5 New Apple Products for 2026 That Will Change Everything – iPhone Fold, Cheap MacBook, Apple Specs and More

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As 2025 approaches, Apple is on a high. The new iPhone 17 lineup has been a big hit so far — with the exception of the iPhone Air — with CEO Tim Cook describing iPhone demand as “off the charts.” Apple is so confident that it’s even predicting its best December quarter yet.

There are plenty of other reasons to be optimistic, including the continued strength of Apple Silicon with the M5 chip, the awesome new AirPods Pro 3 and the current all-time record for service revenue.

But there are also signs of trouble at Apple, including a raft of recent high-profile departures and retirements. John Giannandria, Apple’s former head of Apple Intelligence, stepped down in December after much-publicized delays in the new Siri — not to mention Apple losing OpenAI and Google Gemini.

Meta recently scooped up Alan Dye, Apple’s former head of user interface design, as Mark Zuckerberg looks to expand his company’s lead in smart glasses at a time when Apple is still struggling to sell the pricey Vision Pro. Google is also about to unveil its Android XR specs.

“I don’t think 2026 will be a make or break year for Apple, but I think it will be a more challenging year than 2025,” said Carolina Milanesi, president and chief analyst at Creative Strategies. “If they don’t deliver on the AI ​​promise there will be challenges.”

So what’s in store for Apple in 2026? Based on the rumored product pipeline and my conversations with analysts and Apple watchers, this is an important moment for one of the world’s biggest brands. Here’s what to expect.

iPhone Fold: The best-selling foldable?

Apple is famous for being slow to enter new categories, including smartphones. But the 2026 arrival for an Apple foldable device is really, really late.

As Samsung prepares the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Apple is reportedly gearing up to launch it long ago A foldable phone iFold the phone. However, analyst firm IDC has said that Apple will take more than 20 percent of the market share and more than a third of the revenue in the coming year.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the iPhone Fold immediately became the best-selling folding phone of all time,” said Jason Snell, editor and former editorial director of Apple-centric website Six Colors. Macworld. His reasoning? simple “Because it’s an iPhone.”

While many shoppers are likely intrigued by the best foldable phones by now, iPhone fans have mostly sat on the sidelines because they are unwilling to switch operating systems or leave the Apple ecosystem.

At the same time, the iPhone Fold is said to have some advantages over the competition, including a truly crease-free display and a large library of apps optimized for the tablet-sized screen. There are millions of iPad apps that will only work on day one, just like the iPhone Fold will be the iPad Mini in your pocket.

The iPhone Fold has a 5.5-inch screen on the outside and a 7.8-inch panel on the inside and a 5,400 mAh battery. And it must be quite thin, as analysts are comparing the phone to two iPhone Airs.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the iPhone Fold immediately becomes the best-selling folding phone of all time.”

– Jason Snell, Editor, Six Colors

And the price? Rumor is a story-inspired $2,400That would be $400 more than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7. But don’t underestimate the appetite of high-end iPhone buyers looking to stand out from the crowd.

“Ever since the iPhone X came out for $1,000, Apple has engaged in this ongoing experiment to find out what the upper limit is to what people are willing to pay for an iPhone,” Snell said. “And looking at their product line and looking at their iPhone revenue, I’d say they haven’t found it.”

A super cheap MacBook

Ever since Apple retired the 12-inch MacBook in 2019, industry watchers have been waiting for Apple to sell the super affordable MacBook to take on lower-cost Windows 11 laptops and premium Chromebooks. And we may finally get it in 2026.

Apple is rumored to be working on a cheaper MacBook that could cost as little as $599 or $699, with a machine powered by an A-series chip. Apple technically already has a laptop in this price range with the MacBook M1 still on sale at Walmart for $599, but it will be a completely new design.

The target audience will be buyers who often like to surf the web, check email and watch videos.

The system will reportedly feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip (the same one featured in the iPhone 16 Pro models), and much longer battery life. And at a time when PC makers are facing a shortage of RAM, Apple may have a built-in advantage against the competition.

“I think we’re going to get some very cheap MacBooks this year, because Apple is able to press its silicon advantage and there’s kind of a curve ball thrown by the wild swings in price for memory,” said Avi Greengart, founder and principal analyst at Techsponential. “Apple has such volume, and because they build the memory into their package, rather than adding it separately, Apple could end up with a double pricing advantage.”

Meet the HomePod Touch (or HomePad).

No one has clarified the name of this product yet, but Apple is expected to launch a new smart home device that could be dubbed HomePod Touch or HomePad. And it could come in the spring to coincide with the launch of the revamped Siri.

The device is said to have a 7-inch touch screen and run Apple’s new HomeOS software. It will have pre-installed apps like Safari, Apple Music, Notes, Calendar, Photos and Reminders. And widgets will reportedly be a central feature. Think of it as a beefed-up version of the iPhone’s standby mode.

“There is no brand that consumers trust more than Apple.”

— Carolina Milanesi, president and principal analyst at Creative Strategies

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the HomePod Touch could cost around $350 and come in two versions, one with a speaker base and one that can be attached to walls.

Apple will compete directly against Amazon and its line of Echo Show products and the likes of Google’s Nest Hub Max. But how will Apple stand out? For one, the company’s reputation for security and privacy.

“There is no brand that consumers trust more than Apple,” Milanesi said.

So there’s a perception that today’s smart home displays at home aren’t all that smart. You may have an Alexa or Gemini-powered device in your home, but how often do you use it and is it fun? I have the latest Echo Show 21 with Alexa+ inside, and I don’t use it for anything other than turning on Christmas lights and asking about the weather.

“I don’t think anyone has really cracked it,” Snell said. “Alexa and Google Assistant in the home aren’t that great. So Apple has opportunities there.”

But a lot of it will boil down to how smart the new Siri is and whether people want to talk to it.

Crashing the smart glasses party

While the Apple Vision Pro is technically impressive, there’s no question that Apple’s $3,500 spatial computer has been a commercial flop. The headset is too heavy and expensive for the masses, and there aren’t enough killer apps to make regular use worthwhile. The new Vision Pro M5 just adds a faster chip and a comfier strap.

Meanwhile, Meta has a big lead with its smart glasses push. The company has already sold more than two million units in the first half of 2025 as sales tripled (300% growth). The Meta shows no signs of slowing down, launching the new Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 with a slower camera, longer battery life and improved multimodal Meta AI.

“Obviously they missed the boat, right?” Snell asked. “Apple decided they were going to build vision products top-down instead of bottom-up. I think they poo-poo-pooed the idea of ​​making AirPods as glasses. It’s a shame, right? Because they have all the pieces to build that product, and they just didn’t build it. So I imagine we’ll see that product in 2026.”

Apple is rumored to launch AI glasses in late 2026, though that release could come in 2027. The glasses will reportedly be AI-focused (relying heavily on the new Siri) and offer built-in speakers and cameras, but not a display – at least not yet.

“What these products do is focus on voice, camera and AI, and it’s not impossible for Apple to launch a pair of glasses that do those things,” Greengart said. “They’ll basically be AirPods and a camera you put on your face. There’s no reason they can’t do that.”

The problem for Apple is that Meta and Google are already racing ahead with smart glasses with built-in displays. While expensive, the $799 Meta Ray-Ban displays show great potential for the category as they can display useful information in your field of view, whether it’s turn-by-turn directions, a viewfinder for photos or a recipe you want to follow. The wrist-worn neural band also makes navigating the interface quite easy, though it’s yet another device you need to charge.

And Google is going to launch Android XR glasses in 2026 with partners like Samsung and Warby Parker. I’ve already demoed them and was very impressed with the Gemini integration. You can do everything from asking what you can make of the material in front of you to transforming photos with generative AI. before You take them too.

“The use cases are there, even without the best AI in the world,” Greengart said. “But if you layer in serious AI capabilities that tie into your Android phone, that’s very powerful. So Apple has to match that to have a competitive product.”

The new Siri – or bust

If you are understanding a theme, you are right. In order for some of these important new products to be successful – notably the HomePod with display and smart glasses – Apple must nail the launch of the new Siri.

Apple actually promised a much smarter Siri path with the launch of the iPhone 1 in 2024.6 the lineup. And while Apple delivered on some improvements, such as a more interactive assistant, the biggest upgrades never materialized. These include on-screen awareness for content, better personal context understanding (“When is my mom’s flight?”) and in-app actions via voice.

An all-new and improved Siri is now expected to launch in the spring of 2026, and while AI isn’t yet the primary driver for selling devices, it has a lot going for it.

“Apple has to deliver,” Milanesi said. She’s more concerned about Gemini than ChatGPT as a direct competitor to Apple because the former has gotten “really good” and ties in with core apps that iPhone owners use regularly, like Google Maps and Gmail.

“The lock-in to the Apple ecosystem is real. But if AI becomes as much a part of your life as you want to use things from Google or OpenAI or Anthropic or somebody else, and Apple doesn’t have the same level of copilot, that could be a problem.”

– Avi Greengart, Principal Analyst, Techsponential

There are also reports that Apple may partner with Gemini to accelerate its own AI, but nothing has been announced.

Techsponential’s Greengart doesn’t see Google as an immediate threat, but it could become a big one if Apple somehow gets away with the new Siri.

“If Apple isn’t able to respond, the Android ecosystem has the opportunity to gradually erode the iOS base,” Griegnert said. “The lock-in of the Apple ecosystem is real. But if AI becomes such a part of your life that you start wanting to use things from Google or OpenAI or Anthropic or somebody else, and Apple doesn’t have the same level of copilot, that could be a problem for Apple.”

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