iPhone 6

Will there be just one iPhone 6? Or will Apple decide to release a phablet-sized device alongside a plastic version with a 4 inch display? Phablet is a portmanteau of phone and tablet. The Samsung Galaxy Note (and its two successors) singlehandedly launched this hugely popular segment. Other 5 and 6-inch Android phones have put pressure on Jony Ive, Apple's Vice President of Design, to produce a larger iPhone. The larger iPhone is already being coined the iPhone 6 XL by various online news outlets.

It would be wise to keep a 4" model around for a variety of reasons. Chief among them is to appease traditional iPhone fans. Changing a product line too rapidly can lead to fans to feel like they are being brushed aside. No one wants to feel alienated. Also, keeping the same screen size will mean that apps will still be compatible. A 5 or 6-inch iPhone will require mobile developers to spend a lot of time and money to upsize the apps without just blowing them up.

The top-end iPhone 6 will not only have a larger screen, but a faster A8 processor (possibly quad core), more memory and better graphics as well. Apple may discontinue the current 5s model and offer it alongside their new phone. It is possible that the 5s will receive the same treatment the iPhone 5 got -- a new plastic shell -- along with the 'c' moniker.

iTV

Apple currently has a TV set top box called the Apple TV. Over the years however, more and more rumors have cropped up concerning an actual TV set. The iTV would be a supercharged Smart TV, combining the best of Siri and the iTunes media ecosystem.

Walter Isaacson's best selling biography on late Apple Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Steven P. Jobs offers up a small morsel of information on this iTV.

"He very much wanted to do for television sets what he had done for computers, music players, and phones: make them simple and elegant," Isaacson wrote.

Isaacson continued: "'I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,' he told me. 'It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud.' No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD players and cable channels. 'It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.'"

The TV would never be the same if Apple chooses to heed their late CEOs words. A truly handsfree, voice-driven media box à la Xbox One with Kinect would be a massive step forward. Ditching the remote in favor of Siri sounds like a win-win situation for viewers.

So will the device be 4K capable? Will the iTV offer up a glasses-free 3D viewing experience that makes stereoscopic content as popular as High Definition imagery became? For now no one knows the answer, but if and when the iTV comes to market expect to pay thousands of dollars for it.

New Mac Mini

The Mac Mini is an underwhelming device when you compare it to a tricked-out iMac or Mac Pro, but it is the smallest, cheapest way to get the full Mac OS X Mavericks experience. It is available to use as a server for home or business needs, or as a media consumption device. The Mini hasn't received much attention from the suits in Apple Inc.'s Cupertino, California based headquarters. Expect a spec bump sometime next year. A new design is unlikely considering the all-aluminum enclosure of the current Mini is still striking to behold.

Even with an update, don't expect to be able to fire up a graphics-intensive game such as Batman: Arkham Origins on the Mac Mini. Like the Air and 13" MacBook Pro, the Mini lacks a discrete graphics card. Because of this limitation the Mini is, and always will be, a champ at basic productivity tasks. Writing an invoice, streaming a video on Vimeo or editing birthday photos with iPhoto is what the machine is best suited for.

4K Cinema Display

Got the cash for a new Mac Pro? Considering you're lucky, rich or both. But are you seriously considering getting a 1080p monitor for your shiny new beast? That's like getting a Lamborghini Aventador and driving it in a school zone. The only thing you should consider pairing with the new Mac Pro is Apple's very own 4K Cinema Display. With four times the resolution of Full HD 1080 content, you will be overwhelmed by the display's visual grandeur.

There's just one problem: Apple doesn't make a 4K display and that is a real shame. With amazing technology like Thunderbolt 2 one would think that Apple would take advantage of all that power. Those who can't wait for a hypothetical Cinema Display can always elect to purchase an off-the-shelf third party monitor. Either way, not announcing a new monitor to go along with their new high-end desktop is a gross oversight.

Apple uses Sharp displays in its Apple retail stores to show off its Apple TV box so it wasn't that odd to notice a 32" 4K Sharp display crop up on the European Apple Store website. It was only available for sale for a limited time, and a bank account drain of 3,500 hundred pounds. That translates to roughly $5700. If Apple produces a 4K monitor it would be advantageous to make it a bit more affordable than Sharp's. Currently Apple only sells one monitor: the 2560 x 1440p Thunderbolt display.

New Mac Pro

The new Mac Pro was a myth for ages. Many had said that Apple was done with the demanding yet small segment of its install base: the pro user. The old cheese-grater-style Mac Pro was all the rage amongst video editors, artists and design gurus. Its massive height and heft of nearly 40 pounds demanded attention. The cheese grater was a bit unloved and last received a major update in 2010. In 2012, the machine was graced with only a minor processor upgrade but no Thunderbolt connectivity.

Many Pro users, particularly in the Film and TV world, had gone back to a Windows-based platform. The aging graphics, subpar memory and slow-spinning disk storage meant long render and export times. When time is money, a machine that was last relevant a half decade ago wouldn't cut it anymore.

Enter the new Mac Pro: a radical take on the desktop computer. No storage bays, no disk drives and a simple human trash can-like exterior. The new Pro has enough power to create a Hollywood movie from conception to release. A 12-core Intel processor, 64 gigs of ram, 1TB storage and enough storage ports means it's infinitely customizable, expandable and powerful.

A $3,000 starting price is sure to scare off nigh an amateur, but for a multimedia maven who needs bleeding edge tech to attract big spending clients there is no alternative. The new Mac Pro will start at $2,999.00 and will be released December 19th. 

Home screen widgets

Will we finally see home screen widgets on iOS devices? The decision to keep widgets from appearing on iPod touch, iPad and iPhone is maddening. Apple is so app-centric that it fails to see the simplicity a weather widget or calculator widget would add to the phone. Launching an app every time you want to find information quickly is so last decade.

In terms of functionality, Android and Windows phones offer a seemingly limitless supply of widgets you can add to your phone. Many Android and Windows phone fans hate the Apple approach to mobile devices because Apple controls everything about the device. Sure, you can jailbreak your phone, but don't bother taking it to an Apple Retail store to get fixed by a genius. When you buy into Apple, beware that you are entering a walled garden. Some restrictions are easy enough to get by, for instance music purchased via iTunes, but transferring other types of data (i.e. videos) is a hassle.

Improved Siri

Every year Siri has seen large improvements. First launched on the iPhone 4S, the service has yet to truly live up to the hype. Apple claimed the device would act as a personal assistant of sorts. Some slight improvements to Siri have been made. One such improvement has been with voices. At first Siri was known by its stern female voice. Now multiple male and female voices are available and they sound much less robotic.

Of concern to Apple is Google Now, Android's voice recognition software. Leading review site CNET says Google Now is catching up to Siri voice recognition software.

"In many ways, Siri still has a leg up on productivity," CNET associate editor Sharon Vaknin said. "But if you compare it to the entire package that Google Now offers, Google Now is much more convenient."

Expect the new version of Siri packaged with iOS 8 and iPhone 6 to be better at handling text-to-speech, offer up more useful search queries and not have to rely on search engines as much.

iPad Pro

It's rumored that the iPad Mini and Air will soon get two new friends in the form of the iPad Pro line. The new large screen iPad Pro will act as a bridge between Apple's mobile device family and the more premium experience the company's MacBook Air delivers. The size of the display is said to be 12.9 inches. Why should Apple even bother to make a tablet bigger then most laptops? Well, photographers could use a bigger display with much less heft to showcase their work on. Also, medical professionals and pilots can utilize the larger display.

The lower end iPad Pro will reportedly sport a 2K display. That resolution won't exactly light the world on fire as it is close to 1080p. The higher end model will get 4K and launch second. Either way Apple's 2-year-old iPad Retina display is getting a bit long in the tooth. A boost in pixel density and color reproduction would be amazing, not to mention removing the air gap that exists between the screen and glass.

New iPod touch

Hardly any news exists on an iPod refresh of any kind. The shuffle, nano and classic have seemingly been forgotten. The last update to the touch and its smaller siblings was a simple color addition: Space Gray. Don't expect an immediate update any time soon.

iWatch

Samsung rushed Galaxy Gear to the market in an effort to beat Apple's mysterious iWatch. While Cupertino has been mum on this subject, expect a 2014 release -- especially since patent filings by the computer were found. When released, many sources point towards the watch sporting a flexible OLED display.

Want news on the 2014 MacBook Air refresh? Click here.

What new features and products are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments section below.