Business Insider: Predictions for Apple in 2011

The start of a new year is always surrounded with excitement of what might be in store for the world of tech. Analyst Gene Munster has released his roadmap of what he believes Apple has in store for 2011, as seen on Business Insider.

Here is the list of predictions for new product announcements:

• Verizon launch of the iPhone: Probability 95% (March qtr) (our est)
• Mac App Store: Probability 100% (Jan. 6 launch)
• iTunes cloud services: Probability 90%
• iPad geographic expansion: Probability 100%
• iPad subsidies from carriers: Probability 80%
• OS X Lion: Probability 100% (summer 2011)

Here is the list of hardware upgrades, according to Munster:

• iPhone (March quarter). We are modeling for Apple to launch a CDMA version of the
• iPhone at Verizon in the March-11 quarter. The fifth generation iPhone will likely ship this summer with NFC capability.
• iPad (spring). We believe the second generation iPad will launch in spring 2011.
• Macs (uncertain). We have moderate confidence that Apple will release redesigned
• MacBook Pros in 1H11 and redesigned iMacs in 2H11.
• iPods (fall). As usual, we expect Apple to refresh its iPods in the fall.

These predictions are fairly conservative, with some having already been discussed by Apple indicating a release in 2011. Only Apple truly knows what 2011 holds for announcements. Either way, 2011 is sure to be an interesting year in the mobile industry with tablets, 4G networks and constantly updating handsets.