Apple has set itself up for a monster 2016
Earlier today, Interbrand released its annual ranking of the world’s most valuable brands, with Apple securing the top spot for the second year in a row. All the more impressive is that the value of Apple’s brand, per Interbrand’s methodology, increased by 43% year over year. In contrast, no other brand in the top 20 saw growth that even came close to that.
While Apple is clearly firing on all cylinders today, the year ahead promises to be Apple’s best yet.
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For starters, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that consumers are growing weary of the iPhone, Apple’s primary money maker. On the contrary, the recent release of the iPhone 6s was Apple’s most successful to date with the company selling 13 million units during the first three days of availability alone. Impressively, with each successive iPhone release, Apple manages to incorporate enough new features to keep consumers upgrading by the millions. With the iPhone 7 likely to launch next fall, with a new form factor no less, its likely that Apple’s iPhone money train won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
But Apple’s 2016 will be unique insofar as the iPhone won’t necessarily be the only star in Apple’s lineup anymore. Later this month, Apple will roll out its highly anticipated Apple TV. Though traditionally just a hobby, Apple’s 4th-gen Apple TV promises to kickstart Apple’s play for the living room in a major way. In addition to a blazing fast processor and intriguing Siri functionality built right into the remote, the Apple TV doubles as a gaming console, complete with support for its own dedicated App Store. While playing games via AirPlay was nice, it’s certainly no substitute for native apps.
What’s more, let’s not forget about Apple’s rumored TV subscription service. According to the rumor mill, Apple in 2016 will begin offering users a lightweight selection of about 25 channels for about $40 a month. Taken together, Apple’s upcoming set-top box may prove to be a popular hit with consumers and a huge revenue generator for Apple.
iPhone and Apple TV releases aside, Apple is also poised to see an explosion in Apple Watch sales in the coming months. In addition to watchOS 2 — which will finally introduce features such as native app support — Apple Watch availability on the retail level will be expanding significantly in the coming months. Coupled with new watch bands and rumors of a new Apple Watch 2 device being introduced in September, 2016 may finally be the year that the Apple Watch becomes a more substantive contributor to Apple’s bottom line.
On the Mac side of the equation, we’ve also seem rumblings that a new 4K 21.5-inch iMac may be introduced soon. Once we toss in the impending iPad Pro release and perhaps some intriguing new laptop upgrades, it’s hard to deny that Apple’s 2016 is looking extremely bright and will likely be Apple’s most impressive yet.
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This article was originally published on BGR.com
