Speculation: Apple Tech in 2012

Before I start with what's happening this year, I'd like to review what happened last year.  However, no one could possibly do a better job reviewing last year's tech stories than The Verge did a few weeks ago.  They covered everything except the death of Dennis Ritchie.  And let's be honest: you have no idea who that is.

On to 2012!

Apple iPad
The iPad 3 should drop in March or April, according to some sources.  Most rumors point to it having a higher resolution, Retina-Display-like screen and a faster processor (the A6) that might be quad-core.  The resolution is likely to double, giving the iPad a 2048 x 1536 resolution that would be better than full HD (1080p), but still not as good as an iPhone at 264 ppi (the iPhone's Retina Display is 330ppi).  However, since iPad is bigger than the iPhone and you hold it farther from your face, the resolution will be nearly as impressive.

The 3rd gen iPad could have some sort of 4G antenna, most likely LTE.  The terrible cameras will be upgraded, but I'm not sure whether the back camera will be as good as the iPhone 4S's back camera. PC World suggests the tablet may be thicker to accommodate new screen technology.  I think this is doubtful since, as they say in the article, "Apple products never get thicker, only thinner."  However, the addition of an LTE antenna has made several Android devices thicker (see: Galaxy Nexus), so if the iPad is a millimeter or so thicker, I'm betting that's the cause.

I haven't seen any tech outlets suggest this, but I'm sure it will have Siri.  It's a cool iPhone feature, the iPad will have the power to handle it (well, they all have the power to handle it, but that's another blog post), and it gives users another incentive to upgrade.

The price, of course, will be the same.  The old iPads will be discounted.  For some reason they're not selling the iPad 1 at the Apple Store (ignoring the Refurbished section), but I could see them selling the iPad 2 at a cheaper price, at least for a few weeks.  The cheapest iPad 1 dropped $100 when the iPad 2 came out.  Seems logical that the iPad 2 could drop $100 soon, too, making the iPad 1 cheaper on eBay, if not cheaper in the Refurb section of the Apple Store.

Tablets are about to get dirt cheap.

Apple iPhone
At some point this year there will be an OS update to iOS 6.  I have a difficult time imagining what it could contain... perhaps widgets?  Facebook integration?  I strongly believe Siri will finally be upgraded out of "beta."  This means support for more languages and an API for developers to hook into.  That could produce some awesome things, allowing apps to use Siri.

The 6th gen iPhone will have LTE.  There's just no way around this one.  The iPhone 4 missed having real 4G, which was acceptable because only the EVO had 4G at that point.  The iPhone 4S missed having real 4G, which was widely regarded as a mistake, given that there were dozens of Android phones using Verizon's LTE, T-Mobile's HSPA+ and Sprint's WiMAX.  Now there is no reason not to include an LTE antenna.  Sure, battery life will take a hit, but iPhones have had a great reputation for battery life (with some occasional lapses), so I'm sure the slightest increase in battery capacity will at least put the iPhone on par with other LTE phones in terms of battery life.  Additionally, since WiMAX is dying (Sprint is switching to LTE), AT&T has started rolling out its LTE network, and the iPhone is still unavailable on T-Mobile, the three national carriers that sell the iPhone will all have a decent-sized LTE network by the end of the year.  Even Windows Phone 7 phones are getting LTE this year.  Apple might as well hang it up if they can't manage to stick LTE in their next iPhone.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the iPhone on T-Mobile.

The chip may be an A6, like in the iPad, but if the A6 is indeed a quad-core processor, I'm not sure it will make it into the iPhone for power and heat reasons.

New design.  Maybe.  Apple put a lot and time and effort into designing the iPhone 4/4S and, honestly, it's still the most gorgeous phone out there.  The Droid RAZR is nice, we all like to look at Sony Experia phones, and the Nokia Lumia phones ain't too hard on the eyes either.  But the iPhone has a cleanliness, weight, and build that cannot be matched.  Why mess that up and chance making an uglier phone?  Mockups of what the 4S was rumored to look like are resurfacing, and I have to say: I'm not a fan.  The tear drop shape is not beautiful as the iPhones currently untapered bar shape, and the lack of any bezel means lots of accidental screen touching when just holding the phone.  Many gadget blog commenters were upset with the lack of a larger screen on the 4S (and these comments/articles were followed by poor explanations of why 3.5" is the "perfect" size), so I could see a slightly larger screen on the next iPhone (definitely nothing like those 4.5+" Android phones, though), but the rest of the phone should stay the same. Or get slightly thinner.  And maybe reduce the bezel at the top and bottom, but not the sides.

NFC, maybe.

The biggest question to me is what the 6th gen iPhone will be called.  Much to my chagrin, many tech news sites have been calling it the iPhone 5. I think it's mostly because people had high hopes for the 4S and they have poured them into the 6th gen iPhone.  Apple has a lot of options for the name:

• iPhone 5: This would be a way for Apple to acknowledge the mistake that was the iPhone 4S by pretending their 5th gen phone didn't count.  It also is the dominant name for the next iPhone on tech blogs, so most people would accept it easily.  Additionally, if they wanted to call the 6th gen iPhone an "iPhone 6" then the 4S should have been the "iPhone 5."  And, of course, 5 follows the 4 in the 4S.  Simple.
• iPhone 6: This is not a great name, but it would follow the 4's convention of naming the phone after the generation of the device.  And naming a 6th gen phone the "iPhone 5" makes no damn sense at all.  It's going to be running iOS 6, probably on an A6 processor.
• iPhone 4G: This would be a great name.  It emphasizes the LTE antenna and continues with the pattern of naming the phones after the antenna (i.e. the 3G) and the current trend of a 4 in the name.
• iPhone LTE: This also would be a great name.  By leaving out a number, Apple quells the iPhone 5 vs iPhone 6 argument and starts a new trend, while still emphasizing the new 4G antenna.
• iPhone HD: If they upgrade the resolution--especially, if they double it again--the next iPhone could have a better than full HD screen.  iPhone HD would be a great name that shows off this feature.

Apple TV

Apple is rumored to be working on a television set.  If so, you can bet it will be basically an LED TV with Apple TV integrated into the set.  It wouldn't make sense for anything else fancy (like blu-ray playback), basically an answer to the poorly-received Google TV.  iTunes/iPhone integration and maybe Siri.  Can't see it being a bit hit, so I'd be surprised if they actually released a TV set.

Oops, outta time. Android 2012 rumors next time.