2024 was quite a year for Apple, with the company releasing a whole slew of products, updating old favorites such as the iPhone, Apple Watch and Macs, and releasing a brand new product in the form of the Vision Pro, something that looks like it was taken straight from a sci-fi movie. But now it’s 2025, and despite being only a few weeks into the new year, things are changing and changing rapidly.
Tariffs and trade wars
The biggest elephant in the room right now is tariffs. While the trade war between the US, Canada, and Mexico has been put on hiatus (keeping in mind that Canada ranks fourth in Apple markets by revenue share, behind the United States, Japan, and China), it is ongoing with China.
Also: Is this the end of multi-year AppleCare+ plans? What’s replacing them and why
When asked about any potential tariff impacts during the earnings call a few days ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook had this to say: “We are monitoring the situation and don’t have anything more to add than that.”
It’s unclear what effect this will have on prices (both overall and specific to Apple), but since the smart money is betting, costs are unlikely to fall, given the uncertainty. If you’re planning Apple purchases, it might be better to do them now rather than later.
Future Apple product launches (near and far)
New iPhone SE
Plenty of rumors suggested that the iPhone SE 4 would land last year. Now, it’s supposedly just around the corner, and it’s expected to end Touch ID and finalize the Face ID rollout to the iPhone line. It’s also expected to be powered by the A18 chip and, obviously, support Apple Intelligence.
Also: Is this the new iPhone SE? Leaked images reveal major changes coming in 2025
With iPhone sales accounting for half of Apple’s record revenue during the last quarter, keeping the iPhone line strong will be a priority for the company, especially if uncertainties dent consumer confidence.
AirTag update
The new AirTags are expected to use a new Ultra Wideband chip, bringing improved range and accuracy, and apparently, the speaker is going to be more difficult to disable, a countermeasure to prevent tags from being used to stalk people. Given how trivial it is to modify AirTags, and how you can even buy them already modified, this will be a welcomed change.
Hypertension Detection for Apple Watch
The Apple Watch can already do a lot, uncovering hidden medical conditions such as atrial fibrillation and sleep apnea. Adding the ability to detect high blood pressure would reinforce its place as a personal, wrist-mounted physician.
Also: Your next Apple Watch or smart ring could have a feature that transforms healthcare
Now let’s look at Apple tech that you might want to wait on.
The ‘Naughty’ list
Give these Apple devices a hard pass:
- The standard iPad: With the iPad Pro, Air, and Mini all being quite fresh, it’s easy to forget the old-school iPad. The current 10th-generation model was released back in October of 2022 and is up there as one of Apple’s oldest products.
- iPhone SE: Apple released this handset in March 2022, and the rumors are all over the place; from an update that should have landed last year, a new one is coming later this year, so there won’t be another one. We’ll see. The current iPhone SE might be Apple’s cheapest iPhone, but given its age, at this point, I’d suggest grabbing a refurbished or secondhand iPhone that’s newer or waiting for the new release that’s rumored to be around the corner.
- Mac Studio: The M2-powered Mac Studio is no longer the beast it was, and given that it’s hitting that 18-month-old mark and running on Apple Silicon that’s two generations old, I suggest giving it a miss.
- 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air: These run the aging M3 chips and are in line for an update soon.
- Apple TV: Last updated in October 2022, this device is due for a refresh. When? Rumors suggest a 4th-gen Apple TV 4K will be announced during the first half of this year.
- HomePod Mini: Released in October 2020, this is officially Apple’s oldest product. While there’s nothing wrong with it technically, it’s hard to recommend dropping full price for such old hardware.
- Vision Pro: It’s hard to bet against Apple, and it’s difficult to put something with so much potential on the naughty list, but if the rumors are true that Apple has pulled the plug on production because sales have slumped, it’s hard to have faith in the product. I’d hold out and see what Apple has planned.
The ‘Nice’ list
1. Apple iMac
The iMac got a refresh to bring it up to speed with Apple Intelligence. With specs ranging from 8 CPU and GPU cores, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage priced at $1,299, all the way up to 10 CPU and GPU cores, 24GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage for $1,899, there’s an iMac to suit most workloads and budgets.
2. Apple Mac Mini
Apple smallest Mac got an upgrade to the M4 and M4 Pro processors. And it’s also the cheapest Mac you can buy, as a Mac Mini with the 10-Core CPU and GPU model with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage costing only $599.
3. Apple iPad Mini
The all-new 2024 iPad Mini replaced the three-year-old model with one powered by an A17 Pro chip that’s Apple Intelligence ready, and comes in a range of colors (blue, purple, starlight, and space grey) and storage capacities (128GB, 256GB, and 512GB) to suit everyone. Prices range from $499 to $799.
4. Apple iPhone 16
From a Camera Control button, an Action button, and the new A18 chipset, the iPhone 16 has been built from the ground up to handle AI workloads.
5. Apple Watch Series 10
The Apple Watch Series 10 starts at $399 for GPS and $499 for cellular. It comes in three colors: jet black, rose gold, and silver aluminum. The new black Apple Watch Ultra 2 starts at $799.
6. Apple M4 MacBook Pro
Need a Mac that combines portability with power? You need a MacBook Pro.
Also: Is your iPhone rebooting after being inactive? It’s a feature, not a bug
But it’s less a case of how fast a laptop you need and more a case of how much do you want to spend. With prices for the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro starting at $1,599, and the 16-inch version starting at $900 more (and going all the way up to a whopping $7,349 for the 40-core, 128GB RAM, 8TB storage behemoth) these systems represent some serious processing power, but power that comes at a price.
7. 2nd-gen AirPods Pro (now with USB-C)
The AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) offers a major upgrade over the previous model, giving Apple’s premium buds a massive lead over the competition. Apple has now refreshed the charging case to use USB-C rather than Lightning — great if you have a new iPhone, but yet another cable or dongle to carry if not. Here are the highlights:
- Active Noise Cancellation reduces unwanted background noise.
- Adaptive Transparency lets outside sounds in while reducing loud environmental noise.
- Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking places the sound all around you.
- Multiple ear tips are included (XS, S, M, L).
- Touch control lets you swipe to adjust volume, press to direct media playback, answer or end calls, and press and hold to switch between listening modes.
- Sweat- and water-resistant for AirPods Pro and charging case.
- MagSafe Charging Case has a speaker and a lanyard loop.
- USB-C charging.
Also: Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) review: Two major upgrades, tamed by one familiar flaw
And now with the release of iOS 18.1, your AirPods Pro earbuds can function as clinical-grade hearing aids, bringing better hearing to tens of millions of people, and disrupting the lucrative hearing aids market.
8. Apple AirTag
Apple’s AirTags are the perfect gift for someone who constantly loses things. You can add them to your luggage, attach them to your bike, your remote, or even your moving boxes — the possibilities are endless.
Also: How to find out if an AirTag is tracking you
Well-made, robust, and with a replaceable battery, these will make misplaced keys or lost wallet things of the past.
What is Apple Intelligence?
Apple Intelligence — technology that leverages the processing power of Apple silicon to understand and generate language, providing personalized assistance and insights — has been driving the latest wave of Apple hardware upgrades, with the new iMac and new Mac Mini joining the new iPad Mini, the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Pro being promoted as the hardware to buy if you want access to Apple’s vision for AI. Older hardware offers access to some of the features, but the experience will be somewhat patchy.
What’s happening with Vision Pro?
It’s been a year since the release of the Vision Pro, and it’s not been the success that Apple — and many pundits — expected it to be. While the hardware itself has benefitted from numerous software updates, sales have been lackluster. After all, it doesn’t matter how high-tech and sci-fi something is; a three-and-a-half thousand dollar price tag is an impossible barrier for most.
Apple has allegedly discontinued production of Vision Pro headsets because they’re piling up and not selling. That’s not a great sign for the product’s future. Apple is still selling them, but it’s now hard to recommend someone spend thousands of dollars on a product that is on the ropes.
Also: Apple Vision Pro’s killer feature is finally here – and made my $3,500 investment more worth it
This is in addition to the rumors suggesting that a cheaper unit — with a more modest $2,000 price tag — would land towards the end of this year, but indications now suggest this has been pushed back to 2027.
But the Vision Pro rumors don’t end there. There are whispers that suggest the Vision Pro will be superseded by the Vision Pro 2, a new headset — sorry, Apple calls it a spatial computer — powered by the M4 chip and Apple Intelligence support.
