By Joseph Young

Apple has not had the best year. From the ups and downs of their Apple Intelligence AI model to the new iPhone 16 models, Apple’s worst year could have been 2024. I am personally a fan of Apple; I think that their products are great, although most are overpriced. But you are paying for the quality here. The products that they make are of such high quality that every aspect of the product must meet an extremely high standard.

For example, the unboxing of an Apple device is impressive. When unboxing the Apple Vision Pro, the first thing that you see when opening the box is the headset. It is propped up by the rest of the box, and the presentation is immaculate. However, the product should be the standout piece, and if that is not good enough, there is no point in having the packaging. In my opinion, I think that the Apple Vision Pro is an amazing piece of engineering. It can be worth the money if you have a need to use it. However, it doesn’t have enough features to be worth the money for most people now. I look forward to the possible release of the Apple Vision Pro 2.

So where to start? I think the technology that everyone is talking about in terms of Apple this year is their AI model, Apple Intelligence. Announced in September 2024, the iPhone 16 series’ main feature has been advertised as Apple Intelligence. It has raised quite an uproar. The public has been excited to replace their Siri from “Here’s what I found on the web for, [whatever you ask it]” to a smarter ChatGPT response to save them from pelting their iPhone across the room.

However, many have been irritated that their brand-new iPhone 16s have arrived with not even half the features advertised. This is because Apple made the decision to only release this Apple Intelligence update in December. Users with Apple’s A17 Pro chip (iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max) will also be able to download the Apple Intelligence update as well. Therefore, all of the advertising for the iPhone 16 series having this major update will also apply to the users of the iPhone 15 Pro series. This is especially irritating for the iPhone 16 users as they are paying more for not much, apart from the Camera Control.

Onboard the iPhone 16 series devices is the brand-new Camera Control button. This has also received many mixed opinions. With many capabilities, it can be combined with the professional-level software onboard the camera app, and you have an excellent addition to the iPhone. However, some people do not like it. When shooting a picture in landscape, your index finger is stretched out of its socket to press the button. When in portrait, your thumb is squished into an extremely uncomfortable position, which can cause pain. A good part of this button is that it is a lot easier to take pictures like a professional DSLR camera. With AI, you can use it to take a picture of whatever you are looking at, and it will work with ChatGPT to identify what the picture is (dog breeds, foods, etc.).

Apple’s over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max, have also raised quite a storm. Released in December 2020, they have a hefty price tag of £549. In 2024, they released more AirPods Max, but this time with five new colors. And that’s it. People are dissatisfied with this update, and at the moment everyone is stuck with the H1 chip. Hopefully, 2025 will give us some upgraded AirPods Max with an H2 chip.

Now for the Apple Watches. Apple’s most rugged, most expensive wearable (apart from the Hermès models), the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has gained a new color this year: Black. And that’s it. Moving on to the Series 10, not much has changed from the Series 9. The noticeable difference is that it is thinner (10% thinner) than the previous models and is 9.7mm thick. However, it has a larger screen than the Series 9. Again, mixed opinions have emerged from this, and it will be interesting to see the Series 11 and what Apple does with it. There have been no updates to the SE this year, but we hope to see the SE 3 in late 2025.

The new Mac devices are the M4 MacBook Pro models and the M4 Mac Minis, and these have been excellent. They are extremely fast with great specs. It has been predicted that these devices are so powerful that they could last for at least ten years. Apple intelligence has, of course, come to these devices, and Apple is very proud of this.

Overall, it has been up and down for Apple. The iPhone 16 is a great phone but not a significant upgrade from other iPhones. Apple Intelligence has been good, but it would have been even better if customers didn’t need to wait two months to unlock the full potential of their new devices.

As for the AirPods Max, I don’t know what to say. I hope that we will be getting an update this year and maybe an H2 chip. Apple has clearly disappointed this year with features being delayed and very minor product upgrades. However, I see the potential of Apple Intelligence and imagine it may have a good future ahead of it.

Apple can learn from 2024, and I really do hope that 2025 will be better for the company.