Rumor Roundup: What to expect when you're expecting 2015
Apple in Talks with Major Banks to Launch Apple Pay in UK During First Half of 2015 (MacRumors)
Source: "People familiar with the matter"
Chance it's true: 100 percent
It makes perfect sense that the UK will be the next nation to see Apple Pay availability. I'm not holding my breath for where I live; considering that New Zealand still doesn't even have one single physical Apple Store, not even in Auckland, it seems unlikely we're high on the priority list for Apple Pay.
TSMC May Win Bulk of A9 Orders Due to Better Production Yield (MacRumors)
Source: Some analyst
Chance it's true: 30 percent, at best
First, terrible sources with godawful accuracy records "reported" that Samsung would produce Apple's next-gen A9 processor. Now, another terrible source is saying the opposite.
From the article: "The continually shifting Samsung vs. TSMC rumors reflect the ongoing competition between the two chip manufacturing companies and demonstrate just how important Apple contracts are to suppliers."
No, that's not what's being demonstrated here. What's demonstrated by the continually shifting rumors is that these "sources" have no clue what they're talking about, and anyone who takes them seriously ends up looking silly.
What's Coming From Apple in 2015: Apple Watch, iPad Pro, iPhone 6s, 12-Inch MacBook and More (MacRumors)
Source: Reading way too much into things
Chance it's true: Varies between 100 percent and zero
Let's examine MacRumors' mega-list point by point.
Apple Watch: This is a given. Apple already said this is coming out.
iPad Pro: I give this a 50/50 chance of showing up at best. The rumors surrounding this device have come exclusively from the Asian supply chain and analysts, and both of those are the worst possible sources. Show me a single plausible component leak for this long-rumored device, and then I'll start to believe.
iPads and iPhones: MacRumors admits that no one really knows anything about these at this point. Past patterns make it likely that this year will bring no major external design changes to these products and tweaked/upgraded internal components to make them faster, more powerful, and so forth.
12-inch MacBook: Again, I give this a 50/50 chance at most. There have been loads of rumors about this thing, but none of them come from sources I consider credible enough to call this a definite showpiece product for 2015.
Mac lineup: Probably just processor bumps across the line.
Apple TV: No one really knows what Apple has planned for this thing. Tons of rumors swirled around last year about a major redesign, but none of those eventuated. As for a full-fledged Apple HDTV, that's definitely not going to happen this year. Or any other year.
With the exception of the Apple Watch, 2015 looks like it'll be a relatively sedate year for Apple's product lineup. That's why now is the perfect time for the company to pour its considerable resources into overhauling the quality of its software. Over the past couple of years, the bugs have been piling up in both OS X and iOS, and the user experience has started to suffer significantly across Apple's entire product range.
If the only major new thing in the pipeline for this year is the Apple Watch, then Apple really has no excuse not to take a step back and plug the holes in its leaky software ship. "It just works" hasn't really been true for a couple of years now, and since Apple is banking on people buying into the "tight integration of hardware and software" mantra it's been selling for the past several decades, the company is in real danger of undermining the one thing it insists sets it apart from the others.
In other words: Apple, please sort yourself out in 2015.
