8 Apple products coming in 2017

It was a big year for Apple in 2016, with the launch of several eye-catching tech gadgets, including the launch of beloved iPhone 7.

Especially, while the iPhone 7 took a bold step to dump the headphone port, the MacBook Pro, released in 2016 October is the first laptop with a touch-sensitive strip above the keys, and Apple continued its mission to switch its laptop line to USB-C.

In 2017, with Apple marking its 10th anniversary, everything is expected to be different.

Here is a roundup of the launches Apple is expected to make this year.

Apple Watch Series 3 (or at least watchOS 4)

The Apple Watch Series 2, unveiled in September 2016, is the classic second-gen product. If 2017 sees only a minor update to the watch, or no update at all, at least we seem assured of a fourth update to the watchOS software, and after the delights and fundamental interface rethink of watchOS 3 that could be almost as significant an upgrade as new hardware.

iPad Pro 2

Something big is to be expected on the iPad front in 2017. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro dropped in late 2015 and its 9.7-inch cousin debuted in spring 2016. The iPad Pro 2 is widely expected to make a spring or summer 2017 launch. While Apple’s iPad has become outshone in recent years by the newer Apple Watch and more lucrative iPhone, it has been speculated that Apple would like to fix that especially with a 3D Touch for a nice start.

iPad Pro mini

The iPad mini once felt like the future of the tablet, but cannibalisation by the new, larger iPhone formats have seen the line somewhat neglected. It is expected that ‘Pro’ rebranding and substantial redesign will put an end to that. There is also the expectation of Apple Pencil compatibility.

Apple Car (or car-related software)

Apple’s car-related research is one of tech’s worst-kept secrets: it is understood that several hundred Apple employees have been working on a project codenamed ‘Titan’. But the great mystery concerns the form these developments will take. It now seems that an electric Apple Car or iCar is less likely in the near future, with moonshot-addicted companies like Google more likely to make the running until the concept goes mainstream. A better bet for Apple would be self-driving car software.

MacBook Pro 2017

The MacBook Pro got a major and long-overdue revamp in late 2016, getting a spec bump, a slimmed-down design and a cool new Touch Bar feature. But as satisfying a product as the MacBook Pro 2016 is, the spec bump wasn’t quite enough to please Apple’s pro and more demanding consumer customers. A further update to the Pro line in 2017 would allow Apple to make minor tweaks to the specs on offer, potentially tempting the pro users who were put off by the limited allocation of RAM or the older processors.

Mac Pro 2017

Update to the Mac Pro is long-overdue. Prospects had been looking bright for a late-2016 update, with one well-placed source indicating that it would launch by the end of November. But March 2017 now seems the earliest we can expect a new Mac Pro. It ought to be a good one given that it has been kept waiting for well over three years.

Standalone Touch Bar keyboard

Apple’s 2017 12-inch MacBook may acquire a Touch Bar above its ultraslim keyboard; but more appealing still would be a standalone wireless or USB (or USB-C) keyboard with the Touch Bar built in. That way iMac and Mac Pro owners can join in with the fun, without having to buy entirely new machines.

Tenth-Anniversary iPhone

The comparatively conservative updates in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 suggest there might be something bigger coming down the pipe for the anniversary iPhone, iPhone 8 that will launch this year. Curved OLED screen? Wireless charging? Augmented reality features? Who knows what Apple’s got up its sleeve for what could be the iPhone’s last great hurrah?