What Apple has planned for its 50th anniversary year in 2026

Apple will be 50 years old on April 1, 2026. What can we expect from the company in the year ahead?

This is actually the first of two important milestones for Apple; the next anniversary comes in 2027, which will mark 20 years since the introduction of the world-changing iPhone. I am certain Apple will celebrate both anniversaries in some very public way, but also think it will do so with new products to reflect the journey. The company introduced the Apple I in July 1976, and traditionally remains focused on product above anything else. It’s a very focused entity — including in its work for enterprise tech.

What Apple has planned for 2026

So, what does the company have in mind for 2026? Quite a bit — potentially an Apple product banquet. You can expect new iPhones, Macs, and iPads. We all anticipate the company will introduce a brand new product category in the form of the iPhone Fold. Macs might gain OLED displays, with M5, M5 Pro, and M5 Max chips. Speculation also claims Apple might diversify both the Mac and iPhone ranges with lower-cost models (iPhone ‘e’ series, and Macs with iPhone chips inside). These powerful computers are already loved by consumers, and are rapidly increasing share in the enterprise.

Those are just the aperitif of the Apple product feast. 

The company could also introduce new smart home displays, might offer a glimpse of its work on smart glasses, and might begin to talk more about its plans for robotics, perhaps with an AI-powered home security camera. Apple’s services may be boosted with Health+, effectively putting primary healthcare in your pocket. 

More than hardware

Apple’s 2026 collection of shiny new things should also be boosted by a far smarter Siri, equipped with contextual intelligence and boosted by built-in white label Google Gemini support. And following current form, the year will end with the first M6-powered Macs, which will once again set a high bar for the entire industry, with performance, performance per watt, and edge AI the prize. 

Dancing among all these highlights will prance a chorus line of other great products, including a new iPad mini, the M5 Mac mini (which will democratize access to supercomputing power), and a Mac Studio upgrade that will set a higher bar for what pro desktops can do. A new smart monitor, also equipped with its own powerful chip, will open new frontiers. 

New operating systems and of course the all-new iPhone 18 Pro will appear, and WWDC will have particular significance coming just a month before the anniversary of the introduction of the first Apple I in 1976.

Apple is already working on tomorrow

The length of the list should tell you something. It means that Apple in its 50th year remains focused on what it does best — shipping products. It represents a company that’s deeply committed to building new markets, while maintaining those in which it already dominates, including iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch, iPhone, and MacBook.

It has also shown great willingness to invest in the future; while Vision Pro might not have sold in iPhone-like quantities, it is a product for that future and means the company has a stake in the still emerging AR/VR industry. The company’s investments there have been echoed by its work in digital health, and we all now expect that story to bear more fruit over the next 12 months.

Understand the future: look at the past

There are other investments that tell a similar story: Imagine the company today without Apple Silicon, and then recognize that particular story began with Apple’s acquisition of PA Semi in 2008. Where would Apple’s services segment be now without the acquisition of SoundJam in 2001?

These investments show the company invests for the long term, and its moves into next-generation sectors like spatial computing should be seen as the opening steps to a much longer dance. 

This approach is reflected in Apple’s acquisitions strategy. While other companies invest to maintain growth, Apple invests usually in small, innovative firms, in companies that “complement its products and push them forward,” as CEO Tim Cook has frequently said. 

Wrapping up, you can expect a lot from Apple as it rejuvenates itself and its leadership for the next decade while celebrating its own rich history with the most extensive series of product launches it has ever made.

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