2024 is the year of Vision Pro. That much is already certain at Apple. The iPhone Group’s first mixed reality headset could go on sale in the USA as early as the end of January or beginning of February. We can also expect new iPads of all types, various new Macs, various accessories from the AirPods series and new iPhones in the fall. But which products – including those that have been waited for a long time – are Apple unlikely to release in 2024? An overview of the probabilities.
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iPhone SE 4: The problem with the wireless modem
Apple’s entry-level iPhone was last updated in 2022. The SE 3 received a chip that was current at the time, an improved camera and the ancient look of the iPhone 8. The iPhone SE 4 will be based on the iPhone 14 and will no longer have a home button for the first time. The first iPhone ever is supposedly planned to use Apple’s own 5G modem chip. And this is exactly where the problem lies: Very few observers currently expect that Apple will manage to complete work on the component in 2024 – certainly not in spring, the usual date for new SE models. Accordingly, nothing will happen before 2025.
AirTag 2: New ecosystem approaching?
The extremely successful ultra-wideband trackers in the AirTags series have been on the market unchanged since 2021. They work well; Apple reportedly sold over a billion of them. Nevertheless, the small buttons could use more modern technology, such as new, more economical Bluetooth technology, more precise UWB tracking in closed rooms, (even) longer battery life and perhaps a new, flatter form factor. However, when it comes to AirTags, we’ve heard virtually nothing in the rumor mill so far. In October it was only said that Apple had started production of the AirTags 2 postponed to 2025. According to well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is planning a new “spatial computing ecosystem” in which Vision Pro plays an important role. The AirTags 2 would therefore receive integration with the mixed reality headset; what exactly that means remains to be seen.
iMac Pro: Apple would rather sell displays
The iMac has long been Apple’s stepchild. After the completely redesigned iMac M1 from spring 2021, interested parties had to wait until October 2023 to purchase the second generation with M3 SoC. Nothing was heard about the once popular iMac Pro with a larger 27-inch display – and Apple’s management even hinted that users should instead purchase a combination of Mac Studio and Studio Display. Rumors from Apple’s supply chain provide some hope that the iMac Pro could be revived at least in 2025. By then, the studio display will be so outdated that it will no longer be worth buying.
iPhone as a foldable: hope dies last
While companies like Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi have been bringing foldable smartphones onto the market for years and have now eliminated most of the technology’s teething problems, when it comes to foldables, Apple has nothing more than patents and a few rumors. Most recently it was said that the company was working with Samsung to purchase displays there. They are supposedly planned for an iPad or a MacBook rather than a folding iPhone. Why exactly Apple doesn’t think anything of the technology is unclear – it apparently sees too little utility. Display experts like Ross Young now expect this to happen in 2025 at the earliest. Another new display technology, micro-LED, will probably still be a while away. Apple is reportedly initially planning this in the Apple Watch, but here too most observers are now assuming 2025.
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