Apple has been the golden boy of the tech industry for many years. Consumers across the globe fell in love with the brand and every one of its latest products has been an overwhelming success.
In recent years, the company arguably changed the face of the music industry as well as sparking worldwide demand for a tablet computer. Profits soared – and it appeared as if no-one could stop it.
However, the next couple of years remain critical for the brand. Profits are down, Tim Cook’s leadership is being questioned and consumers and wondering what is going to be the next big thing. Here are five projects which could potentially shape Apple’s future.
iWatch
Although the release date, the price and many other details are being kept under wraps, it appears as if the iWatch will be Apple’s next big release.
Rumours suggest that the watch will have bluetooth technology allowing it to connect to the iPhone so that users can perform certain actions without having to get their phone out of their pockets or handbags.
There is talk that Apple is struggling to finalise the design, but this could well be the product that cements its place at the top of the tech mountain.
iOS
The latest version of the iPhone, iPod and iPad operating system will be a dramatic shift from previous iOS models. It has been hailed as the biggest iOS update since the iPhone was released.
Rumoured new features include a control centre that lets you control every important aspect of your phone from one screen, improved cloud connectivity that lets users share media between any iDevice and a whole load of new gesture controls.
The battle to regain the smartphone market
There was a time when Apple was dominating the smartphone market. In fact, the iPhone was arguably the device that kickstarted the smartphone revolution.
Since then though, Samsung has taken its crown. In the first quarter of 2013, Samsung sold 70.7 million smartphones (an annual improvement of 61 per cent) compared to Apple’s 37.4 million iPhones.
It may take more than a small update with iOS7 to wrestle this dominance away from the Japanese company. It will be interesting to see what’s up Apple’s sleeve.
Apple HDTV
As with most of its new products, details surrounding the new Apple HDTV are scarce. The main headline-grabbing rumour is that Apple is working on a feature where viewers can pay to have adverts completely removed from broadcasts. This money will reportedly go straight to the advertisers themselves. It’s certainly an interesting concept worth keeping an eye out for.
Marketing to the CIO
CIOs have more or less had Apple products thrust upon them, following the increasing popularity of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) schemes in the workplace. For now, it remains the tech provider of choice for consumers, even if not for the enterprise. This article makes a great argument for why Apple needs to make better friends with the IT department.
As you can see, there’s plenty to get excited about for the future at Apple. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.
