2024’s done. Phew. I won’t miss it. It felt like the world had us all playing a video game on ‘bonkers’ mode. Fortunately, Apple in 2024 didn’t follow suit in being bonkers itself. Mostly.
Here, then, is Stuff’s final Apple blow-out of 2024 – the Apple ‘year in review’. Heartily clap at the good parts. Slow hand clap at the bad things. And stare open-mouthed at the smugly bit.
Apple in 2024: the good
Apple’s 2024 year in review: all the things that rocked Stuff’s world. Or at least didn’t make everyone make A Face.
The almost-Pro iPhone 16
Apple Intelligence forced Apple to power up its standard iPhones this year, rather than leaving them stranded an entire chip generation behind the Pro. And while the iPhone 16 still lacks a 120Hz display (*fume*), the revamped camera, snazzy colours and lack of heft made it by some margin Stuff’s favourite Apple blower of the year. Go Pro? Just say no.
M4 chips
It’s getting to be a habit, reaching the end of the year and praising Apple chips. But aside from having the misfortune of being named after the UK’s dullest motorway, the M4 is a winner. Blazing fast. Low power drain. And while curmudgeons gripe an M1 is enough, no one is forcing you to upgrade your devices. But when you do, an M4 will last you for years.
An even minier Mac mini
Anyone expecting the Mac mini to shrink to the size of an Apple TV might have been disappointed by 2024’s revamp. Everyone else made cooing noises at what was, in effect, a Mac Studio mini. It’s small. It’s quiet. And there are even three ports – including a headphone jack – on the front of the thing. Courage!
Apple Watch Series 10
Maybe the Apple Watch will get a major redesign when Apple turns it up to 11. The Series 10 was more refinement than revolution. And you know what? It works. The device is that little bit thinner. The screen is that little bit bigger. Although I’d have been happier had the battery lasted that little bit longer.
Camera Control
Apple isn’t the first company to add a dedicated camera button to a phone. But it is the first to turn it into a tiny trackpad. And while Camera Control is imperfect – placement isn’t ideal, and it can be a smidgeon fiddly – it does turn the iPhone into a better camera. And that’s every new iPhone, since Apple didn’t limit it to just the Pros.
iOS customisation
The iPhone is never going to be Android in terms of flexibility. Apple is too opinionated and rigid for that. But this year’s iOS and iPadOS customisation options were meaningful, letting everyone precisely position Home Screen icons and – better – turn Control Centre into a launching powerhouse. Although how about some Finder-style Home Screen icon sorting options, Apple?
iPhone mirroring
One device to rule them all? Never going to happen. But Apple did take things a step further in smoothing the transition between devices by giving everyone a virtual iPhone on their Mac. Specifically their iPhone, which can be directly controlled from the computer. Definitely a feature for the ‘now can’t live without’ column.
Movie magic
For fans of moving images, two Apple moments stood out in 2024. The first was the ridiculously impressive slo-mo that came to iPhone Pro, giving you a chance to turn every capture into something out of The Matrix. And then Apple souped up memory movies with Apple Intelligence, letting you build lip-wobble-inducing short films from simple text prompts.
The Password app
This entry doesn’t scream excitement. But you know what? More people could do with sorting out their passwords and securing their online accounts and identities. By moving Passwords to its own app (and a nice one at that) rather than burying the functionality in Settings, Apple gave everyone a gentle nudge. Now sort your passwords out!
Doubling down on health
Apple remains on a health kick. Good. Technology does enough to mess with our lives, and so Apple kit alerting us to bits of our bodies going ‘sproing’ is no bad thing. This year, Apple gave us hearing tests from AirPods Pro 2, sleep apnoea detection from Apple Watch, and motion sickness accessibility when using an iPhone in a moving vehicle.
I also liked:
- Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro iPad updates proving that Apple hasn’t forgotten about its pro-grade tablet apps.
- RCS support bridging the gap between iMessage and Android texting, albeit not quite to ‘blue bubble’ standard.
- The death of Finewoven – because what was Apple thinking? Aside from MONEY MONEY MONEY. Those cases were terrible.
- The MacBook Air M2/M3 RAM bump showing that Apple can avoid being a monster regarding RAM upgrades.
- USB-C keyboards finally consigning Lightning to the grave, at least on the desktop. Just the iPhone SE left to go now…
Apple in 2024: the bad
Apple’s 2024 in review: the times where Apple should have gone Edit > Select All > Move to Trash.
Vision Pro’s lack of vision
It was too much to expect Vision Pro – a 3.5 grand headset – to be an iPhone-style hit. But Apple probably expected something akin to Apple Watch. Instead, the device bombed. The company’s putting a brave face on it, calling Vision Pro an “early-adopter product”. But the high price and lack of games baffled, and many owners now use it as a fancy immersive TV. That’s not enough.
The AirPods Max minimum update
Back in 2020, Apple’s cans offered great sound and questionable comfort for a high price. Four years later, they are… the same. Almost literally. Apple ‘upgraded’ (and, yes, scare quotes very intentionally used there) them with USB-C and new colours. They didn’t even get a chip bump to match the one in the cheapest AirPods. Yikes.
Bonkers upgrade pricing
Speaking of money, Apple likes money. It likes money so much that its upgrade pricing is now absurd to the level you might wonder if it might be some kind of prank. Witness the new Mac mini: double the storage and RAM and the extra cost alone is more than buying a second Mac mini. Enough, Apple.
The death of Apple Car
Project Titan turned into Project Titanic Blunder as Apple Car was finally put out of its misery. Alas, none of us will ever be able to buy Apple Garage or double Apple Car’s price by increasing the number of seats. More seriously, it raises questions about the tech giant’s ability to execute on ambitious projects. Is Apple’s innovation engine starting to sputter?
60Hz displays
60Hz? 60 HURTS, right? OK, not literally, but it’s staggering that Apple thinks a 60Hz display in an iPhone is totally OK when much cheaper Android blowers blazed past that spec years ago. Maybe Apple thinks slightly juddery scrolling is still fine in Space Year 2024. But this all whiffs more of upsell than anything. Want a quality display? Buy an iPhone Pro. Hmm.
Apple Intelligence
Arriving on a wave of hype so high it threatened to drench the entire universe, Apple Intelligence turned out to be… fine? Occasionally, it’s useful or fun. Too often, it’s terrible. The notifications are somehow all of those things simultaneously. None of which would have mattered had Apple not effectively sold 2024’s gadgets off the back of AI.
Apple TV merely existing
I do wonder if at some point Apple execs will one day visit their own website, click on ‘TV & Home’ and realise with a start that Apple TV still exists. Apple’s little black box isn’t ‘bad’ in itself. But it lurks in this year’s badness pile because Apple seems to have largely abandoned it. Maybe there’s money in Apple TV shows, but not Apple TV hardware.
Dodgy app design
If you talk to people who’ve used Apple products for long enough, they’ll hate every new design element and argue things were better in the old days. They weren’t. But Apple’s Photos revamp on iPhone has been hugely divisive – for good reason – and the iPad tab bar turning desktop-grade apps into blown-up iPhone apps feels like a big misstep.
Fighting the wrong battles
Throughout 2024, Apple got punchy. It lashed out at the EU for daring to ask Apple to stop being anti-competitive (yet quietly did as it was told by China). The company did all it could to hole third-party app stores. And it picked needless fights with, of all things, retro emulators. In fact, it’s still doing so today. All that effort could have gone into something useful.
Selling on the future, not the present
It’s never great when companies sell you a vision of the future rather than delivering something concrete today. Apple’s fallen into that trap in the past with software features that are then delayed. But this year, Apple Intelligence took this to a new level, with a frustratingly slow rollout, despite it being a key selling point for new hardware. Less of this in 2025, please.
I also didn’t like:
- Apple eating Pixelmator because, let’s face it, everyone knows how these things go and Photomator at the very least is probably now doomed.
- Breaking bootable Mac backups and thereby giving long-standing developers and quite a few users a not very Merry Christmas.
- The iPad Air now being heavier than the iPad Pro, although perhaps Apple’s naming division is just trolling everyone.
- Apple ditching stickers from its boxes, which is likely marginally more environmentally friendly, but makes the products feel less actually friendly.
- Gaming hype starting to fizzle out in an entirely predictable manner, although there will surely be another round of ‘look: AAA games on iPhone!’ come September 2025.
Apple in 2024: the smugly
Apple’s 2024 in review: don’t worry – it’s nearly over.
A $450 book
In 2016, Apple released Designed by Apple in California, a $299/£249 tome featuring photos of Apple products. Bit self-indulgent. But a history book for Apple superfans. This year? A $450/£350 book featuring Apple Music’s 100 best albums that will get old faster than inflated concert venue ticket prices. Which somehow even manage to make this book feel like good value by comparison.
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