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The Year in Review: Apple

PCMag takes a look back at the good, the bad, and ugly to come out of Cupertino in the last year.

December 23, 2011

Apple had its share of much-hyped product releases and headline-grabbing controversies in 2011, but late on Oct. 5, the gadgets and drama were overshadowed by the passing of Cupertino's enigmatic co-founder. Steve Jobs was gone.

The news hit early in the evening on the East Coast, one day after Apple had . Jobs had battled cancer for years, taking several leaves of absence and even undergoing a liver transplant, but by August 2011, the time had come to say goodbye. Jobs resigned from his post as Apple CEO, handing the reigns over to Tim Cook, and two months later, he passed away surrounded by family.

Upon hearing the news of his death, around the world to pay their respects, and Apple later at its Cupertino headquarters. His life was chronicled in a Walter Isaacson biography, published about three weeks after his death, but for more, see .

But Jobs likely would not have wanted his death to overshadow all that his company had accomplished in 2011, though he probably would've been OK with it eclipsing some of the gaffes, like location tracking, iPhone battery drains, and contentious patent battles. Let's take a look back at the good, the bad, and ugly to come out of Cupertino in the last year.

The Products
Apple fans spent much of the year waiting for a product that never arrived—the iPhone 5. We got a new iPhone, but it failed to include a totally revamped form factor, larger screen, 4G, or any of the other far-fetched, that made the rounds in 2011.

Instead, the arrived looking exactly the same as the iPhone 4 on the outside, but with Siri, a souped-up camera, and dual-core processor inside. Any disappointment over the lack of an iPhone 5-branded device did not hurt sales, though. Apple sold at least 4 million devices in the first few days it was available. The smartphone was also added to two new U.S. carriers—Sprint and C Spire.

Earlier in the year, however, Jobs was still well enough to take the stage and —a thinner, faster version of its predecessor with front- and rear-facing cameras. It , prompting long lines at area Apple Stores. By July, Apple revealed that it sold 9.25 million iPads during the quarter, a 183 percent increase from the year before.

Rivals like RIM and HP have struggled to compete with the iPad. The closest competitor appears to be the Amazon Kindle Fire, but the 7-inch, $199 tablet has as a low-cost alternative to the iPad rather than a potential iPad killer. Apple execs that the Fire might help iPad sales; people will purchase the Fire, realize they want something more powerful, and trade up.

With the new devices, meanwhile, came a revamped operating system: . It took a page from other OSes, like Android's notification center and BlackBerry Messenger with iMessage. There was also the launch of and for on-the-go access to files and music. The company's and lines also got an overhaul, while the next iteration of Mac OS X, , finally hit the desktop.

Continue Reading: The Year's Biggest Apple Controversies>

Biggest Controversies
Many of the Apple-centric headlines focus on its products and when we'll see the next-gen shiny gadget. But Cupertino also deals with its share of controversy and 2011 was no exception.

In mid-April, for example, two researchers published a blog post that said Apple was via the iPhone and other devices and storing it in an insecure file. The drama prompted an unprecedented and lengthy April 27 response from Apple, in which it denied tracking the location of iPhones, but said a "bug" in its software was storing location-related data for too long.

An iOS update , but the controversy resulted in a congressional inquiry, an from Apple's Bud Tribble, and investigations into rival mobile platforms and Microsoft's Windows Phone.

Another iPhone-related controversy hit this fall when Apple reportedly —in a bar. The device went missing from San Francisco's Cava 22, and there were reports that it was sold on Craigslist for $200, but nothing was ever confirmed. Apple made headlines, though, for having two of its security officials accompany San Francisco police to the home of a man thought to be involved in the prototype's disappearance.

That prototype was revealed to be the iPhone 4S about a month later, but the release was not completely drama-free. The iOS 5 upgrade resulted in complaints about rapidly draining batteries; Apple released an iOS update as a fix, but . Then, the device's Siri voice assistant also appeared to take a , refusing to list abortion clinics, but Apple said it was a bug. For more on that, see .

See You in Court
Apple's legal team certainly kept busy this year, from patent battles to fake stores.

Apple challenged HTC and Motorola on patents last year, but things really blew up this year with Samsung. Apple sued the company in April for "slavishly" copying the look and feel of the iPhone and iPad with its Galaxy line of devices, and the suit has since expanded to more than two dozen courts around the world. Most of the cases are still ongoing, but Apple has succeeded in getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 temporarily banned in Germany, though Samsung to get around that.

Apple also challenged top tech companies over their use of the term "app store" this year. Rivals like Microsoft and Amazon argued that the , but Apple says it has the exclusive rights to it thanks to the iTunes App Store. Amusing filings ensued; "Apple denies that, based on their common meaning, the words 'app store' together denote a store for apps," Apple said. At this point, Apple has not had much success; in July, a California district judge for an injunction against Amazon's AppStore.

Apple does, however, own the right to its own logo, and it successfully went after a variety of retailers selling fake products—from to .

Other Apple stories that got some ink, meanwhile, included: the whereabouts the ; a change in App Store policies that prompted e-book retailers to of purchasing capabilities; at Foxconn plants in China; and a vulnerability that could have let iOS devices.

Looking Ahead
There was a lot of discussion about whether Apple would survive without Jobs, but that he had thoroughly prepared top execs like Cook to carry on his vision. What's up for Apple in 2013? We'll likely see another iPad; the rumors have already started. And perhaps that much-hyped iPhone 5 (with 4G?) will make an appearance. And what about those rumors of an Apple-branded TV set? Time will tell, but one thing's for sure, Apple's not going anywhere, as its and might suggest.

What were your favorite Apple moments of 2011? Let us know in the comments.