2018 was a really busy year for Apple. The tech giant released some of the most exciting (and pricey) products in the industry. On February 9th we saw the release of the Home Pod, In March we saw the new 9.7 inch iPad with pencil support. Then there were a couple of updates to the iOS, special editions of iPhones, improved MacBook Pro, Apple Watch Series 4, and of course, the long-awaited iPhone XR.
But what about 2019? We can reasonably assume that our favorite tech company won’t stop innovating and will introduce some amazing new products and technologies to the market.
Let’s take a closer look, investigate the rumors, and see what will Apple do in 2019.
The Apple VR/AR Project
Apple has been investing in the VR/AR technologies for quite a while, but there was no product in sight. 2019 may finally be the year when we see some prototypes.
We’ve already seen the development of the ARKit API back in 2017, which allowed developers to create AR-based apps without much effort. However, there’s something much more interesting in the works. The rumor has it that Apple is actually working on prototypes for advanced augmented and virtual reality headsets.
VR serves a variety of purposes and has been adopted in the world of e-commerce, employee training, mental health or even poker. There are also many devices (such as PlayStation VR or HTC Vive) already on the market. But Apple is said to be working on a product that will take the AR/VR experience to the next level.
It’s supposed to have an 8K display for each eye, and operate by connecting the headset to something resembling a regular PC tower (not an actual Mac computer) through a wireless technology called 60GHz WiGig. We probably won’t see the new product on shelves in 2019, but hopefully, we’ll more information about the project.
Improvements to the Apple Watch
The Apple Watch 4 was one of the most successful devices of 2018, but the new, no. 5 model is already in the works, with a scheduled release date in September 2019. There are many rumors about what will be included in the newest series.
Here’s what we know so far:
Apple Watch 4 sells for $399 for the non-LTE version. But with additional sensors in version 5, we expect Apple to command a price at least $50-$100 higher. Another thing we can hope for is longer battery life. Apple Watch can already last for 1-1,5 days (depending on usage), but since you already have to charge your iPhone every night, many users demand a longer battery life for the watch. Apple, please cut us some slack here.
And with the rise of bio-hacking among modern users, we should see more sleep and fitness tracking capabilities. Glucose and blood pressure monitoring would be a nice addition too, but these things require FDA approval so we’ll probably have to wait just a bit longer.
Other rumors for 2019
Many users expect the infamous notch to finally disappear from the top of the iPhone. But this is very unlikely, and this year we’ll still have to deal with it since it’s essential for packing eight different sensors, cameras, microphones, and other things into that small space.
Another thing coming to the top of the wish list of most users is pricing. Apple devices are getting scandalously expensive, but again, you shouldn’t expect any major changes in this department in 2019. There are die-hard iPhone fans out there and they will pay any price to get their new phones. Sorry.
The second version of AirPods is also expected to be released in 2019. Users expect them to have advanced features, such as biometric sensors and noise cancellation. This is not 100% confirmed, but at least we’ll get a wireless charging case so we can keep our little friends powered at all times.
We will probably see many more surprises along the way. To get the latest news, follow the “rumors” section on our website.
