**Apple's 2018 Year in Review**

As we reflect on Apple's 2018 year in review, it's clear that this was a significant year for the company. With four major events taking place throughout the year, Apple introduced a slew of new products and software updates that impressed fans around the world.

The first event of the year took place in March, where Apple held an "Event Stream" series on their website featuring various executives talking about different aspects of the upcoming iPhone. The event was dominated by discussions of the latest iPhone models, including the iPhone Xs and XS Max. Despite the excitement surrounding these new devices, many fans were left underwhelmed by the lack of a major new feature to differentiate them from previous generations.

Among the iPhone Xs and XS Max were some notable features, such as Depth Control on the camera app and improved displays across all models. However, despite these updates, the price points for these new devices started at $1,100 for the iPhone XS Max, which was a significant increase over previous models. This pricing strategy likely contributed to the disappointment many fans felt towards the iPhone introduction.

Another notable event took place in September, where Apple held a "Gather Round" event featuring the iPhone XR as its main attraction. While the XR served as a more affordable alternative to other models, it still cost $750, which is more than the flagship iPhone 7 back in 2016 started at. The demand for the product was not as high as Apple anticipated, leading to concerns about the viability of this new model.

In October, Apple held their fourth and final event of the year, dubbed "There's More in the Making." This event took place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City, marking a first-time appearance by Apple at an event in decades. The focus was on hardware, with significant updates to the Mac mini, MacBook Air, iPad Pro, and even the Apple Pencil.

The Mac mini received a major upgrade, featuring more powerful internals and a sleek space gray design. The MacBook Air adopted many of the same features as the MacBook Pro, including improved keyboards and processors. Meanwhile, new iPad Pros featured rounded LCD displays with an all-new design, along with a new Face ID system that works in any orientation.

Perhaps the most notable update was the switch from Apple's proprietary Lightning connector to USB-C on the 2018 iPad Pro. This suggests a potential shift towards USB-C in future iPhones, which could be a significant change for Apple fans. Additionally, the Apple Pencil was given an update with tap controls and magnetic attachment to the new iPads, allowing it to charge.

However, amidst all these exciting updates, one common thread emerged: significant price hikes across virtually every product category. The Mac mini, MacBook Air, iPad Pro, and even the Apple Pencil all saw price increases of at least 20%. This has left many fans wondering how far Apple will go in terms of pricing their products.

In December, Apple released a clear case for the iPhone XR, followed by an OS update to support its ECG feature and new Infograph complications on the Apple Watch. While not as eventful as some of the previous events, this marked an important step forward for the Apple Watch, which has long been a favorite among fans.

Overall, 2018 was a productive year for Apple, with significant updates across various product categories. However, it also saw substantial price hikes that have raised concerns about the affordability of these devices. As we enter into 2019, fans will be eagerly awaiting future updates and innovations from Apple, hoping that the company will strike the right balance between quality and pricing.

**Author's Note:** The author hopes to see Apple upgrading their products without upping prices in 2019. With four major events under their belt, it seems clear that Apple is committed to innovation, but also wants to ensure that these updates are accessible to fans around the world.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey guys it’s Greg with Apple explainedand in this video I want to explore all themajor events Apple experienced in 2018.Because the company had quite an eventfulyear from the release of the HomePod in February,to the big Apple Watch update in September.But there was a lot that happened in betweenthat you may have forgotten about.Now this video topic was the second placewinner of last weeks voting poll, And if youdidn’t get to vote make sure you’re subscribedthat way the voting polls will show up rightin your mobile activity feed and you can letme know which video do you’d like to seenext.Now I want to take 2018 month by month andcover all the main stories about Apple, soyou get a chronological feel for how the yearwent.So things were off to a relatively slow startin January, since Apple didn’t make anyhardware announcements or releases, but theydid issue quite a few software updates.And this is likely because just one monthearlier in December 2017 Apple had alreadyreleased the iMac Pro, so there wasn’t muchleft for January.But February did feature new hardware in theform of the HomePod.Which had been introduced eight months earlieron June 5th, 2017, and was initially scheduledfor release in December, but that date slippedto early 2018.Now the HomePod marked Apples entrance intoa new product category, smart speakers.And it had a few advantages over its competition,namely, a great design, impressive sound qualityand freakishly good voice detection.But it didn’t really revolutionize the smartspeaker market in any significant way.And other products like Amazon Echo and GoogleHome were capable of doing a lot more.Like purchasing products from Amazon, answeringmore trivial questions, and working with multiplemusic services.Unlike the HomePod, which only natively supportsApple Music.But the good news for HomePod is that allof its limitations are software-based.So Apple could easily make it a much morevaluable and capable product by issuing updatesto Siri.Now March was the first month of 2018 to featurean Apple event.It was held in Chicago and geared toward theeducation market.And although Apple didn’t make any hugeannouncements they did reveal a new low-cost9.7” iPad with support for Apple Pencil,which used to be an accessory exclusive tothe higher priced iPad Pro models.And they not only made the iPad more affordablethan ever, they also made its stylus moreaffordable by partnering with Logitech tocreate the $50 Logitech Crayon.And this meant buying an iPad and stylus wasmore affordable than ever before, which putthe technology within reach of more studentsand educators than ever before.Apple also announced new classroom managementapps for educators like Schoolwork, whichallowed teachers to manage their classroomdigitally.But Apple actually had more hardware to releasein March, and it came in the form of a spacegray keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse.Which were previously only available as bundledaccessories with the iMac Pro.But there is something else I want to sayabout this, and it has to do with pricing.You see, the traditional white and silveraccessories already carried hefty price tags,but the new space gray versions of the sameexact products featured a twenty dollar premium.Which was a bit strange since none of Applesother space gray products had a higher pricethan their counterparts.And these price hikes would only be the firstof many in 2018.Now April wasn’t as busy for Apple, butthey did reveal some information about thenew modular Mac Pro in an interview with TechCrunch.Apple made it clear that the Mac Pro wouldbe released in 2019, not 2018 like some hadhoped.The company also shared details about a newdivision dedicated to Professional hardwarecalled the Pro Workflow Team, which includescreative professionals that inform Apple ofwhat they need in a high end product.There was also a hardware release in Aprilwith the new Product Red iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.Now May was a month of Apple playing catch-up,since there were features still missing fromiOS 11 that users had been waiting on sinceits release in September 2017.And the wait finally came to an end in May,with Apple releasing AirPlay 2.Which brought features like stereo supportand multi room audio to the HomePod.Apple also released Messages in iCloud, whichsynced your iMessages across all of your Appledevices.So with those delayed features finally beingadded to iOS 11, Apple was ready show offiOS 12 at their Worldwide Developers Conferencein June.Because this event was all about software,with the only hardware announcement beingthe newest Apple Watch Pride band.And in addition to iOS 12, Apple introducedwatchOS 5, tvOS 12, and macOS 10.14 Mojave.Now these software releases, especially iOS12, reflected Apples focus on performance,stability, and addressing users needs.With iOS 12 actually making older devicesrun faster, which was probably one of themost exciting features of this release.It also had a much cleaner notification center,more advanced parental controls, and madeimprovements to Apple Maps.And Mojave finally brought dark mode to theMac, something users have wanted for years.Now after all of those announcements in June,things started to slow down.With July only featuring a press release fromApple regarding their new 13 and 15 inch MacBookPro models with new intel chips, a third generationbutterfly keyboard, and for the first time,an option for 32GB of RAM on the 15 inch model.And in July, Apple began their annual Backto School promotion where they offered studentsand educators a free pair of Beats headphonesif they purchased select Mac or iPad models.Now September is when Apple had their thirdspecial event of the year with the tag line“Gather round,” and it was held at theSteve Jobs Theater.It was probably the most anticipated eventof 2018 since everyone knew Apple would beintroducing new hardware.And for the most part, the company did notdisappoint.They started off with the biggest update tothe Apple Watch since the original.The new Series 4 models featured rounded displaysthat were 30% larger than their predecessors.And that was only the beginning.The watches also had a thinner, rounder body,an ECG reader, fall detection, a smaller DigitalCrown, and updated watch faces to take advantageof the larger display.But there was one disappointment, and thatwas the price, which Apple decided to raise.And that meant the most affordable Apple Watchnow cost $400, up from $330 with the series3.But despite that, the watch update was themost exciting part of the entire event.Since it was just so dramatic and impressivecompared to the other announcements.Among which included the iPhone XS and XSMax.And their introduction actually disappointedquite a few Apple fans, myself included.Because although S updates have always beenincremental, they’ve also always introduceda significant new headlining feature thathelped to differentiate it from the previousgeneration.The 3GS had video recording, the 4s had Siri,the 5s had Touch ID, and the 6s had 3D Touch.But the XS is the first S model without amajor new feature.And yeah, the new Depth Control feature onthe XS and XS Max is a nice addition to thecamera app, but I wouldn’t call it a headliningfeature.And neither would apple, since they focuson the new iPhones display sizes on all theirpromotional material way before they mentiondepth control.And the fact that the price of an iPhone XSMax started at $1,100, and went as high as$1,450 could also be a big reason why manypeople were disappointed with the iPhone introduction.Now there was one last device announced atthe Gather Round event in September, and thatwas the iPhone XR.Which served as a more affordable alternativeto the other models, but I wouldn’t callit cheap since it still cost $750, which ismore than the flagship iPhone 7 back in 2016which started at $650.And while the XR did come in colors, whichis the first time we’ve seen colorful iPhonessince the 5c, demand for the product wasn’tas high as Apple anticipated.And if you want to know the reasons why, justwatch the video I made a few days ago calledApples iPhone XR Problem.Now October is when Apple held their fourthand final event of the year, with the tagline “There’s more in the making,” andthis time, the event was actually held atthe Brooklyn Academy of Music in New YorkCity.Which was the first time Apple has held anevent in New York in decades, so the crowedwas super loud and responsive and it madethe event even more enjoyable to watch.Now the focus was on hardware, and Apple madeupdates to the Mac mini, which featured muchmore powerful internals and a sleek spacegray design, the MacBook Air, which adoptedmany of the same features the MacBook Proshad, as well as new iPad Pros, which I thinkblew many Apple fans out of the water.Because not only did they feature roundedLCD displays with an all-new design.But they actually had a new Face ID systemthat works in any orientation, something thatwas a challenge for Apple to implement.But the features didn’t stop there, becausethe 2018 iPad Pro was the first model to featurea USB-C port instead of Apples proprietaryLightning connector.Which suggests we might see a shift to USB-Con future iPhones.And the Apple Pencil was also given an update,featuring tap controls and the ability tomagnetically attach to the new iPads, whichalso allowed it to charge.But there was one bitter pill to swallow withevery single piece of hardware Apple introducedat this event.And again, it was the pricing.Which has been a thorn in the side of virtuallyevery product Apple introduced in 2018.The Mac Mini, MacBook Air, iPad Pro, and eventhe Apple Pencil all saw price hikes of atleast 20%.And this has left many wondering how far Applewill go until they’re satisfied with theprice points of their products.Now November wasn’t nearly as eventful,since all Apple did was release new watchbands and iPhone cases.But in December things picked up a littlebit, since that was when Apple released thehighly anticipated clear case for the iPhoneXR.And the Apple Watch finally received an OSupdate to support its ECG feature along withnew Infograph complications like Mail andHome that were previously unavailable on thenew watch faces.So with four Apple events featuring a bunchof new software and hardware updates, 2018turned out to be a very productive year forApple.But it also turned out to be very profitable.With the company posting a total annual revenueof 265 billion dollars.Which was up 16% from 2017.And this in part, is likely due to the substantialprice hikes Apple has made to virtually everyproduct category.So as we enter into 2019, my biggest hopeis that Apple upgrades their products withoutupping their prices.Now that is apples 2018 year in review, andif you want to vote for the next video topicdon’t forget to subscribe.Thanks for watching and I’ll see you nexttime.\n"