Apple’s other Macs, those are a big question mark right now. We’ve heard almost nothing about any of them. Refreshes during the year are always a possibility, but they’re likely to be minor spec bumps rather than revolutionary updates at this point, as almost everything Apple has in its Mac lineup is reasonably current.

Apple’s Services

Apple also began its big push into services last year with the release of Apple News+, Apple Arcade, and Apple TV+, and while these are new enough that Apple is mostly going to be holding course right now, there have been reports that its working on a services super bundle that could combine some or all of these services into a single monthly package.

There are some kinks to work out, of course, since Apple has to work with other stakeholders, and the music labels don’t seem entirely convinced yet, but it could help Apple to gain more subscribers for all of its services collectively, while also drawing users more closely into the Apple ecosystem and helping them take advantage of everything Apple is offering.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]