2015 will go down in history as one of Apple's biggest and busiest years ever.
When you start to think about everything Apple released this year, it seems almost unimaginable for a company that only a decade ago had but one platform and just a handful of products. They launched a new product category with the Apple Watch, relaunched one with the new Apple TV, expanded another with the iPad Pro, turned media into services with Photos and Apple Music, and revamped almost everything else.
Scaling like that would be hard for any company no matter how successful, but for one that prides itself on tight focus and small teams, it's even harder. It wasn't perfect and it didn't come without cost, for Apple, developers, and customers. Yet looking back now, it's also impossible not to be impressed but just how much Apple accomplished in 2015.
We'll start looking forward to 2016 soon enough but, for now, let's take a final look back Here's an overview, including the in-depth year in review podcast series Serenity Caldwell and I recorded, and links to all the major reviews and news.
Spring 2015
The March event returned this year and in a big way. The Apple Watch, previewed last year, got a second, more detailed introduction and a launch. The new MacBook with Retina display and Force Touch trackpad debuted, and Apple surprised and delighted us with new framework for medical research called ResearchKit. Photos for OS X, also previewed last year, launched in the spring as well.
January
- Do people really want smaller screens... or smaller iPhones?
- Tim Cook on Q1 2015
- Apple's ASP and the difference between cost and value
- Why Apple might make a stylus for the iPad
- What 'MacKeeper' is and why you should avoid it
February
- Tim Cook at Goldman Sachs
- What if the iPad ran iPadOS?
- Lenovo reminds everyone why it's better to get a Mac
- Why the iPhone doesn't have a thicker, bigger battery
- Emotional terrorism and censorship
- The Apple Car, 'Titan', CarPlay, and what comes next
- Accessibility is for everyone
March
- Tim Cook on Mad Money
- MacBook review
- ResearchKit
- The iPhone 6c potential
- Siri and the potential for 'Voice ID'
- Overcoming video game addiction in children
- What else can Apple do?
- The future of Apple TV
- On pressure sensitive iPads
April
Summer 2015
June was highlighted, as always, by Apple's World Wide Developers Conference. And WWDC 2015 was the biggest to date. Not only did we get the unveiling of iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan, but of watchOS 2, Swift 2.0, and an all-new streaming and radio service called Apple Music. Then, in July, we got surprised by an updated iPod touch to run all that Apple Music on.
May
- The future of Jony Ive and Apple
- An Apple customer's take on Google I/O
- Streaming is the future of music
June
- The future of Thunderbolt is USB-C, and this is a good thing
- Understanding Apple and privacy
- WWDC 2015: Just breathe
- Phil Schiller on the Talk Show
- iOS 9 review
- watchOS 2 review
- OS X El Capitan review
- Everything you need to know about Apple Music
July
- iPod touch 6 review
- Content blockers, bad ads, and what we're doing about it
- Apple and the user experience business model
- HomeKit and the state of wireless security
- Apple Camp
- Regarding built-in iOS apps being split out into the App Store
- Tim Cook on Q3 2015
August
Fall 2015
Fall brought Apple's annual September event. Because there wasn't going to be an October event this year, the result was the debut of a dizzying array of new products, including the Apple Watch Hermès, new gold and rose gold finishes for Apple Watch Sport, iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, and an all-new Apple TV with its very own App Store.
September
- iPhone 6s review
- iPhone 6s Plus review
- Does Apple need an iPhone 6c?
- Why there's no wireless charging for the iPhone
- iPhone and the advantage of timely security updates
- iPad mini 4 review
- On-demand resources and Apple TV gaming
- Apple Watch Hermès
October
- Apple comments on A9 chipset performance
- Apple announces 21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display
- Apple TV 4 review
- Magic Keyboard review
- Magic Trackpad 2 review
- Magic Mouse 2 review
- Tim Cook on Q4 2015
November
- iPad Pro review
- The iPad Pro experiment
- The iPad Pro's chip is a big deal
- Apple Pay launches in Canada and Australia
- 2015: An Apple TV odyssey
December
Your 2015?
Those were the biggest products and announcements from Apple in 2015. Which were your favorites? Which were the hardware, software, services, and news that meant the most to you?
Reader comments
Apple's blockbuster 2015: Year in review
My Favorite was open sourcing swift
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I honestly thought this year was somewhat of a letdown. Apple did make a lot of killer products, but they did a lot of stuff that was a little off putting all year.
The iPad Pro with the lack of actual pro functionality, coupled with the $100 Pencil and $170 keyboard case with only 32 GB of storage for $800. Plus the fact there are very few actual pro level apps to take advantage of the hardware is quite dumbfounding to me.
The new Magic accessories were also a joke as well. The prices go up and the functionality goes down. No more removable batteries for them, and to charge them you have to use a charging port on the bottom. Not a really great design choice there. Apple Watch dock falls in this category as well. $80 for a toilet seat lookalike that really provides no added function doesn't bode well with most consumers that actually care about their money.
I know I'll get absolutely hammered for saying this, but 16 GB iPhones in 2015 is a sad joke. The fact that the 6s can record 4k and only has 16 GB on the base model is a ripoff. The base storage really should've been bumped to 32 in 2014 honestly.
The MacBook is the biggest disappointment of 2015. 1\10 the processing power of an MBA or MBP with only 1 port and a severe lack of power. All we wanted was an MBA with a retina display but instead they gave us that.
Now Apple did make some good stuff. The iPhone 6s and Apple Watch were both really great, along with the controversial Apple Music in my opinion. They did make a lot of great stuff and had a very profitable year, but they didn't really impress me all that much. Can't wait to see what 2016 brings though, the iPhone 7 could really be great!
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I will agree with most of what you said. The watch dock, to me, is the biggest joke of them all. I would have to differ with you on the MacBook and the iPad Pro. As a disclaimer I don't own a MacBook but I have a friend who does and have used it somewhat. I think it is a very solid product that will be iterated on significantly. Most of the people who gripe about it are the ones that don't need it because of lack of power and ports. It is not a power user product, hence I won't buy one. I do like to hope that the power will come up soon as Intel improves their chipset but in the mean time I just can't see much more power going into something with no fan. As for the iPad Pro, which I do own, I think it is very solid and is just the beginning of the fork for where iOS will go for iPads. App developers are going to have to get on board as well. I have the pencil and as an amateur artist, love drawing with it. I don't have the keyboard because it is not a replacement for my MacBook Pro nor do I ever see it getting there. To me, both products are so somewhat bleeding edge and blurring the lines on what is a tablet and what is a laptop that it will be interesting to see where they go from here. For the iPad it's iOS (or hopefully iPad OS!). For the MacBook it's going to be hardware.
As some tech sites say, we could argue that Apple launched beta products or features this year: apple Watch, Music, News, Apple TV, Macbook (underpowered)...
Only the iphone 6s, ipad mini 4 and may be the iPad Pro feels like finished products
So busy but a little underwhelming ? I'd love to know your opinion on that René. Thanks
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Stay tuned, I have an article on that coming up!
OK my comment has gone, I didn't think it was that bad o.o oh well. Any how I bought an Ipad mini 2 at the beginning of the year, good tablet.
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Rene deleted the critical comments.
Your comment was excellent, proper, and thoughtful. If it makes you feel better, there were other thoughtful comments that were removed.
Ta.
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OK my thoughts on Apple in 2015 and I will try not call people fan boy..
I will preface this by saying I don't have a lot of the products or have used the services mentioned in the following and that is just my opinions and thoughts. With that in mind here goes and I have good and bad lists.
Good :
IPad Pro. When I read about it and watched the key note on it I thought wow this is cool and will be an interesting product for artists and designers, my niece thought it was cool as she likes tech and is an aspiring artist.
3D touch. I like the idea of this and it seems to fit the way iPhones work very well. The ability to to press a bit harder and lunch something after previewing it brill. Good one Apple.
The MacBook. It's a very cool looking thin and light laptop. Force touch.
iPhone 6s and 6s plus. Again I will use the word cool, cool looking phones and with 3D touch brill , but yet ..
On to the bad.
Bad :
iPhone 6s and 6s plus. Cool looking yet the home buttons.. too much wasted space. Now does 4k recording but fill up your 16 gb model ! Should of started at 32gb
MacBook. From £1049 for only one USB C port ! Extra £s for an adapter !?! Apple what are you smoking?
iPad Pro. ios 9 needs to be changed on this as too much wasted screen when not using split screen. To get the most out of it if you are an artist you need to buy expensive add ons £79 for the pencil ! Apple stop smoking that stuff not good for you!
Apple music. OK I haven't used it and I might like it if I do, but not heard good things about it. Jim Dalrymple another apple fan boy er I mean passionate apple user has often mentioned how apple music needs fixing and has messed up his music collection.
Anyway those are my thoughts on Apple in 2015, if you made this far thanks for reading :-)
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So says an Android fanboy. But I agree with most of your points except for the the part about the home button and too much wasted space as you put it. Sorry but the bezels and the home button are very important for Touch ID in the case of the home button and both bezels are part of the identity of the iPhone. But since you're an Android guy it is fine for Android phones to have no use for things like a home button but not for the iPhone as the iPhone won become an Android clone if Apple ditched the home button and both bezels, thank goodness it's Jony Ive designing the iPhone and not you.
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Er thanks for your input.. Like I said just my opinions and thoughts on Apple in 2015. No need for the insults, yes I am an android fan but I do use and own apple stuff. I would like to try an iPhone but do wish they where cheaper or the carriers could let you try one out somehow.
Believe there is plenty wrong with android but yes I do prefer it.
What I do admire is some one who has tried out an iPhone or Android phone but is honest and says not for me but I can see why people like it. What I don't like is people who blindly follow apple or any other company. Nothing is perfect just use what you enjoy and understand people won't agree with your choice.
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I can understand people not agreeing with my choice, life would boring if we all agreed on everything, I actually use a Nexus 6 also and I like it but I'll always prefer iPhone and iOS. What I don't like is people and anti Apple people especially complaining about how expensive it is and so on and just hating on Apple, Nexus apart the rest of Android just doesn't appeal to me.
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I found this to be a transition year.. really excited about the foundations being established with the Watch, the iPad Pro, and Swift being taken to open source!
Is there is a bug, my comment got deleted.