As rumors start to fly about what will be introduced at the Apple Spring event, I started thinking about my dream Apple product. While it is not realistic and will never be made, I would love to have a 32 inch iMac with a screen that would lie almost flat and work with the Apple Pencil. (Think the magical Microsoft Surface Studio 2.)
Realistically, I would love to see an M2 MacBook Air with 5g cellular connectivity. That would be my wish for 2023.
I like this game!
Unrealistic dream: a Mac Pro chip with full Intel virtualization (i.e. ARM can be completely invisible to the guest.)
Realistic dream: AirPods Max with a physical mute button.
Bonus round: 8-player Apple Arcade games.
Just a really dumb question here - shouldn’t virtualization software THEORETICALLY be able to run via Rosetta? I know it doesn’t, but shouldn’t it be possible?
I’m kind of in line with @celler’s idea, except I’m thinking more of a much larger iPad.
I would love a m2 MacBook adorable 12 inch. (With touchscreen hahahha)
That’s a good question. I think the theoretical answer is no, because Windows is supposed to be able to execute any program in realtime. Rosetta is compiling individual programs to ARM-compatible code in advance of being run. So Windows would have to know that it needs to suspend execution of anything new until the underlying instructions are compiled by the host OS and the execution pipeline is set up. I think that would require significant changes to Windows to be able to run any program like that.
An emulator would work without changing Windows because it would provide real-time simulation of Intel hardware so Windows wouldn’t have to change anything. It would be slow, which is where the fantasy hardware support module on Apple Silicon enters the picture.
Ah, I see. Yeah, an emulator would be a really nice touch. 
I would bet that Intel would want some cash for that privilege though.
Not a new “ask” by any means (and even John Gruber recently posted about it on Mastodon), but I’m tired of all glass phones.
Unrealistic ask: have a fully “pro” model iPhone with a plastic back to reduce breakage and weight
Realistic ask: (maybe realistic, because…science?) find a way to put a titanium back/band on the pro phone while keeping wireless capabilities (plastic center square somehow?)
Basically I want a lighter phone.
I’d like a big-screen iMac, and lotsa bug fixes
32” iMac
Apple TV Artisan - YouTube replacement
Apple TV Conference (Soundbar with Camera)
Apple TV Offline- easier way to offline and view Apple TV content.
Final Cut Pro & Logic Pro for iOS
Livestream application for Mac and iOS
Apple Shortcut support for Streamdeck
Apple is developing their own modems. A MBA might be a good product to showcase those.
Mine are mostly software related.
On iPadOS
Improve the ability of getting bits of text from one place to another so it’s as smooth as it is on desktop. Create a paste w/o formatting option. As it stands, I have to make formatted text pass through Clean Text before going to its ultimate destination. Ability to change case would be nice, too.
Improved file search in files.app. Improved abilities to do batch file activities: e.g., renaming groups of files.
Improve Apple Mail. It needs more options for getting mail out. Rules. More robust search. More shortcuts support.
iPad hardware
multiple audio streams/channels. Longer battery life. My MacBook Pro M1 Max is the gold standard and I’d like my iPad Pro to outdo it.
Third Party iPadOS software
Give these apps more feature parity with desktop versions. Logos and OmniFocus 4 are good proof that this can be done. I’m looking at you MS Word.
Stage Manager (iPadOS) -
First, accessing apps within recent apps. When you have an app set that is accessible in recent apps, it would be ideal if you could “open up the pile” and drag over any app in the pile onto the active stage.
Second, Shortcuts support should be prioritized for Stage Manager because it is such a fantastic productivity tool. Being able to use Shortcuts to create app sets, put them on the stage, “clean” the stage by closing the set and transitioning to some other app set, etc. could be a powerful means of controlling one’s work flow. Apple could even pre-populate the gallery with starter shortcuts. I think the kinds of functionality you’d want from Shortcuts would be the following:
A. Open a single app in a new stage [either a new window or activate the most recently used instance, at the user’s option; this way the user does not have to break-apart an existing app set she or he wants to keep together] on either the iPad display or the connected external display;
B. open the app to a specified size: default, narrow, or full screen;
C. Create app sets on either the iPad display or the connected external display;
D. If the app set is
(i) two windows, open them with the default orientation of 1/2 and 1/2 (similar to Split View).
(ii) three windows, open them with the default orientation, or across the screen divided 1/3 each; or
(iii) four windows, open them with the default orientation.
E. Close app sets (i.e., close out apps on the stage in favor of a different app or app set); and
F. move apps between displays from either the another display’s stage or recent apps.
Third, allow 8 windows on stage manager and have multiple windows from the same app not count against the total.
Definitely a hybrid Phone/Tablet which folds.
An iPhone Pro Max which can double in size to be approximately the size of the iPad Mini.
I’d find that so useful.
I’d like a more affordable Studio Display (without speakers or camera, but with extra video inputs).
I like your first dream. Bigger the monitor the better if you can still maintain high resolution.
Also I would like an Apple Watch that was at least twice the size as the current one. For old eyes and the display of more information. Think of those arm bands that pro quarterbacks wear although I don’t think I would need something that extreme. This does not seem to be that much of a technical hurdle except for marketing. You don’t have to pretend it is a “conventional” watch. Rather it is a durable display that is comfortably wearable on an arm.
Something like that would be nice IF it could fit under a jacket sleeve. So would a reliable Siri so I could get more information from an AirPod Pro today.
Larger text size option for Reminders.
Color coded tags for Reminders.
I love this! I think we need to figure out how to incorporate this into an episode. Or maybe make it a question for guests. As for me, I’m with @celler. I want the Microsoft Surface Studio, but in giant iMac Form and when I tilt it down, it switches to iPadOS.
That’s all. Please get on that, Tim.
Cellular on a MacBook seems like such a sure winner that I’m sort of just befuddled why they aren’t included already. What’s the strategy for NOT having it?
I can only conclude that the only reason Apple doesn’t do this is because they believe it will cost them something in other ways. Perhaps it would take a big chunk out of iPad Pro sales?
Yes, but it would probably be too slow without some low level features that only Apple can unlock.
I like your ideas, but in the Spring event they never do major software features. That’s for WWDC.