Apple is about to have a great year — here’s what to expect it to launch in 2018

Apple launched three smartphones and few computers in 2017, last year was company’s most significant years by selling 322 million individual gadgets, according to one estimate.

But that was last year.

Right now, in Cupertino, California, Apple engineers, designers, and marketers are working on the iPhones and iPads that will launch this year.

Apple never comments on future products, but thanks to a robust ecosystem of journalists, analysts, and rumormongers, we can put together a pretty good preview of what to expect from Apple in 2018. Of course, release dates and details can change.

Here’s what you can expect Apple to launch this year:

Three new iPhones

Apple released the most significant redesign to the iPhone in years in 2017. The iPhone X loses the home button in favor of a facial-recognition scanner and a nearly edge-to-edge screen.

In 2018, Apple will bring that iPhone X design to other iPhone models, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a November 2017 note, he predicted that Apple would launch three new iPhone models this year.

New iPad Pro hardware with facial recognition

Apple is also said to be working on new iPads that take the facial recognition capabilities from the iPhone X and put them on a tablet.

This redesign will eliminate the home button and reduce the size of the bezels around its screen even further, according to Bloomberg.

A redesigned Apple Pencil

When Apple launches its new iPad Pro models, it will also release a redesigned stylus it calls Pencil, according to the Bloomberg report.

An updated low-cost iPad

The iPad Pro is the expensive model of Apple’s tablet.

The entry point is called “iPad,” and it’s a slower, smaller version of the pro-level tablet with a smaller price tag match: $329.

Apple only launched this device in 2017, but Asian electronics trade websites predict that Apple could launch a new model that could be even cheaper — perhaps around $259.

New Apple Watch hardware

Since the Apple Watch was released in 2015, Apple has focused on changes to its internal hardware and its software — not the overall design of the wearable.

But that could change this year. Apple blogger John Gruber wrote last year that he had heard of an “all-new” redesign in the works in Cupertino.

And Apple is working to add additional health features to the watch, including an EKG heart monitor, and perhaps a glucose sensor as well for diabetic monitoring and therapy.

A wireless charger for your iPhone called AirPower

When Apple launched the iPhone X, it also mentioned AirPower, a charging mat that would enable an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods to charge without being plugged in.

There’s no firm release date yet — just “2018” — and no price.

Improved AirPods

A rumor passed along by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests Apple is working on a new version of AirPods for launch in the second half of the year.

It’s unclear what the improvements may be, but Apple has had trouble making enough of the wireless earbuds to meet demand.

HomePod, a big, expensive speaker with Siri

Apple was supposed to release the HomePod, a Siri-enabled wireless speaker, in December, but had to delay the launch.

Now, Apple says the $349 speaker will start shipping in “early 2018.”

New or refreshed Mac laptops

Apple redesigned the MacBook Pro in 2016 to give it a touchscreen-integrated keyboard.

So a major redesign may not be in the cards for 2018, although there are some signs pointing to it. For example, Apple’s chief design officer Jony I’ve said recently that he’d heard MacBook criticism from fans.

A super-high-end Mac Pro

In April 2017, Apple said it would introduce a “modular” and expandable desktop computer called the Mac Pro.

Other details, including price, release date, and features, are scarce.

But if Apple were to shed light on it, expect it in June, at WWDC, where professional Mac users gather once a year.

Regardless of what Apple launches, you can count on CEO Tim Cook to breathlessly describe the products when they come out with phrases like “magical” and “only Apple” could pull these products off.
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