2012: Challenges for Apple -II

The MacBook Air as a source of inspiration?

End of 2010, the MacBook Air was introduced as the future of Mac. And coincidentally, the site of Apple computers to promote OS X Lion are systematically MacBook Air. Last year, Apple has pushed the point home by giving its ultraportable processor powerful enough that it can be used as a primary computer. Will the "revolution MacBook Air" will finally contaminate the rest of the range or will it expand with the arrival of a new model with a 15-inch screen? It is inclined to favor the second hypothesis. In this case, the question is whether Apple will give a "facelift" to its professional range or if it will let it quietly grow old and accelerate the transition to the MacBook Air.

Desktop computers are less than 30% of sales of Macintosh. If Apple wants to revitalize this segment, it will most certainly by the iMac. The piece of Apple which was long the engine of the range Apple MacBook Pro has not been any major changes since the transition to 21.5 / 27 inch in 2009.

Technology to monitor in 2012

What technologies will play a big role in 2012? If last year was also marked by Thunderbolt for Macs and the A5 processor for terminals iOS, 2012 could be more prolific in adopting new technologies.

Unless it is truly a choice "political" Apple should logically adopt USB 3.0, which is integrated into the platform Ivy Bridge. The new platform Apple expected the end of winter has a priori a ratio W / Performance clearly improved. In addition to machines with greater autonomy, this should allow Apple to go further in his designs.

Confined to the iPhone 4/4S, Retina displays could also take flight. If it seems heard about the iPad 3, one could also see a significant increase in resolution. Apple has been working for some time to support the HIDPI in Mac OS X. Thus, it is not inconceivable that the next MacBook Pro have a definition given to 2880x1800. Always at the forefront on issues of Wi-Fi, Apple could rush Wi-Fi 802.11ac. Still in draft, this standard will theoretically reach speeds of gigabit per second. The new standard takes advantage of multiplexing data transmission and reception (MIMO for Multiple-In Multiple-Output) via four antennas. Broadcom announced that it will market chips compatible with this standard in the second half of 2012.

In 2012, ARM processors with four cores should also be generalized. There is no reason that the successor to the A5 exception to this rule. This could open new horizons for iDevices. And why not some computers? Sooner or later, Apple will end up seriously the question of how unfaithful to Intel for some models. Everything seems in place for 2012 is a year full of news. This is especially true that competition is no exception. Microsoft plays such as very large with the launch of Windows 8 which must take place this year. New markets are also known to experience large changes. This is the case of television, which seems more than ever the next big area of ​​Apple.