Feature – Watching Apple announce and market products - or not announce and market products some people expect from the company - can be a highly interesting process. All new Apple products rolled out in recent years seem to share a handful of common ideas: They never try to create an entirely new product segment, but are placed into an already developing market, they improve on obvious mistakes others made, they always complement other Apple products and they take advantage of the company’s software platform. So, with that in mid, which products could we expect from Apple next? Here are five ideas.  

Ok, we admit, our perception may be oversimplifying Apple’s product strategy a tiny bit, but look at some of the firm’s products and the strategy seems to be apparent. For example, the iPod wasn’t the first MP3 player, but it was the first stylish one you could actually show to your friends and it was the first that came with a sound interface that connected to a desktop application. The Macbook certainly was not the first notebook, but it was one of the first to respond to the demand for more elaborate design elements and still uses unique features such as the magnetic power plug. The iPhone wasn’t the first cellphone either but it jumped into the quickly developing smartphone segment, with what seems to be an obvious design template for smartphones today. We will stop here, you get the point.

So, if that idea is really an indicator for future Apple products and Apple wants to expand its product portfolio, which products would make sense? We invite to join the discussion and add to our ideas.
   

1. iMac/Mac Pro Extreme

Let’s be honest. As much as Steve Jobs likes to highlight the processing and graphics capabilities of Macs, if you are really looking for consumer-focused computing performance, such as gaming, you won’t buy a Mac. Yes, you may point to the Mac Pro, but this pricey system really appeals to creative professionals, not hard-core gamers. Apple’s recent Nvidia indicates that more graphics performance is of interest to Apple, so why wouldn’t it make sense to go all the way and actually create a higher-end iMac that could be taken seriously by gamers? Apple also has enough cash on hand to jumpstart game development for Macs.

Chances to be built? Virtually none, in our opinion, but Apple will have to find a way to make video games available on its platform as video gaming becomes more and more a part of our everyday life. Right now, an Apple environment is virtually game-free and you gotta start somewhere, right?  


2. iGame

So, if not a game PC, what then? What about a game console? This is the one market Apple has been avoiding since the Pippin fiasco in mid 1990s. A lot of cash is needed to play in an already relatively mature console market to cover losses on hardware sales and excess R&D costs. But there seems to be an apparent opportunity that is not taken advantage yet: Nintendo’s Wii virtually came out of nowhere and showed a good idea can transform the console gaming market an embarrass those stuck in the old days.

Chances to be built? Even less, at least if you think in terms of a traditional game console. Apple may have enough cash to play along, but Apple has a certain lack of credibility in video gaming. Plus, there is no gaming history or a platform to build on. However, a sleek, powerful set top box with expanded capability to access iTunes sounds like an enticing idea to us. Did we just say upgrade that silly Apple TV and finally get it right? Yes, we did.


Read on the next page: iTV, iBook, iTablet