The last year has been a strange one for Apple, as it has mainly focused on maintaining its smartphone market dominance while dipping its toes into XR and AI. Regulators from around the world knocked on the doors of Cupertino’s walled garden and we saw the first cracks with the release of iOS 18. The iPhone 16 series brought further refinements that garnered enough interest from consumers but fell short of initial expectations.
M4 series chips continue to deliver blazing-fast performance for Macs and iPads, while the new AirPods 4 deliver excellent audio and active noise cancellation without silicone ear tips. It wasn’t sunshine in Cupertino’s world as the Apple Intelligence and Vision Pro could safely be classified as flops. Let’s dive deep into the best and not-so-best from Apple in 2024.
Winner: iOS 18
Third-party app stores? Alternative default apps? RCS messaging? All of them are now part of iOS, at least in some regions. Here are the features that Apple likes or dislikes that once seemed like distant mirages to iPhone users. The European Commission is the driving force behind the change, as are regulators in other parts of the world, and 2024 marks a major change for Apple’s most popular operating system.
The features gap between iOS and Android is thinner in 2024 than it was a few years ago. You can rearrange the icons without any grid limitations, which should have been a feature on iPhones since the beginning.
You’re free to set alternative default apps for your browser, camera, gallery and message apps, which is a big win for those opposed to Apple’s walled garden. We’re happy to see that iOS is now a freer and more customizable operating system, and we look forward to what’s next.
Loser: Apple Intelligence
You’ve probably seen that hilarious Apple Intelligence notification summary, and it’s perfectly indicative of the feature: it’s half-baked. In a surprisingly un-Apple way, Apple Intelligence was marketed as a key feature for the iPhone 16 series without making it on day one.
At the time of writing, more than three months after its official launch and iOS 18.2 is now out, Apple Intelligence is still missing several key features. Perhaps more importantly, AI features remain exclusive to a handful of English-speaking countries. Users in Europe and China will have to wait until April 2025, which is a big slowdown. Mass deployment struggles aside, Apple’s AI features seem rudimentary and lag behind competitors like OpenAI and Google.
Winner: iPhone 16
Baseline iPhones have been Apple’s best sellers for years and this year is no different. The iPhone 16 is the best non-pro iPhone ever, with a more capable A18 chipset, 8GB of RAM, an autofocusing ultrawide camera and a new camera control button.
Add in a long-lasting battery, and you’re left with a great premium and (sort-of) compact device that’s missing just one thing – a high refresh rate screen. But hey, Apple calls it ProfMotion display, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
Loser: Apple Vision Pro
For all the hype surrounding its US launch in February, the Vision Pro seemed to fall off a cliff shortly after. Despite later expanded rollouts to a few Asian and European markets, Apple’s $3,500/€4,000 space computer is just an expensive first-gen niche product with a limited use case, meaning most consumers aren’t interested. In addition to being absurdly expensive, Apple’s XR headset is heavy, clunky, and isolating, and it currently has no real game-changing applications.
According to the latest rumors, the more affordable Vision Pro is at least two years away so Apple may be taking its time before seeing a more polished headset ready for prime-time.
Winner: M4 Chips/Mac Mini 2024
The M1 series of chips laid the foundation for the ARM revolution in personal computers, and the M4 generation brought tangible CPU and GPU advantages over previous chips.
The M4 Max chip is configurable with 16 CPU cores, 40 GPU cores and 128GB of integrated memory with 546GB/s bandwidth. Those numbers are ridiculous, but if you have the right workflow and are able to live with macOS, Apple offers some crazy possibilities for creative work.
Along with the M4 chips, Apple also announced its smallest desktop ever with the new Mac mini with M4 and M4 Pro chips. At just 12.7cm (5 inches) per side and 670 grams, the new Mac mini fully lives up to its name. And as we saw in our M4 Mac mini review, the device is a capable workhorse with silent operation and decent port selection while costing a reasonable $599 in its base configuration.
Winner: AirPods 4
The biggest problem with in-ear headphones is their fit. Many people can’t live with silicone tips jammed into their ears for more than a few hours but not having a good seal around your ears is a recipe for bad noise cancellation.
Apple managed to solve that problem with the AirPods 4 with its ANC, which was developed with special ear-mapping technology that ensures the best fit for different ear types while somehow managing to provide competent noise cancellation. The new drivers also ensure better sound quality, which, combined with longer battery life and a USB-C charging case, make this one of Apple’s best AirPods to date.
