This year was the first full year that Apple operated without its iconic co-founder,
Steve Jobs. While Jobs likely had a hand in many of the products that
made their debut in 2012 – the iPhone 5, new iPad, and iPad mini – this
year was Tim Cook's chance to show us whether Apple without Steve could
still deliver.Cupertino made a splash in 2012, selling millions of iOS devices, reaching a record-high valuation, and winning a $1.05 billion patent victory over Samsung. But there were also questions about worker abuse, an executive shakeup after the lackluster debut of Apple Maps, and a recent stock slump.
Still, Apple had its bumps in the road under Jobs, too ("You're holding it wrong!"). Whatever its troubles, the company can still draw crowds for product launches and create blogging hysteria with any and all rumors about what its next iDevice might include.
The true test will be what becomes of Apple once it embarks on projects in which Jobs did not have a hand. Until then, let's take a look back at the year that was.
Foxconn Strikes Again
Though Apple kicked off 2012 on a sad note due to the Oct. 5 death of Jobs, the company had a blockbuster fourth quarter thanks to the iPhone 4S and holiday sales. But the year had barely started before Apple was faced with questions about how suppliers like Foxconn treated its workforce. The concept was nothing new, but reached a fever pitch amidst an expose from the New York Times and Cook's insistence that "we care about every worker."
Ultimately, Apple commissioned the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to inspect its overseas plants, and Cook made a visit to China himself. The FLA released a report in March that found excessive overtime and unsafe working conditions. As a result, it recommended several changes to Foxconn's policies and workflow, which Foxconn agreed to implement over 15 months. In August, an FLA followup found that Foxconn was making progress, but later that year, there were reports of fights among workers after Foxconn cracked down on iPhone 5 quality control.
Before the iPhone 5, however, there was the "new iPad" – now referred to informally as the iPad 3. Apple unveiled the new tablet in early March, adding a Retina display and 4G LTE connectivity. It sold 3 million units in the first three days on the market.
Apple almost lost control of the iPad name, however. China-based Proview claimed that it owned the rights to the iPad name in China. The Chinese courts initially sided with Proview, but ultimately the two companies reached a $60 million settlement that allowed Apple to continue using the iPad moniker in the region.
Meanwhile, regulators overseas took Apple to task for advertising its new iPad as a 4G LTE device despite the fact that it could not tap into 4G networks in places like the U.K. and Australia. Apple agreed to change the wording on the iPad from "Wi-Fi plus 4G LTE" to "Wi-Fi plus cellular," but Australian officials still fined Apple $2 million for misleading consumers.
In the wake of a successful iPad launch, Apple was also hit with an e-books price-fixing suit. The Department of Justice accused Cupertino of colluding with publishers to set the price of e-books – to the detriment of Amazon. Apple denied any wrongdoing and is fighting the DOJ case, but recently settled similar charges in Europe.
iPhone 5 Revealed, World Keeps Spinning
In June, we got a sneak peak of what Apple had up its sleeve for the coming months at its Worldwide Developer Conference. Cupertino unveiled iOS 6, which added Siri to the iPad and promised a revolutionary new mapping app. Apple also tipped the July release of Mac OS X Mountain Lion, and released a MacBook Pro with a Retina display.
We didn't really get to see iOS 6 in action until September, however, with the launch of the iPhone 5 and the operating system's release on Sept. 19. Unfortunately that revolutionary mapping app wasn't quite ready for primetime – Australian officials even said it was life-threatening – and Tim Cook was forced to issue an apology for its bizarre and often lackluster results.
The gaffe reportedly resulted in the ousting of iOS chief Scott Forstall (along with the company's retail head, John Browett). In an interview with Bloomberg, Cook suggested that Forstall was not enough of a collaborator. "The key in the [executive shakeup] is my deep belief that collaboration is essential for innovation—and I didn't just start believing that," Cook said. "I've always believed that. It's always been a core belief at Apple. Steve very deeply believed this."
Still, despite the Maps app, the iPhone 5 was well-received, and it had a moment to shine before Apple took the wraps off its next big – er, little – thing: the iPad mini. Apple waded into territory claimed by Google's Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire with its slimmed-down tablet, which started at $329. But don't call it a 7-incher. Cook insisted that Apple still hates that form factor and that a 7.9-inch tablet is a much different animal. Apple will "never" make a 7-inch tablet, he said.
At the same time, meanwhile, the larger iPad got a bit of a speed boost and the new Lightning connector, much to the chagrin of some who'd purchased the iPad 3 just months before. PCMag's Sascha Segan, however, told people to quit their whining.
Patents, Patents, and Did We Mention Patents?
Before Apple unveiled its latest product lineup this fall, however, the summer was all about patent fights – in particular, Apple's battle royale with the kind of mobile, Samsung. The two had been battling since April 2011, when Apple sued Samsung for "slavishly" copying the look and feel of the iPad and iPhone with its Galaxy lineup of devices. The fight eventually expanded to dozens of courts around the globe, but all eyes were on California over the summer, when the case went to trial.
Ultimately, Apple prevailed in a major way, winning a $1.05 billion judgment against Samsung in late August. Samsung is appealing, and the two sides are fighting a similar case in the same court, which won't kick off until 2014, so stay tuned for more patent drama.
Samsung wasn't Apple's only legal foe this year, though. Cupertino successfully stopped the import of HTC's One X and EVO 4G LTE for a time after the International Trade Commission ruled in Apple's favor. A tweak to the OS allowed HTC to start importing the gadget again. That was apparently enough for HTC, which ended up settling with Apple in early November.
A patent case between Apple and Motorola, meanwhile, met its demise in Chicago.
Apple TV
One thing we didn't see this year was the much-discussed "Apple TV." Yes, Apple has that puck-like gadget for streaming iTunes selections, but we're talking about an actual Apple-branded TV set. Rumors about the device got started when it was mentioned in Walter Isaacson's biography, and that snowballed into various analyst notes predicting its release for sometime this year – despite Apple executive comments to the contrary. Eventually, the discussion shifted to Apple possibly teaming up with cable companies to deliver a set-top box, but that could take some time to hash out the necessary licenses. Stay tuned.