Report: Apple Has Big iPhone and Mac Plans for 2022
- Paul Thurrott
- Jan 03, 2022
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I don’t usually report on rumors—especially Apple rumors—but this report comes from a trusted source and offers a nice peek at 2022.
After swooning over all the products that Apple shipped in 2021, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman made the following predictions for 2022 based on the internal information he’s received:
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iPhone 14. The iPhone 14 will allegedly drop the notch, finally, and go with an in-display hole-punch front-facing camera like every other smartphone on earth. (Knowing Apple, only the Pro models will get this design.)
iPhone SE. The third-generation iPhone SE will launch in the first half of the year with 5G.
Apple Watch. Apple plans three sets of Apple Watch models for 2022, a new low-end SE, a Series 8, and a new ruggedized version for extreme-sports enthusiasts.
MacBook Air. Gurman expects Apple to release “the biggest MacBook Air redesign in the product’s history.” This will allegedly include iPad Air-like color choices and a less tapered, MacBook Pro-like design.
MacBook Pro. Apple will update its entry-level MacBook Pro, which is currently still stuck on the original M1 chipset and the old design.
iPad Pro. A new iPad Pro with wireless charging is on the way, but Gurman doesn’t know if Apple will stick with the older M1 or wait for the M2 to release the update.
Pro Mac desktops. Apple will ship a “bevy” of new pro Mac desktops based on the M1 Pro and M1 Pro Max chipsets that Apple first shipped in the 2021 MacBook Pros. The model selection will allegedly include a smaller Mac Pro with up to 40 CPU cores and 128 graphics cores, a new Mac mini, and an iMac Pro.
Mac displays. Gurman says he’s “hoping” that Apple’s next “external monitor,” which he predicts will cost about half the price of the Pro Display XDR, will launch in 2022.
Virtual reality headset. Originally planned for 2020 and running a new OS called rOS, Apple’s virtual reality headset could finally launch this year. It’s “the holy grail,” Gurman claims, whatever that means.
Finally, Gurman expects Apple to announce that it has finished its transition from Intel chips as early as June at WWDC 2022. That’s not unexpected, but wasn’t Apple going to release a few Intel-based Macs before the transition was completed?
Conversation 55 comments
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wright_is
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I’ll be interested to see if the rumoured blood sugar and blood pressure monitoring make it into the final version of the Watch.</p><p><br></p><p>The new Apple AirPods Pro 2 are also rumoured to have additional health capabilities and lossless audio.</p>
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jwpear
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Blood sugar, blood pressure, and much better sleep tracking would be welcome additions to the Apple Watch. I’m holding with my AW4 until we see some of these.</p>
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Stokkolm
Log in to Reply<p>They’d really have to get the battery life increased significantly for me to wear it while I’m sleeping. </p>
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jwpear
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Good point. Longer battery life would be a great feature too.</p>
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wright_is
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>From what I’ve read about the AW7, wearing it overnight and then recharging whilst I breakfast and get ready for work should work out fine.</p>
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behindmyscreen
Log in to Reply<p>The battery life is good enough to wear over night. It really only takes 15 or so minutes to charge up in the evening and then when you are getting ready in the morning you can do the same before heading out for the day.</p>
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Truffles
Log in to Reply<p>Health recording is the killer app for body worn tech, and Apple pretty much owns the entire space. I’m so glad they dumped the concept of the watch being yet another portable PC, and got seriously into medical-level health monitoring. </p><p><br></p><p>I think there’s so much more Apple can do. I’m waiting for them to launch a series of discrete sensors about the size of those tracking devices they sell. Sensors that stick to the skin or are swallowed or inserted. </p>
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ponsaelius
Log in to Reply<p>I terms of consumer technology the coverage of Apple and Google is far more important than Microsoft. Microsoft have largely abandoned consumer technology.</p><p><br></p><p>Blogs that cover tech almost universally ignore Microsoft unless they are in the business and enterprise space.</p><p><br></p><p>Of course, Windows is still widely used by consumers. I wonder if, with the full move to M1, 2022 might be a year that Apple takes more of the PC space? Just speculation given the big redesigns.</p>
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casualadventurer
Log in to Reply<p>I don’t think so. While performance of the new M1 chips is impressive, it sacrifices any kind of upgradability. It turns a PC into an appliance. I predict some PC manufacturers may decide to produce something similar with an AMD SoC design, but for a lot less money. The PC market has always been about choice and upgradability, and Mac has never held those values. The only reason to switch to a Mac is if you need it for a task it is designed to excel at, like editing ProRes video.</p>
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jdawgnoonan
Log in to Reply<p>While I agree that upgradability is one of the primary advantages that Windows based PCs offer, most PCs that are sold are laptops which for the most part are not upgradable. Even those laptops which are upgradable very rarely get an upgrade. The percentage of PC laptops that do get upgraded is likely smaller than Apple’s current market share probably by a large margin. </p>
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jdawgnoonan
Log in to Reply<p>I have an XPS 13 which is one of the most comparable systems to an M1 Macbook Pro 14. It was no cheaper than a Macbook Pro 14 with similar specs. </p>
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mike2thel73
Log in to Reply<p>As someone who has been assembling my own desktop computers for 25 years I would normally echo your sentiment, however, over the past 5-8 years or so prices have skyrocketed for CPU’s, MB’s, and especially video cards. If you wanted a good video editing rig in the past, desktop was the way to go for a long time. That is no longer the case. Gaming was the only thing keeping a normal desktop like system around for me. Because of video card pricing and supply for me it’s no longer feasible to assemble a system. Yes Xbox & Playstation currently have the same availability issues but I have more faith those systems have a higher chance of ramping up compared to the lesser market share of higher end gamers. Also Microsoft’s foot on my windows 10 neck in regards to artificial barriers to windows 11 is turning me off. Linux has come a long way and a lot of newer games are able to play nice with it but I play a lot of older games which won’t. Desktops for me are fizzing out the older I get.</p>
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Donte
Log in to Reply<p>I have a gaming PC and a XSX. I also have two Mac’s. I pretty much only game on my PC, though I do have a VPN client setup on it for work. All other computing is done on my Mac’s.</p><p><br></p><p>Until I recently updated my PC (September) I was almost ready to get rid of it, and just game on the XSX. Then I got the opportunity to get a 3070 at retail price and instantly my PC was is crushing my XSX. Combined with lots of new games forcing cross play (Halo, FH5, BF 2042, Apex) the console advantage of not playing with PC players is gone. I am now considering getting rid of my XSX as I have not touched in over 60 days now.</p><p><br></p><p>Apple’s ecosystem, long ago surpassed anything Microsoft has and they just keep pulling away. I bet if they do AR it will be vastly more popular than anything that has come out so far.</p><p><br></p><p>That said I think Intel and AMD are going to surge back in the pro market with their own Big/Little CPU offerings. You see AlderLake as the first shot across the bow. Bigger, higher core count M series CPU’s are going to start to lose their lower power advantage because they will start to suck more power.</p>
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jimchamplin
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Higher core counts and stronger cores paired with specialized execution units are what will make the Apple Silicon pro systems shine. Systems that won’t need notebook-constrained thermals and power requirements. </p><p><br></p><p>Don’t forget that this has been a long time coming, and that as Apple moves forward, they’ll simply improve the efficiency of their designs in whatever direction they need. For portables that means low heat and excellent low power usage. For stationary desktops, that’s going to mean performance once the need to keep TDP low is gone. </p><p><br></p><p>Custom graphics units, codec units, image processors, et cetera, will also continue to set the pro chips apart. For instance, instead of brute forcing things like video encoding on the CPU, those operations are accelerated with special execution cores. It’s not just that they’re "fast chips" but they’re designed for the workloads being done, meaning they offer performance beyond what simple execution speed could ever offer.</p>
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Donte
Log in to Reply<p>"<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The PC market has always been about choice and upgradability"</span></p><p><br></p><p>Outside of PC gamers this simply not true anymore. Most PC users focus on price these days. What can they get for $600 or whatever their limit is? It’s going to be a laptop for the most part that they never upgrade any of the hardware in.</p>
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bluvg
Log in to Reply<p>Scoble has really, really been hyping something big coming from Apple, and later tipped that it’s the VR stuff. They have a history of huge success in markets where others have flailed around, so it will be fascinating to see if theirs takes off while Microsoft (et al) VR and Hololens, Facebook, etc. get little mass market traction.</p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>"…. wasn’t Apple going to release a few Intel-based Macs before the transition was completed?"</p><p><br></p><p>I swear remember Tim Cook saying that but also don’t care enough to go back and watch the video to see if he actually did. There are also rumors that Apple is going to still do another Intel based Mac Pro. </p><p><br></p><p>Personally I just figured that after Intel had the public tantrum over Apple moving on that Apple opted to exit the relationship earlier than planned. Maybe attacking a customer wasn’t the wisest move on the part of Intel?</p>
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Greg Green
Log in to Reply<p>Apple said from the beginning it was going to be a two year transition, and they did sell intel based hardware for a while, but I don’t think any were new, just carryovers from previous years.</p><p><br></p><p>what i find interesting is the contrast between apple dropping intel and intel making gpus. Intel announced in summer of 2018 they’d make gpus and they’d be out by 2020. Here we are in the second year past the deadline.</p><p><br></p><p>apple announced in summer of 2020 they’d drop intel, they announced their new chips in autumn of 2020 and the new devices were sold in spring of 2021.</p><p><br></p><p>it’s as if intel marketing had the idea and announced it before any engineers had been briefed.</p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>I went back and looked it up. At WWDC 2020 when Apple Silicon was announced Cook said “we have some new Intel based Macs in the pipeline that I’m really excited about”. </p><p><br></p><p>That seems pretty unambiguous. He was saying new Intel Mac’s were coming. I guess the question is if Apple changed its mind or not. </p>
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sykeward
Log in to Reply<p>Bloomberg previously reported that Apple is preparing at least one more Intel-based Mac Pro alongside a new Apple Silicon model. That makes sense to me, I can picture there being a variety of high-end workloads that aren’t ready to transition to ARM yet.</p>
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yoshi
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I picked up a MacBook Air during holiday sales events. The savings was pretty huge. I just hope it was huge enough to make me not regret waiting for the new design.</p>
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igor engelen
Log in to Reply<p>I did the same and ordered some Dbrand skins too (the key is to be patient and precise when applying 🙂 ). It’s not quite the same as having the new look of course but it’s ok for me.</p>
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SvenJ
Log in to Reply<p>Not sure I care if the iPhone notch goes away. I do care if FaceID goes away. Hopefully they have some plane for the IR Camera, Flood illuminator, and dot projector, not to mention the proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, speaker and microphone in that notch. Oh and the regular camera too, but that is covered with the much more attractive hole punch.</p>
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wright_is
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>The FaceID stuff is supposed to be behind the screen, if they can get it working.</p><p><br></p><p>What I’d like to see is a fingerprint reader coming back, as it is impossible to pay with Apple Pay at the moment with my 13 Pro and, when shopping, I have to keep entering the code to view the shopping list.</p>
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Jeffsters
Log in to Reply<p>Buy an Apple Watch and you’ll never go back to using the phone for ApplePay</p>
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Chris_Kez
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Paul, I think you’re right about a potential notch-less design being limited to the iPhone Pro models. It would be a big incentive for people to upgrade, and fit with Apple’s proclivity for introducing new things in a limited way then expanding over time as production becomes more efficient and margins improve. I know I’ll be trading in my 13 Pro if the 14 Pro drops the notch. </p>
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Greg Green
Log in to Reply<p>I’m looking forward to see what apple does with their desktop pro models. Will arm be strong enough to make pro grade gpus?</p>
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rob_segal
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Apple’s chips are powerful enough to power any computer Apple wants to use them for.</p>
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solomonrex
Log in to Reply<p>Well, no, not yet they aren’t. They are incredible machines but there’s no top end GPU yet or a full desktop design that values top performance and cooling over efficiency. Their Mac Pros have never been competitive per dollar in the industry, and based on the rollout so far, I don’t think that’s going to change.</p>
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Jeremy Turnley
Log in to Reply<p>The idea that Apple will in any way try to be competitive is the most wishful of thinking. Just look at the Macbook Pros they just released for reference. They have a completely captive audience, so they can charge whatever the market will bear – and the MKBHDs of the world can bear quite a lot.</p>
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Saarek
Log in to Reply<p>The only problem with your statement, and ones like it, is that there isn’t usually a truly comparable machine out there (as an entire package).</p><p><br></p><p>Most fixate on singular features such CPU/GPU performance, or something like SSD capacity. These are important elements and certainly should be considered, but usually ignores all of the other elements such as display quality (not everything is about base size/resolution), materials of construction, SSD speed, battery life, thickness, long term software support, trackpad, etc.</p><p><br></p><p>Don’t get me wrong, it is certainly possible, if not even probable that you can find a cheaper PC laptop that meets all of your specific needs. </p><p><br></p><p>I find that most machines that offer similar build quality and specifications from the likes of Dell are usually priced in the same ball park as Apple’s Mac computers. Yes, it’s not unusual to find special discounts on these competitors, but the base price is certainly in the same ball park.</p>
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RobertJasiek
Log in to Reply<p>First, it is unclear whether Apple wants its own dGPUs. The M1 and followers are about APUs. For the fastest desktops, Apple can use Nvidia’s workstation GPUs until Apple APUs will be fast enough for all those customers Apple wants to serve.</p>
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Jeremy Turnley
Log in to Reply<p>nVidia stopped making drivers for Macs in 2019, so unlikely. ;)</p>
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Jeremy Turnley
Log in to Reply<p>If you mean ARM the company, they have not had anything to do with Apple’s custom silicon for a few years now – everything is developed in-house now.</p><p><br></p><p>The CPU and GPU cores in the M1 Pro/Max are very competitive, and can reach mid-range desktop x86 levels of performance. The real beauty of it is Apple only has to make a chip with more of them to ramp performance up – the apps and OS will scale up right alone with it. There are serious advantages to owning every aspect of the computer from the hardware through the software. The only disadvantage is the lack of flexibility, which has always been Apple’s weak point – they really have to make their own apps or directly partner with companies to get them to make them, due to the small market share they command. Despite how many people at the coffee shop have them, they are still under 20% of the computer market due to their inability to compete in the enterprise space – something that their custom chips may actually have a chance to remedy.</p>
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j5
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Dang, will try my best to resist the urge to upgrade just for a notchless screen when my iPhone is just fine. I KNOW I’ll regret upgrading a couple days later when the high of a new tech product is gone and I see how much I spent that yup all my apps work exactly the same, yup I can still listen to my podcasts the same when mowing the lawn, yup crap still looks the same when I’m sitting on the couch wasting time looking at stuff…lol. I really want to be one of those guys people freak out at because they phone they’re rocking is older, had wear and tear on it, but I don’t know I’ve the will power 🙁 lol.</p>
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Craig Hinners
Log in to Reply<p>Didn’t see what I wanted to see, which was changing from Lightning to USB-C. Sticking with my trusty XR until that happens.</p>
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siverwav
Log in to Reply<p><strong>Yes the Hole-Punch that would be great, here‘s hoping that it’s across the range.</strong></p><p><strong>I would have a hard time not buying it (I’m on a XS MAX).</strong></p><p><strong>The new leaked periscope camera system sounds like it could be another couple of years tbh.</strong></p>
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siverwav
Log in to Reply<p>Re USB I think you are out of luck. They will go port-less. </p>
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RobertJasiek
Log in to Reply<p>Will arrogant, stubborn Apple also kill the MacBook Air by copying the notch from the Pro?</p>
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solomonrex
Log in to Reply<p>I suspect that they are slowly embiggening the MBA to drive people to the clearly inferior but more profitable IPad Pro+Keyboard. They really need a MB Mini. Perhaps like iPad it will be an extra cost option in a couple years. Like a Porsche special model, pay more for less.</p>
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mike2thel73
Log in to Reply<p>They used to sell a MacBook air 11" and I was seriously considering it in 2013 but I ended up with the bigger sibling that year because of the extra battery life. Back then apple wasn’t emphasizing the iPad as a PC replacement. At this point I doubt apple would bring that back.</p>
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abdulla77
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Apple is seriously going for the killing.. I can only see Samsung and their ecosystem as the only other contender that stands a chance. Google and other Android manufacturers don’t stand a chance.. and Microsoft? Sadly the Duo 2 is not what I would’ve hoped. If Microsoft launched an iPhone-like smartphone, which doesn’t seem likely in a million years, I would consider them as a contender to Apple. For the time being, Apple is taking the reins of the leading ecosystem and it will be this way for a long while, I would guess. Where’s the Windows on Arm?! :/ </p>
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siverwav
Log in to Reply<p>What I really want is a 14 inch IPad Pro… but no sign of that so far, maybe next year.</p>
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winner
Log in to Reply<p>Apple’s getting rid of the hideous notch (at least on the phone lol) will mean that people can easily see who has a newer iPhone. Like taillights on cars, it will drive massive iphone replacement sales to get to the "new look".</p>
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wpcoe
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>"<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The third-generation iPhone SE will launch in </span><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><u>the first half of the year</u></em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> with 5G.</span>" </p><p><br></p><p>Dang. They had been saying <em>"<u>first quarter</u> of the year."</em> I hope it’s not going to be later than Q1. I want a small phone with a fingerprint sensor, so the iPhone SE seems my best bet. I hope my Sony Xperia XZ2 holds it together a bit longer…</p>
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red.radar
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Would be quite the technical achievement if they keep the same performance of today’s Face-ID with just a hole punch. </p><p><br></p><p>I wonder if it is under glass dot projector and they are using the screen to flood illuminate.. Or is it just very clever processing of the camera image. </p><p><br></p>
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jimchamplin
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I always thought it would be cool if they simply momentarily turned off the pixels covering the sensor, letting it do its work, then covering the sensor again. I’m not sure if OLED pixels become completely transparent when off, though. </p><p><br></p><p>Just a cool thought. No camera is even visible until it’s needed, then it appears only long enough to be used, then it’s gone!</p>
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locust_infested_orchard_inc.
Log in to Reply<p>Article’s quote, "<em>The iPhone 14 will allegedly drop the notch…</em>"</p><p><br></p><p>Once a notch, always a notch (it seems only the solitude Pro version will rescind the notch).</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>gfufjcu</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
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txag
Log in to Reply<p>I don’t understand all the angst over the notch. By about the second day of use, I stopped noticing it.</p>
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Donte
Log in to Reply<p>I agree. I got a 10 or X when it came out. I was over the notch in 30min. Its something that Apple haters love to bring up….like Paul 🙂 I forget it is even there to be honest.</p>
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Jeffsters
Log in to Reply<p>Agreed.</p>
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cayo
Log in to Reply<p>Apple Watch not only unlocks the phone when wearing a mask, you also use it for Apple Pay. </p><p><br></p>
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scovious
Log in to Reply<p>What about USB C on the phone? I switched because I couldn’t take Lightning anymore, as well as Apple’s revolutionary privacy policy.</p>
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behindmyscreen
Log in to Reply<p>What exactly is the problem with lightning other than "It’s proprietary"?</p>
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Jeffsters
Log in to Reply<p>Uh huh…</p>