iPhone 4S and the ipad 3 probably will be the last time that Apple convincingly has a lead over android. Especially with smartphones showing up on prepaid networks, the cost difference will be noticeable. My brother for instance got a smartphone on Virgin mobile. The android phone was like $300 cheaper than the iPhone.
Macbook air was revolutionary, but again, where do you go from there? You can't really go any thinner, and windows ultrabooks are now convincingly cheaper + better lcd screens.
The prototypes for the iphone 5 look kinda lackluster so far. And the redesigned dock connector might actually be a big enough deal to turn people off of the typical apple upgrade cycle.
Also, it seems like since Steve passed away, leaks have gotten worse and worse for apple.
So far, all of the Android devices I've used have had terrible user experiences. Google needs to get on that. I really like the simplicity of the iOS interface. Not wanting to start a flamewar, just expressing my opinion. Yes, it's a walled garden, but it's also a nice one
The Macbook Air was pretty cool, but competitors have caught up - the
Thinkpad X1 Carbon is simply amazing. But, the difference is the OS. I don't have to load up OS X with Antivirus software, Malwarebytes, CCleaner, or SmartDefrag. I don't have to reinstall OS X on a yearly basis to keep it running smoothly. I like that.
I think Google can get there with Android, given enough time - maybe. Fragmentation is a tough problem to beat, especially with all of the device-customized GUI's out there. In Apple-land, anyone who can use an iPad 1 can use an iPad 3, as well as an iPhone and iPod Touch. Pretty easy. I don't particularly care for the direction the OS is heading (really locked down), but I understand why they are doing it and I think it will be a Good Thing for the general consumer. I currently manage the IT for about 180 users at work - most people are not technical and can't even handle Android phones, let alone keep their Windows-based computers running smoothly for long periods of time. It is what it is.
I don't know what's next for Apple. I've questioned that myself since the iPad came out. I do believe there is a strong niche for a 7" iPad. The 10" just isn't grab & go; a Kindle Fire definitely is, however. I think TV could be a huge market if they do it right...at the very least, if they let third-party apps be installed on the AppleTV. Apple can pry my TiVo from my cold, dead hands unless they have something really super amazing - and I think it would take local Cable TV providers getting onboard with IPTV for it to happen, because as mentioned in another post, flipping channels over the Internet is just not as couch-potato-satisfying as real TV is.
Pretty much every non-nerd person I know still struggles with their TV. I was helping out my friend's grandpa the other day...their new Comcast service came with like a 64-button remote. To watch freaking
TV. They had no clue how to operate it or even set it up. Receivers are still a hassle for the average person to setup...I think Logitech had the right idea with their Z-680/Z-5500 pod setup - easy remote, easy setup, simplified user interface.
The next area I see Apple getting into is Smart Home technology. Whole-house power monitoring, automation, sensors, switches, appliance control, that sort of thing. I'd really like to be able to control my house with my cell phone and not pay through the nose for something from Crestron, Savant, or Control4. Control4 now sells a starter kit for under a grand, but it's far from my idea of an Apple-esqe smarthome where things are easy to install, easy to setup, and easy to use. And not that things even need to be overly complex, but simple human nature things - like getting an iMessage that the laundry is ready to switch from the washer to the dryer and then a reminder message when I push it off til later and have forgotten to do it, stuff like that.
Car integration is coming in a huge way, with Siri buttons becoming available on new cars. And Apple is extremely close to crushing Sonos for whole-house audio; I don't know why they haven't done it yet - just a few little tweaks and they're there, and most of those tweaks you can do with aftermarket software like Airfoil.
I think Apple should buy OnLive. They clearly have no interest in pursuing Mac computers as a gaming platform, and they are happy with iOS performance for gaming. As Macs get more and more locked down and become more and more like iOS devices, there won't be room for heavy-duty graphics cards in anything but the Pro machines anyway. I can see the future iMacs being millimeters thin - a Retina screen with Macbook Air guts. It makes sense.
They could possibly go into cloud computing - along with game streaming, perhaps also stuff like video crunching for pros, which OnLive has kind of been experimenting with in terms of rented RDP-like OS's. Sort of the Amazon route for renting servers to do tasks and whatnot. But that would require a really high-speed, high-availability Internet connection, and they'd have to maintain it forever, so I don't think they'll really go that route.
I'm almost out of places to put Apple stuff. iPhone in my pocket, iPad on my couch, Macbook in my backpack, iMac on my desktop, AppleTV on my television, Airport Express for wireless speakers, iPod for working out...the 3 big niches I see are a better TV system (just add third-party apps to the AppleTV, at least), whole-house audio (just software tweaks & Sonos is sunk), and Smart House stuff. Then I have no more places in my life to put Apple things
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