It finally can start. The waiting in line around the block. The rampant analysis on fourth-quarter sales numbers. The predictions on when Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares will break $500. All of that and some doom-saying on when competitors like Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) and Nokia (NYSE:NOK) will finally keel over can now commence. Apple announced the new iPhone on Tuesday afternoon. It will be out on Oct. 14.
Of course, the iPhone 4S wasn’t the only product Apple was expected to announce. There is an entire stable of heavily rumored products allegedly in the pipeline over in Cupertino, Calif. So what was missing from Apple’s Tuesday press conference?
iPhone 5
The elephant in the room. The iPhone 4S is a significant technical upgrade over 2010’s iPhone 4. It has upgraded storage, the faster A5 processor used in Apple’s iPad 2, a camera capable of HD video recording, and dual antennas that provided better call stability and data downloads comparable to those touted by Verizon (NYSE:VZ), AT&T (NYSE:T) and Sprint‘s (NYSE:S) 4G networks. The new Siri software actually takes voice commands!
Upgrade or not, it isn’t the iPhone 5, the new model analysts and consumers alike expected Apple to announce. The iPhone 4S was supposed to be, as months of rumors suggested, a smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone 4 available alongside the iPhone 5. While a new $99 8GB version of the iPhone 4 did materialize, there was no iPhone 5 to accompany the 4S’ debut.
Will the derailed expectations hurt Apple’s sales? It’s possible. A new study from research group InMobi published in September found that while 40% of North American consumers wanted an iPhone 5, just 15% expressed interest in a “soft upgrade” like the iPhone 3GS was following the iPhone 3. The iPhone 4S branding could prove to be a thorn in Apple’s side.
iPad 3
There have been a good number of conflicting rumors concerning the next generation of Apple’s best-selling tablet. Some sources suggested Apple would deliver a third model by the holidays, while others like JPMorgan analyst Mark Moskowitz maintained that a new iPad wouldn’t materialize until 2012.
While Apple did tout impressive statistics for its tablet at its Tuesday event — 92% of Fortune 500 companies have deployed or are testing the iPad in their businesses — no new device debuted. The next iPad is expected to have a high-resolution screen akin to the Retina Display in Apple’s iPhone 4S. Other rumors suggest that Apple will look to take on cable and satellite providers like Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) with a new iPad version of its AirPlay video app as well.
Apple HD TV
A cable-conquering app service isn’t the only television product Apple was expected to bring out this fall. Rumors have persisted for more than a year that Apple would enter the television market with a line of Internet-connected LCD screen televisions. The Apple HD TV would come support iTunes, the App Stor, and an Apple-run streaming television service to take on Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).
No such device has materialized yet, though, and Apple’s future in streaming video remains up in the air. With Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) preparing to leverage its Xbox 360 game console as the next big thing in cable television, though, don’t expect Apple to keep a lid on its TV plans too much longer.
Touchscreen Mac
Like the iPad, Apple boasted some impressive numbers for its good ol’ Mac computers. In the U.S., one Mac is sold for every four PCs, and the worldwide install base of Mac users is 60 million. Impressive growth for what used to be considered a group of niche products in a Microsoft-dominated business.
With the recent upgrade to the Mac operating system, OS X 10.7, or Lion, Apple brought the functionality and aesthetics of its laptops and desktops closer to the iPad and iPhone. Patents for a touchscreen-based Mac have been circling the net for more than a year now, suggesting that Apple’s computers will work like their portable devices, in addition to sharing their apps. It’s not impossible that Apple will announce this one by the end of the year. It refreshed its MacBook Air line of laptops in the fall of 2010.
Apple Wallet
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) staked its claim in the mobile payments business just two weeks ago with the Sprint-supported line of Google Wallet phones. Those phones use near-field communication technology to let consumers pay for goods at checkout by waving their smartphones at the register.
Apple patents for a service called “Products+” popped up in 2010 describing a mobile payment service for the iPhone and iPad not unlike Google Wallet. A January Bloomberg report also suggested that Apple’s next iPhone would use NFC technology as well, making mobile payments seem like a guaranteed feature. Looks like consumers will have to wait for the iPhone 5 to use their phones to pay for lunch.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.
