2015 preview: What to expect from Apple this year

by Bryan M. Wolfe

January 2, 2015

For Apple, 2014 was a very good year. How will 2015 rate in the history books? We don’t know yet, of course. However, the year is likely to be shaped by many of the events shown below.

January

CES

On Jan. 6, the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is where many of the cool gadgets for 2015 will receive their introductions. It should be a huge year for home automation, wearable devices, and fitness tools.

Apple Watch

If Apple’s first wearable device is to arrive in stores before Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, we’ll need to see an announcement made later this month. Otherwise, the release probably shifts to March or April.

February

Super Bowl XLIX

We can’t wait to see how Samsung chooses to bash Apple in pricey ads this year. Super Bowl XLIX is on Sunday, Feb. 1.

Grammys

We really hope that 2015 is the year that Apple returns to its roots and does something with the iPod lineup (besides killing it, of course).

The 57th Grammys air on Sunday, Feb. 8. This sounds like the perfect time to make some new music, no?

Toy Fair

The 2015 Toy Fair in New York City runs from Feb. 14 through Feb. 17. This is where everything on your kid’s Christmas list get its start. Many of these will work with an iPhone/iPod touch and iPad.

March

Last March, Coldplay, Soundgarden, and other artists wowed the crowds at the first iTunes Festival to be hosted outside of London, England. We hope to see the iTunes Festival at SXSW return for another year. This year’s music portion of SXSW in Austin, Texas runs from March 17-22.

April through May

Apple is usually very quiet during this time of year. That could change in 2015.

Besides the Apple Watch release, Cupertino could use this time to unveil a rebranded Beats Music service, a new Apple TV, and more.

June

This year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is likely to kick off on Monday, June 1 or Monday, June 8. Expect to see previews of “iOS 9” and OS X 10.11 during this event. New hardware could include the first MacBook Air with a Retina display.

July and August

Otherwise known as beta testing time for developers.

September

AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus could get their walking papers this month as Apple’s new handsets are unveiled. Soon after, we’ll need to deal with this year’s “Antennagate” and Bendgate.”

October

Say hello to the “iPad Air 3,” “iPad Pro,” and more.

November and December

Otherwise known as when Apple makes a boatload of money as it looks ahead to 2016.