4ADD794A-D885-46EC-8B64-4BC49CC2E833.jpgSo with MacWorld San Francisco well behind us. Mac users are wondering what to expect from Apple in the near future. I would say you can bet that the next 10 months will see mostly incremental hardware and software updates. With OS X 10.5 Leopard, MacBook Air and iPod Touch still being relatively new and MacBook Pro’s and Mac Pro’s having plenty of features you can expect CPU bumps and software enhancements to be the main focus for 2008. In addition expect peripheral products like Apple TV to consume a fair amount of Apple’s development efforts as they work to make video as successful as music in the iTunes music store.

2008 Apple Product Outlook

  • MacBook and MacBook Pro: Expect to see the integration of the new MacBook Air style trackpads that accept gesturing. Also slight speed bumps.
  • Mac Pro: With dual CPU configurations of the new 4 Core Intel processors there’s not a lot left to want. If Intel brings faster speeds to market you’ll see them immediately in the Mac Pro lineup, but don’t expect leaps that are too enormous - just moderate. An outside chance does exist that you may see 4 processor configurations that give you 16 cores in one machine.
  • Mac mini: The mini is a bit of a wild card. Rumors flew last year that Apple was going to kill it off, but that just doesn’t make sense. The mini fills a niche. Expect miinor speed updates and thats it - it is what it is.
  • iPhone: The iPhone is still an infant. You’ll see mostly increases in storage capacity and software upgrades. Apple will be working hard to make the iPhone “work” in 2008. This means the focus will be on functionality not redesign or massive feature overhauls.
  • iPod: The iPod lineup is fairly secure. Yes you’ll see more capacity, but expect the iPods to follow the pace of the iPhone as the iPod Touch now is dependent on the iPhone for its feature set and form factor. Expect to see major revisions no sooner then next fall.
  • Apple TV: Apple TV is increasingly becoming a major effort to Apple. Apple’s desire to capture the online video market will require them to merge hardware and software as they did with iTunes and the iPod. Apple TV is a major part of that solution. Expect the biggest jumps in features and hardware in Apple hardware to happen here.
  • Software: Accross the board, software will focus on better integration with Leopard, bug fixes and minor feature enhancements.

Conclusion

2008 will be a great year to feel safe about buying a Mac. This is a good time to upgrade. It is unlikely you’ll get caught off guard with any major revisions that leave you feeling like you should’ve waited.

As for me, I am content. There is plenty of room for me to upgrade my older macs – two G5 minis, a G4 iBook, a Dual G5 PowerMac and a G4 iMac. I do need a new Mac Pro for animation and video rendering and the kids could use a nice iMac and my wife a new laptop… probably a 17″ MacBook Pro.