This was published 12 years ago
Apple doesn't fall far from tree
New boss Tim Cook is likely to preach straight from the book of Jobs this year.
By Garry Barker
THIS being the first week of a new year that most experts believe will be, to say the least, challenging, we thought to preserve a tradition of our trade and don the old fortune-teller outfit to predict what may come from the Apple campus.
It is, of course, a significant year for Apple. Steve Jobs is no longer at the helm; his place taken by Tim Cook, who has been groomed for it since Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Fairly or not Cook will be judged, at least initially, against the Jobs legend; upon how Apple retains its momentum as an innovative and significant consumer technology company.
Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Those who know Cook say Apple is in safe hands.
In temperament he is calm and decisive, utterly different from the mercurial Jobs, though, we are told, no less demanding of quality and receptive of ideas.
Apple TV.
So, what lies ahead? The fog in our crystal ball is as thick as ever, prompting issue of the usual caveat - what follows is guesswork woven from straws in the winds howling through an industry renowned beyond all others for rumours. And no company is more the subject of them than Apple.
We know an iPhone 5 is on the way, though my face still tastes of egg because I, among the many, confidently predicted an iPhone 5 when what Apple delivered was the iPhone 4S. As to when: possibly June, more likely September, or any other time Apple chooses. We also expect an iPad 3 later this year.
Some believe there will be two - a 25.4-centimetre model as now and another with a 17-centimetre Retina Display screen. Higher-definition iPad screens are expected, perhaps more memory and certainly more powerful chips.
That television is Apple's next target field looks obvious. The company is expected to release, possibly in the third quarter, an internet-fed television - an iTV.
Just before he died, Jobs told his biographer, Walter Isaacson, he had "cracked the code" that would transform the digital living room, something many consumer-tech companies have been seeking for years. The user interface would be "the simplest you could imagine," Jobs said. Gestures and voice, like Siri on steroids?
US technology watchdog DigiTimes, reporting Korean sources, says Samsung has been producing microprocessors for Apple iTVs since November 2011, adding that Sharp will produce the expected 80-centimetre and 90-centimetre displays. But people replace TVs much less often than they upgrade their phones and computers, so analysts say Apple will launch a beefed-up third-generation Apple TV set-top box early this year.
A factor governing iPhone 5 and iPad 3 release dates may be the availability and take-up of very high-speed (60 megabits per second plus) 4G mobile technology; 4G, or LTE (Long Term Evolution), is expected to be a new feature of iPhone 5 and iPad 3.
LTE networks, expected to boost mobile data use by business, industries, healthcare and high-definition video, are being built by Telstra and Optus, in the US by Verizon and AT&T and by carriers in Europe.
Telstra, with the bigger Australian LTE network, has so far offered connection by notebook dongle (4G is about data, not voice).
A few Asian-made LTE handsets exist but require two chipsets - one for 4G, the other for 3G - making them large and voracious of battery life.
Production of chipsets using less power but capable of handling both 4G data and 3G voice without increasing the handset's size or reducing battery life may be governing iPhone 5's arrival date.
Near-Field Communications (NFC), used with an electronic wallet, may also be in iPhone 5. This depends on chip design and large-scale rollout of NFC terminals by banks, telcos and gateway companies. NFC works across a few centimetres - much less than Bluetooth - and is seen as a significant development for mobile payments. It has uses as personal ID, building and vehicle access.
Changes in iPhone 5's design could include a 10.1-centimetre display, possibly achieved by use of a virtual home button rather than the current physical switch. A larger case might be required for a bigger battery to feed power-hungry LTE. A 10-megapixel main camera is also rumoured, as is an even more capable Siri, the voice-recognition assistant already working in the iPhone 4S.