Apple retrospective 2021: records, services and new products

For many, 2021 was a pivotal year for Apple. The firm has thus confirmed an operational positioning increasingly focused on applications, openness to media and third-party developers. This launch pad is also marked by a turnover never reached before, approaching the capitalization of the group ofthree trillion dollars. So let's look back at all of Apple's announcements made this year: here we go.

Income

To begin with, you should know that Apple announced that it had earned no less than 83.4 billion dollars during the third quarter of 2021, figures which logically should still be exceeded for the holiday period. If we combine this sum with that of the three previous quarters, we obtain a total of almost400 billion dollars: here too, the brand is at the top.

The reasons for this growing success can be broken down into several key articles: let’s review them.

iPad

On April 20, Apple formalized the arrival ofnewiPad Proavailable from the following month. Their major difference lies in their M1 processor, which is as efficient as that of a laptop such as the 13-inch MacBook Pro which also has the same chip. For the first time, the manufacturer has also switched to mini-LED, which, although having suffered some criticism due to rather annoying bugs, offers better contrasts. Two sizes are available for these high-end tablets: 11 or 12.9 inches.

The amount of RAM has also been increased, but that's about it. And this is also the main gray area that seems to have hung over Apple in 2021: product updates necessary for the company, but considered superfluous by a good number of consumers because they are too little different from previous versions .

The WWDC was also an opportunity to discoveriPadOS 15, with the arrival of the app library on the menu. AiPad mini(our test) and the ninth generation iPad using this program also saw the light of day in September. No iPad Air 5, however, but the current version is already very promising. As for the 2012 iPad, it is now considered obsolete and is therefore no longer supported for free in the Apple Store.

iPhone

The iPhone is no exception to the rule, and also has a renewal particularly similar to the 2020 collection. Apple thus presented us without much surprise four models that could be described as iPhone 12 mini, upgraded iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Still with Lightning port despite Europe's complaints against it. No, where the public really has interesting discoveries to make is in fact more on the software side, withiOS 15.

This proprietary operating system has many highly anticipated features, such as the deployment of tags in the Notes app,the famous Concentration modeor even a Safari browser finally compatible with extensions.

The most nostalgic will also note the abandonment of the iPhone XR, although the iPhone 11 has been retained.

Mac

The big absentee from the last twelve months seems to have been the MacBook Air, which although re-released more than once a year previously has not changed its 2020 model with M1 chip. L'iMac, on the other hand, has gone from 21 to 24 inches in a resplendent new design worked on by Jony Ive, now independent, through his agency LoveFrom. As for the iMac Pro, it has been removed from shelves, like its space gray mouse and keyboard. Everything having passed underMontereyin June, during the Worldwide Developer Conference which, like the other keynotes, took place exclusively online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On the performance side, Apple silicon continues to take off with new SiPs (system in package) including both CPU, graphics card and RAM modules on a single component. The M1 Pro and M1 Max are assembled by TSMC in Asia, as with the iPad and iPhone chips, and are offered for configuration on new14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro. Obviously with their particularity having caused a lot of ink to flow: the notch!

Accessories

Users and media were also able to benefit from the marketing of new wearables, such as the Watch (Series 7) and theThird-generation “classic” AirPods. The AirPods Pro 2, for their part, are still waiting, but should, if the rumors are correct, be presented in 2022. As for connected objects compatible with HomeKit and controllable with the Home app, they have really multiplied in 2021.

With aAirTag, it is now also possible to track lost items: keys, handbag, even your own car. As with fall detection, these gadgets have made the headlines on numerous occasions, particularly in cases of theft of personal effects. Privacy is also still at the heart of the debate, even if a beacon feature can warn you if one of them is monitoring you without your consent.

To finish with the accessories, let's not forget theHomePod miniwhich, finally available in several colors, marked the end of the more imposing model.

Also released in April, the Apple TV with its newSiri Remote(incorporating a dial similar to that of the iPod) sits in many homes as the ideal multimedia center for the whole family. And for good reason; the box provides access to all of Cupertino's virtual offers including TV+ for streaming with more and more videos and rewards, Music and its recently announced Voice offer for less than 5 euros, Arcade and its hundred games and now Fitness+ and its sports classes on demand, since the beginning of November in mainland France.

According to the sales figures communicated by their publisher, these services are also the sector which is growing the fastest, to the point of today representing22% of its income, in second position after the iPhone and ahead of the Mac. Here too, the sanitary conditions there are perhaps something so good that Apple's official estimates believe that these results will calm down little by little.

Affaires

How can we end a recap of 2021 at Apple without mentioning the multiple cases that now weigh against the company, which has apparently become too powerful in the eyes of some? Australia, India, South Korea, Japan, US Senate, UK, European Commission, Germany and of course theFranceclosely monitor the actions of the giant. Hefty fines have also attempted to slow down its growth, while security flaws and large-scale bugs have been spotted within iOS.

Between questions around a supposedmonopole, patent violations, confidentiality risks and criticized working conditions on its premises and among its partners, Apple still has work to do.

What’s brewing behind the scenes…

In recent weeks, the American body responsible for filing patents has also seen Apple register a number of new products. These have unfortunately not yet seen the light of day, but such documents prove that the technology is in its possession. Jumbled together, we can cite the camera and the fingerprint sensor under the iPhone screen, a connected car with graphical interfaces, thefoldable screens, the glucometer on Watch and of course the mixed reality headset expected for 2022.

Finally, on the supplier side, a reorganization is also underway, with BOE Electronics (screens) andLuxshare(assembly) regaining ground over LG and Foxconn, respectively.

And for you, what is the most significant new feature of 2021 at Apple?