Apple had a busy year in 2015 with new product launches, familiar upgrades, and a host of new software. There was a lot of good to choose from this year.
2015 was an interesting year for Apple. Near the end, there were a lot of thinkpieces about how it was the “worst year ever,” or some derivative of that. And maybe they’re right. They’re probably not, though. Sure, Apple launched a lot of different things, they even managed to release brand new products altogether, while still offering to release upgrades on popular devices.
Apple launched new MacBooks, an entirely new MacBook in the 12-inch model, the Apple Watch, Apple Music and Beats 1 Radio, a new iPad mini while launching a new tablet in the iPad Pro, the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard for their large tablet, and still managed to release the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus to boot. Let’s not forget the new Apple TV, too! Add all of those hardware categories the mix of new software, from tvOS, watchOS, iOS and OS X.
That’s a lot of stuff. But Apple’s still swinging, and if 2015 is any indicator, 2016 is going to be an incredible stretch of time, too. Sure, Apple has some areas where it can improve, especially in its software, but that’s a pretty safe bet at this point. Apple launches strong products, and then they get better.
Last year saw Apple release my newest favorite Apple-branded product to date: the 12-inch MacBook. My first go-round with the computer didn’t go so well, simply because I don’t think I was ready to adopt a new keyboard into my life at the time. I didn’t give it enough of a chance. A few months later I went back for a second helping and I’m glad I did. The 12-inch MacBook is a ridiculously thin, light, beautiful machine that offers everything I need more often than not. I don’t need a lot of ports, and the screen is super nice to look at (way better than the MacBook Air, which I hope gets upgraded in some way this year).
But, I would like to see Apple improve in some areas with their newest MacBook. Starting with battery life. I’ve been using Macs for so long now that I just expect good battery life, and while the 12-inch MacBook is decent, I hope the next one can pull out a few more hours away from the charger.
That’s it. That’s all I want in 2016’s MacBook. There are a ton of things I want Apple to change, tweak or otherwise improve in their other products, including the Apple Watch and Apple Music, but the 12-inch MacBook is just about perfect in its execution, as far as I’m concerned. When I walk away from a product and look into the future of its lineage, and all I want is better battery life, well, that’s pretty great. And if that happens, then there is no doubt in my mind that I’ll keep it as my daily driver.
If 2015 was the worst year ever for Apple and it brought to life a product like the MacBook, then things are going to get very exciting in the months ahead. I am looking forward to seeing what the next iPhone looks like, what the iPad Air 3 has to offer, what changes Apple brings to Apple Music, the next Apple Watch, and everything else the company has up its sleeve.
2016 has the potential to be one of the best.
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