The big guns in the tech industry usually have one or two big products that they launch every year, but they're also busy all year round. There's a reason why Apple makes the news ever so often and it's because things related to the company are often newsworthy. So, here's a roundup of some important things that Apple was involved in this year.
iCloud Hack
The iCloud Hack came just before the launch of the new iPhones and left a bad taste in the mouth for Apple. Hackers leaked nude pictures of actress Jennifer Lawrence on the Internet and Apple went into damage control mode.
iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
Giving in to popular demand, Apple finally embraced the big screen with 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch displays on the new iPhones. They are good devices, but we, like many others, questioned Apple's design philosopy this time. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus aren't the best built smartphones we've seen.
iOS 8
Each new iPhone is accompanied by the new OS, which brings us to iOS 8. Apple repeatedly called it the biggest update to iOS in a long time and we agree, only, it's big for developers right now and you, the consumer, will have to wait to take advantage of its full power.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay has two implications; the first is that NFC is finally present on iPhones and the second is that it could give a much needed boost to mobile payment systems. Apple showed off a lot of partners at the launch, alongisde the iPhones and iOS 8 and has gone full steam ahead.
Apple Health
Apple's claims for iOS 8 have a lot to do with Healthkit and apps. It shows Apple's seriousness about Health and made us ask, is health the new music for Apple?
Metal APIs
When it comes to mobile gaming, you don't get much better than the iPhones. Apple does it right and it took it a step further with the new metal APIs for developers. They allow developers to enhance the graphics and compute potential of their apps for iPhones.
Apple Watch
Hear ye, hear ye! Apple is coming to the wearables market soon! The Apple Watch though wasn't as impressive as we had expected it to be. Yes, the Watch Crown was a good addition, but other than that, it didn't match our expectations. Of course, the device is yet to be launched and we can only truly judge the product once that happens.
27 inch Retina 5k iMac
Retina displays for iPhones, then, Retina displays for iPads, and now, Retina displays for the iMac. The new 27-inch Retina 5k display on the iMac ranks among the best you can get on a PC today.
Mac Pro
The new Mac Pro is about 10 inches tall and 6 inches wide, and it's cylindrical in shape. That takes nothing away from how powerful it is and of course, it looks quite amazing.
U2 Debacle
The company had quite a few controversies to take care of this year. The iCloud hack preceded the iPhone and the U2 debacle followed it. Apple decided to 'give' the new U2 album for 'free' to iTunes users. Little did they know that not everyone would like it. Mass disappointment ensued and Apple had to give people a way to remove the album from their iTunes lists.
Bendgate
As mentioned before, we all questioned Apple's design on the iPhone. Well, bendgate was one of the big reasons for it. Turns out that the iPhone 6 Plus bends and no one likes that. Competitors (like Samsung) took advantage of that to ridicule Apple for it. The company apparently corrected the issue later, but no one's sure yet and Apple has made no official comment.
Apple SIM
The iPhones are usually followed by the iPads, but there was not much to see in them this time. Except, Apple quietly put in its own SIM into the new iPad Air 2 and the implications of that are big. The SIM allows you to subscribe to plans from various carriers and may also do that in different regions at different times in the future. It could change the idea of SIM cards too.
Tim Cook is proud to be gay
Why is that important? Because one of the most powerful executives in the world is comfortable made that announcement, giving gay rights a shot in the arm.
India operations gain steam
Apple has been taking a lot of interest in India for some time now. The company increased its efforts this year, with big advertisements in newspapers all over the country and some useful exchange deals. Of course, it followed the online model to the T as well.