Apple concepts

Concept designer Antonio De Rosa issued a slick new set of designs Thursday for what he’s calling “17 Pro Max: Thinnovation,” despite Apple’s legal department getting in his face a while back over some of his concepts looking “too real.” For the new one, he left out the word “iPhone” and used AI to help avoid copyright infringement, he said. And his passion for the work — and for Apple — outweighed his fear of retribution.

“Call me a fanboy, but I love these products and even the illusion to ‘work’ for any of those,” De Rosa told Cult of Mac. “It makes me feel happy. Maybe I can save them some headaches looking at my works; they could say ‘Naaa, this is ugly, let’s pass on [it].’ Who knows, maybe I’m helping to have less ugly phones.”

Those eager for their first glimpse at Apple’s VR/AR headset should check out a concept design that might well be our best look yet at a product supposedly coming later this year.

It’s heavily based on leaked info about the upcoming virtual reality/augmented reality device — possibly called the “Reality Pro” — but with style added.

Apple filed a patent application for a desktop computer that’s also a keyboard. If that seems familiar, it’s the design used by some of the first personal computers back in the 1900s.

Because even old ideas can still have merit.

Rumor has it the iPhone 14 Pro will dump the screen notch for a pill-shaped camera hole. A concept artist turned the unconfirmed report into a possible design for Apple’s 2022 flagship phone.

He even put the additional screen space to good use.

A concept designer explored the possibility of an Apple stand-alone camera for professionals. The Apple ProCam is loaded with features, like 8K support and a built-in picture printer.

All this raises the question, is this a product that makes sense for Apple to make?

Apple is doubtless hard at work on iOS 16, and concept artist Kevin Kal has suggestions that many iPhone users will agree with.

He created a video to demonstrate the proposed changes, including Split View, interactive widgets and more.

A new iPhone concept design puts a scroll wheel in place of the usual side button. And it changes the shape of the handset to eliminate the screen notch.

Watch the designer talk about his innovative iPhone 15 design in a new video.

A concept artist took the rumors about an Mac Pro desktop with Apple Silicon and created a design that might really be what’s on the drawing board.

The concept combines the look of the current Mac Pro tower with the Mac mini to create a unique device.

Concept artist Antonio De Rosa combined the leaks and rumors about the next 16-inch MacBook Pro into a collection of images of the significantly redesigned device.

The screen notch isn’t anyone’s favorite iPhone feature, and an iPhone concept makes a radical suggestion for repositioning it: the artist suggests stretching the top of the handset to make room for the front-facing camera and other sensors.

Watch a pretend Apple advertisement from the concept artist demonstrating the innovative new device now:

A pair of concept artists want Apple to bring dramatic improvements in iPadOS 15. They separately created videos with specific suggestions on how iPad could become a more useful computer with the operating system update expected this autumn.

Both agree that the iPad should gain better support for external screens — though they came up with different ways to implement the feature.

A 2021 iMac is supposedly among the highlights of Apple “Spring Loaded” event on Tuesday. Concept artists have dreamed up proposals for what the upcoming all-in-one desktop might look like.

These vary as to details but are likely to please anyone tired of the very large screen bezels that have marked previous iMac models… and is looking forward to a speedy M-series processor.

Take a look at some of the eye-opening concepts before the big reveal on Tuesday.

A concept artist brought to beautiful life the folding iPhone they hope Apple is creating. The device starts with a standard iOS handset design but then opens into an iPad.

Watch the concept video now, and get ready to wipe the drool off your chin.

Concept designers are supposed to think outside of the box. Hank Beyer and Alex Sizemore created some Mac designs that are so far outside of the box you sometimes can’t tell there ever was a box. Their computers are encased in stone, ice, beeswax and other exotic materials.

An augmented reality Mac powered by Apple glasses offers a glimpse of what computing might look like in the future.

Yes, it’s just a concept. But man, is it gorgeously detailed. We talked with concept designer Dominik Hofacker about his fascinating concept, and you can read all about it in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now to read on your iOS device, or get the links below.

We’ve also got the latest news and rumors on the the long-rumored Apple Car and AirTags (not to mention those Apple AR glasses that Hofacker is talking about). Plus, we’ve got how-tos and reviews (including a second take on AirPods Max and a look at the second anachronistic season of Dickinson on Apple TV+).

A designer’s radical new concept shows what future Macs could look like if augmented reality glasses replaced the computers’ physical screens.

Dominik Hofacker, a 24-year-old designer who just landed a job at Facebook, calls his well-thought-out virtual Mac concept “macOS reality.”

“With AR glasses on the verge of release, and eventually replacing our smartphones for almost all tasks, I asked myself, ‘How does productivity look like in the future?'” he told Cult of Mac. “GlassOS that runs on Apple Glasses is one thing, but nobody has ever thought about the next generation of Macs.”

Apple Watch offers watch faces that’s do much more than tell time. But a user thinks the extra snippets of information — called complications — junk up the appearance of the wearable. They created an Apple Watch concept that moves them off the display and onto the pop-up window that’s currently the Control Center.

There’s good evidence Apple working on new desktop Macs, and a concept artist proposed a pair of iMacs with significantly improved designs for release in 2021. These 24-inch and 32-inch models borrow quite a bit from the iPad Pro line, including edge-to-edge displays.

A concept artist dreamed up an introduction video for Apple AirTags. These item trackers could debut as early as November, and pictures have leaked out already. But this is the first video they’ve starred in.

Watch the concept video now:

Apple is supposedly prepping an iPhone with a screen that’s just 5.4 inches. A concept artist created a video that effectively demonstrates exactly how small that “iPhone 12 mini” will be.

Watch it now to see the rumored handset absolutely dwarfed by a 2020 iPhone SE.

A concept artist compiled the leaks, rumors and unconfirmed reports about the iPad Air 4 into a series of beautiful images.

This tablet could be unveiled as soon as next week, bringing a very significant redesign. These concept pictures give a sneak peek and what’s probably on the docket.

A new iPhone concept gives a visual demonstration of many of the rumors about the handset Apple is expected to unveil this autumn. But it also includes some hoped-for features that might not make the cut.

Watch the video now:

The iPad mini has a 7.9-inch screen surrounded by bezels. Big ones. So a concept artist drew up some images that show how much smaller this tablet could be with an edge-to-edge display. The result is a device that’s nearly 20% smaller.

But Apple might be going in the opposite direction: making a mini with a larger screen.

Unfortunately, iPad got a watered-down version of the new iPhone Home screen widgets. But a concept designer cooked up some innovative suggestions for how this feature should be integrated into the user interface for future Apple tablets.

Not stopping there, he proposed an alternative way to bring iOS 14’s App Library to iPadOS and suggested a new Pro Menu. The designs come from Parker Ortolani, who showed off his suggestions via Twitter.

A new concept video beautifully combines iPhone 12 rumors into a three-minute ballet of tech. Done in the same style as Apple advertisements, it offers an early glimpse of what the real ads might look like when the 2020 iPhone models arrive this fall.

Watch it now: