2024 Winners and losers: Apple
The past year has been a strange one for Apple, as it was primarily focused on maintaining dominance in the smartphone market while dabbling in XR and artificial intelligence. Regulators from around the world are knocking on the door of Cupertino’s walled garden, and with the release of iOS 18, we’re seeing the first cracks. The iPhone 16 series brought more improvements and aroused enough interest from consumers, but did not meet initial expectations.
M4 series chips continue to power Macs and iPads with blazing-fast performance, while the new AirPods 4 deliver great audio and active noise cancellation without the need for silicone ear tips. It’s not all sunny in the world of Cupertino, and Apple Intelligence and Vision Pro can safely be classified as duds. Let’s take a closer look at Apple’s best and not-so-best products of 2024.
Winner: iOS 18
Third-party app store? Replace default application? RCS messaging? All of this is now part of iOS, at least in some regions. Whether Apple likes it or not, features that were once a distant mirage to iPhone users have emerged. The European Commission has been a driving force for change, as have regulators in other parts of the world, and 2024 marks a major shift for Apple’s most popular operating system.
By 2024, the feature gap between iOS and Android will be smaller than it was just a few years ago. You can even rearrange icons without any grid constraints, which should have been a feature on the iPhone from the beginning.
You’re free to set alternative default apps for your browser, camera, gallery, and messaging apps, which is a huge win for those opposed to Apple’s walled gardens. We’re excited to see that iOS is now a freer, more customizable operating system, and we look forward to what’s next.
Loser: Apple Intelligence
You’ve probably seen those hilarious Apple Intelligence notification snippets, and they sort of illustrate the feature as a whole: It’s half-baked. In a surprisingly un-Apple way, Apple Smart was promoted as a key feature of the iPhone 16 series, but wasn’t present on day one.
As of this writing, iOS 18.2 has been released, more than three months after its official release, and Apple Intelligence is still missing some key features. Perhaps the more pressing issue is that AI capabilities remain exclusive to a handful of English-speaking countries. Users in Europe and China will have to wait until April 2025, which is very disappointing. Difficulties with large-scale deployment aside, Apple’s AI capabilities feel rudimentary, lagging behind competitors like OpenAI and Google.
Winner: iPhone 16
The basic iPhone has been one of Apple’s best-selling products for years, and this year is no exception. this iphone 16 Arguably the best non-pro iPhone ever, with a more powerful A18 chipset, 8GB of RAM, an autofocus ultrawide camera and new camera controls.
Add to that a longer-lasting battery, and you’ve got a premium and (somewhat) compact device that’s missing just one thing – a high-refresh-rate screen. But hey, Apple calls these Professional versionMovement shows, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
Loser: Apple Vision Pro
Even though the Vision Pro was released in the US back in February, it seemed to fall off a cliff not long after. Although it later expanded into some Asian and European markets, Apple’s $3,500/€4,000 space computer was an expensive first-generation niche product with limited use cases, meaning it wasn’t of interest to most consumers. In addition to being ridiculously expensive, Apple’s XR headphones are heavy, clunky, isolating, and don’t have any real game-changing apps yet.
According to the latest rumorThe more affordable Vision Pro is at least two years away, so it might be a while before Apple sees its more refined headphones ready for prime time.
Winner: M4 chip/Mac mini 2024
The M1 series of chips laid the foundation for the ARM revolution in personal computers. M4 generation This brings significant CPU and GPU gains compared to previous chips.
The M4 Max chip can be configured with up to 16 CPU cores, 40 GPU cores, and an astonishing 128GB of unified memory and 546GB/s bandwidth. The numbers are ridiculous, but as long as you have the right workflow and can adapt to macOS, Apple offers some crazy potential for creative work.
In addition to the M4 chip, Apple also announced its smallest desktop computer yet Mac mini computer With M4 and M4 Pro chips. Measuring only 12.7 centimeters (5 inches) on each side and weighing 670 grams, the new Mac mini lives up to its name. as we do in our M4 Mac mini reviewThe device is a capable workhorse with quiet operation and a decent port selection, and it’s priced at a reasonable $599 for its base configuration.
Winner: AirPods 4
One of the biggest issues with in-ear headphones is their fit. Many people simply cannot tolerate having silicone plugs in their ears for more than a few hours, but a poor seal around the ear can lead to poor noise reduction.
Apple successfully solved this problem AirPods 4 with ANCwhich was developed using special ear-mapping technology to ensure an optimal fit for every ear type, while somehow managing to add powerful noise cancellation. The new drivers also ensure improved sound quality, which, coupled with longer battery life and a USB-C charging case, make them one of Apple’s best AirPods yet.
Apple iPhone 16
2024-12-26 01:02:01