Apple could have a lot of exciting products in the pipeline for next year, with as many as 15 new releases. Or so says Mark Gurman, in the latest issue of his Power On newsletter. Apparently, Apple is set for "one of its most pivotal years in recent memory," and the new products play a key role in that.
The "early portion of the year" should see the release of iPhone 17e, the 12th-generation iPad (with an A18 chip), the iPad Air M4, MacBook Air M5, the MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max, plus some new Mac monitors. None of these are particularly unexpected, but it should help start Apple's 50th anniversary year off with a bang.
Gurman also expects that the long-overdue Siri upgrade, which adds AI features to the voice assistant, will be ready sometime in March or April. This should arrive around the same time as Apple's smart display, which will be available with either a speaker base or a wall mount. Gurman notes that this should be the groundwork for an expansion of Apple's smart home offerings, with products like cameras coming later in the year.
WWDC in June will no doubt see updates to iOS 27, macOS 27 and other operating systems Apple controls — but Gurman believes they will be accompanied by major updates to Apple Intelligence. AI was missing in action this year, likely down to Siri's delay, and Apple needs to get back on that bandwagon soon.
Naturally, that should be followed by the usual iPhone releases, including an iPhone 18 Pro with the Apple-made C2 modem and the foldable iPhone Fold. There's no mention of the iPhone 18, which is troubling considering Apple is rumored to be skipping the usual fall release in favor of a Spring 2027 launch.
Finally, the tail end of 2026 will see the release of new MacBook Pros, with the M6 Pro and M6 Max chips — plus a brand new design refresh. Gurman claims this will result in a thinner chassis, as well as the introduction of the first touchscreens on any Mac device. This will apparently coincide with an M5 upgrade to Mac mini and Mac Studio.
I'm not sure why Apple would switch to the M6 Pro and Max so soon after launching the M5 equivalents, but there are many things Apple does that I can't explain. Regardless of whether it's the regular M6 or the Pro/Max variants, it appears that Apple still has a significant amount to offer next year.
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