We may earn compensation from reviewed products. Learn about our editorial policies.
The older you get, the faster time moves, and I’m conscious that I may not be looking that far ahead when it comes to 2030. But a lot happens in tech in not a lot of time. And it happens fast.
We’ve seen that within the last two years alone (maybe less) with the incessant, bulldozer-like march of artificial intelligence (AI). It caught me off guard, it may have caught you off guard, and I’m still of the opinion that it caught Apple off guard, too. Tim and co. were fully invested in a future that was centred on spatial computing. That’s why the launch of Vision Pro was heralded by Apple as a glimpse at the kind of user interface we’ll all be using several years ahead.
ChatGPT had other ideas. So did Google. And Samsung. And before we all knew it, Apple rushed out a half-baked version of their own AI platform, and all hell broke loose.
This has left me pondering Apple’s future. It isn’t DOOMED, but I do feel like I need some reassurances that the Apple in five years is still going to be the one I fell in love with twenty years ago. What follows are my thoughts on what Tim and co. need to do with each platform – in order of what interests me.
Mac
I’m typing this in a Parisian Starbucks on a 13-inch M4 MacBook Air. I wouldn’t want to be doing it on anything else. If pushed, I’d use my iPad Pro with its Logitech Flip Folio keyboard cover, but due to the amount of other work I need to do beyond writing, it wouldn’t take long for me to miss my MacBook. Deeply.
I don’t want much to change with the Mac over the next five years, save for the usual iterative design tweaks and internal upgrades. I’ve sat here for the last ten minutes trying to work out what I’d like Apple to do with their beloved computer, and I’m struggling, to be honest.
Making the display touch-ready is something I’d welcome, but it’s not a dealbreaker, and I know there’s an army of people out there who do not understand that request at all.
Related: M5 MacBook Pro review
A more affordable entry-level MacBook, which is being heavily rumoured, would be rather lovely. Take a cue from the Mac mini lineup and place something within the MacBook roster that’s around £600/$600. Imagine that.
Otherwise, if the Mac is where it is now in five years, we’re winning (and so is Apple).
iPhone
I’ve had my hands on the new iPhones for about a month now, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Nothing much has happened, as is standard these days, but the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s redesign has worked for me. And the iPhone Air is a deeply flawed, yet undeniably fun device, which is a silicon-carbide battery and extra camera lens away from being great.
However, looking five years into the future for the iPhone is tough. Apple’s smartphone has always moved at a relatively slow pace when it comes to generational leaps compared to the Android competition. For instance, in 2025, we’re only just getting a 120Hz display on the regular model, and the iPhone still lags behind when it comes to battery tech and charging speeds.
By 2030, the iPhone’s battery life needs to be on par with the phones on the Dark Side of the Moon. The AI gap also needs to be completely closed in terms of consumer-facing features (although god only knows where we’ll be with that in five years). Siri needs to work. Apple also needs a serious foothold in the foldable market, which I think we’ll see the beginnings of next year, and for which I think the iPhone Air is the first step on that path.
Check out my iPhone 17 review
Realistically, though, Apple is probably always going to stick to its guns with slow smartphone iteration. It has worked thus far, after all.
visionOS
Twelve months ago, I was rather worried that Apple had pulled back on its commitment to visionOS. The sudden need to develop its own AI platform and the more-than-tepid response to Apple’s super-expensive and incredibly heavy headset left Tim Cook with no choice but to abandon his plans to change the world via spatial computing.
This assumption was, of course, based on no facts whatsoever. It came to pass that Apple would announce the M5 Vision Pro in October 2025. A deeply odd release that did little to address the main concerns many had.
However, visionOS 26 is quite a leap forward; windows and widgets can now be locked permanently to surfaces, photos can be transformed into spatial scenes, and, finally, there’s the ability to share the experience with someone else who’s also wearing a Vision Pro headset.
If you have more disposable income than Lewis Hamilton, that is.
I’m with Apple on this. I think visionOS does give us a glimpse at what the future of computing is going to be. It just isn’t going to be with that massive, uncomfortable thing strapped to your face.
By 2030, I want to see that commitment to visionOS in full swing, along with a version of the headset that’s smaller, more comfortable, less weird, and priced within the all-important ‘that’s tempting’ range.
Audio and TV
At the time of writing, Apple has just launched the AirPods Pro 3, which have only cemented their status as ANC monsters. Again.
Related: AirPods Pro 3 review
Far less impressive is what Apple has been doing – or, on the surface, not doing – with AirPods Max and the HomePod lineup. The former hasn’t changed since 2020, save for USB-C connectivity and some new colours. The latter sounds and looks great, but is awful to interact with in everyday use, from my experience. Siri only works fifty percent of the time (if you’re lucky), multi-room audio is teeth-grindingly impossible to use, and that iPhone handoff thing just doesn’t work.
I can just about deal with the AirPods Max situation. Apple owns Beats, after all, which updates its headphone lineup more often and fills the affordability gap left by the expensive AirPods Max.
I can’t deal with the HomePod situation, though. I’m fed up with switching home assistants in our kitchen, but there’s no doubting that the most consistent of them all in terms of long-term usability is still Amazon’s Alexa. However, I don’t want to head back in that direction – I want Apple’s stuff in my house, and I just want it to just work.
Best cheap headphones? CMF Headphones Pro review
So, by 2030, I want Apple to have either done away with AirPods Max as a product or to have introduced a more affordable, lighter version. More importantly, I want the HomePod lineup to be fixed (an on-device version of Siri that is reliable and cross-device interoperability that doesn’t feel like an afterthought).
Apple Watch
I’ve said numerous times that I believe watchOS to be the best smartwatch operating system on the market, and I hold firm on that belief, having tried most of the competition.
I’ve spent the last few days travelling around Paris, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is an incredibly useful companion for turn-by-turn directions and keeping on top of important notifications. Even the battery life has been ok. And the Apple Watch Ultra 3, of which I have a review coming up, is just a better version.
Providing Apple continues to add new health features and ensures the battery life reaches five-day stamina on the Ultra version, I’ll be happy, as will the Apple Watch’s legion of fans.
iPad
Although it pains me to say, I’ve learned that I’m probably not the target market for the iPad. As noted earlier, I undertake all of my computing duties on a Mac. Because it’s a computer. For everything else, there’s my iPhone and, more regularly these days, the Samsung Z Fold7.
This doesn’t mean I’m going to abandon the iPad completely or stop reviewing it; the direction in which Apple appears to be taking iPadOS is interesting, as are the potential green shoots of it having a more consistent place in my life in the future.
I’m keeping a mindful eye on Apple’s tablet, basically. And it’s still the best on the market, regardless.
It just doesn’t feel like the future of computing. It can’t be, anyway, if that’s what visionOS is. The iPad, therefore, needs to maintain a clean distinction between itself and the Mac over the next five years. A simple task, one would hope.
Final thought
I’m excited about Apple’s future. I like the fact that they are somewhat under the cosh at the moment; strong Chinese competition, AI challenges, and questions about where Tim’s chips should be placed are keeping everyone on their toes in Cupertino. We may not even have Tim leading the company by 2030, or if rumours are to be believed, by 2026.
My biggest fear is that, in five years, the Mac’s place in Apple’s lineup will diminish slightly. As noted, I’m super interested in whatever comes next for visionOS, but I think the Mac still has an awfully long future ahead of it. This probably sounds daft. It probably is daft, but it needs to be said. Tech moves fast, remember – and I don’t want the best of it to get left behind.
Apple’s future depends entirely on what happens in the world of tech during the remaining part of this decade and, obviously, who is at the helm at Apple Park come 2030.
Bring it on.
