The Most Exciting Apple Products In The Pipeline For 2026 And Beyond

Apple is turning a new corner in 2026, as long-serving CEO Tim Cook steps down and current hardware engineering head John Ternus steps into the role once filled by Steve Jobs. Ternus has made his presence felt in the past several years, most recently taking Cook’s usual place on stage during the launch event for theMacBook Neo, Apple’s first budget laptop which is already proving a major threat to the Windows 11 ecosystem. With Cook voicing his biggest regrets as he exits, hope turns to Ternus for the future.

As 2026 draws on and Ternus’s control over Apple expands, we expect to see a number of new products that could be among the most exciting in quite some time. Some, like a folding iPhone, have spent a long time in development and have been expected. Others, such as a rumored “ultra” tier of touchscreen MacBooks, come out of the blue. Then there are a bevy of AI-powered gadgets which appear to be contingent on an AI-revamp for Siri. Of course, that Siri makeover has hit a number of snags along the way, so this is where things begin to venture into the realm of potential vaporware.

Before we dive in, it’s worth noting that none of these products have been officially announced by Apple, so it’s worth taking all of them with a grain of salt until you can walk into an Apple Store and buy one. With a volatile global market due to chip shortages driven by AI and an energy shock caused by the American-Israeli war with Iran, delays and product cancellations are even more likely than usual. With that out of the way, here are the most exciting Apple products in the pipeline for 2026 and beyond.

By far the most exciting new Apple product of 2026 is the long-awaited foldable iPhone. Expected to launch as the most premium member of the iPhone lineup, we hear the foldable will be branded as the iPhone Ultra according. Oddly, Macworld reports that it may not be part of the iPhone 18 lineup. Although foldable phones have been available for years, with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold debuting in 2019, Apple has established an historical pattern of arriving late to a market and shaking it up. The iPod was far from the first MP3 player, and the iPhone arrived after many years of BlackBerry and Palm devices, to name just a couple of examples.

For the folding iPhone, rumors and leaks appear to show Apple bucking trends. It will enter into a market dominated by Samsung and Motorola and will need to convince existing iPhone owners that a foldable is worth the price tag, which is likely to be high if the current crop of foldables is any indication. The rumored design is short and squat, similar to the original Google Pixel Fold and the Oppo Find N. This differentiates the device from competing models and may be a better experience for media consumption since the inner screen will be wider than those found on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and other book-style foldables.

What will truly matter here is software. Samsung and other companies include a heap of software features designed to enhance the form factor. With a price tag north of $2,000 being bandied about, Apple will need to deliver similar value in order for the iPhone Ultra to be seen as more than a gimmick.

Apple won’t be resting on its laurels after finally launching the folding iPhone. We’re also seeing talk of a potential MacBook Ultra, which will sit above the MacBook Pro as the ultimate powerhouse for macOS users. Bloomberg’s veteran Apple leaker Mark Gurman reported it in March, and Macworld scooped additional details on April 30. The latter report suggests that the MacBook Ultra could be the first of Apple’s laptops to feature a touchscreen, reportedly with an OLED panel (fingers crossed it’s a tandem OLED of the type found in the iPad Pro’s gorgeous display).

If you’re familiar with Windows laptops, you’ll know that a touchscreen is hardly a groundbreaking feature in 2026. It was all the way back in 2012 that Microsoft launched Windows 8, completely redesigning its operating system for touchscreen support. Given that Apple has had capacitive touchscreens since the original iPhone, it’s shocking that it took nearly 20 years to put one in a Mac. Gurman projects that the touchscreen will help Apple to justify a significant price hike for the MacBook Ultra compared to the current MacBook Pro lineup.

More exciting is what could be under the hood. Apple reportedly plans on using the MacBook Ultra to showcase its upcoming M6 Pro and M6 Max chips. The M-series silicon has been one of Apple’s greatest triumphs, providing powerful and efficient performance. The M6 is expected to be built on a 2nm process from TSMC, providing respectable on-paper uplift to that already solid performance and efficiency. Other changes reportedly include a thinner design, a Dynamic Island like the iPhone in lieu of the notch found on current MacBook displays, and the addition of a cellular modem — Apple’s custom C1X or its successor.

Apple stumbled out of the gate when it entered the mixed reality market. The Apple Vision Pro, an XR headset built around spatial computing, was praised as one of the best computers you can strap to your face. However, its price tag of just under $3,500, coupled with a lack of killer apps, doomed its prospects. Even an updated M5 version couldn’t salvage it, and in late April, it appears that Apple is throwing in the towel.

But Apple is gearing up for another attempt to put tech on your face. This time, the company’s ambitions are far more modest. It is gearing up to launch a pair of smart glasses which, according to Bloomberg’s resident Apple scooper Mark Gurman, will be akin to the popular Meta Ray-Bans in that they will likely lack a display. Expected to launch in late 2026 and ship sometime in 2027, the glasses are expected to be more of a companion device for the iPhone as opposed to a standalone gadget. They will be able to capture photos and videos, play music, take phone calls, and handle voice commands using the new, AI-enhanced Siri.

The Bloomberg report claims Apple will differentiate its glasses by building them in-house rather than working with an established brand like Essilor Luxottica or Warby Parker, which are partnered with Meta and Google, respectively. Apple is betting that tight integration with the iPhone and a competitive price point will turn the frames into a ubiquitous accessory similar to AirPods or the Apple Watch. However, there’s a built-in ceiling to the smart glasses market that does not exist for earphones or watches. Those who do not require glasses to see clearly may be hesitant to adopt unless there’s a killer use case.

In early 2025, we reported that Apple’s next device could flip the tablet script. Bloomberg had caught wind of a new smart home hub that would integrate with Apple Home. Back then, the product seemed relatively straightforward as a 6-inch, square-shaped tablet with an interface primarily suited to smart home controls. Now, it’s looking like Apple is launching an entirely new product ecosystem.

Apple now appears to be readying two different smart home hubs that will become part of an entirely new product ecosystem. Both are still tipped to use the reported square tablet design. However, it is now said to be 7 inches rather than 6. What will differentiate the two products is that one will come with an adjustable, hemispheric base that may somewhat resemble that of the iMac G4, but with a speaker included in it so that it can be used for music streaming, a similar concept to the Google Pixel Tablet. Gurman has even claimed it will be able to swivel around to face users, calling it a “tabletop robot.” The other will be wall mounted.

At first blush, this sounds like a weird iPad, but the home tablet is believed to run a new operating system specifically for home use. It will have hardware for Face ID, which may also be used to change what’s displayed based on which user approaches it. Details will likely become clearer as time goes on. Given that this product was initially tipped for a 2025 release and is rumored to have been delayed due to Apple’s struggles with AI, don’t expect to see this unique, new Apple device until the engineers in Cupertino can get the revamped Siri fully out the door.

There are a number of rumored AI gadgets which may or may not come to market. Apple’s struggles with AI are well documented, including a class action lawsuit for false marketing and the recent resignation of the company’s AI chief, John Giannandrea. Among these gadgets are the home hub, as well as a Humane Pin style pendant and AI AirPods.

The pendant seems least likely to come out, especially since the disastrous failure of the Humane Pin already proved there’s not much appetite from consumers. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported in February that, unlike the Humane AI Pin, Apple’s wearable pendant will be connected to the iPhone, placing it closer to a display-free Apple Watch than a standalone smartphone replacement. Its exact capabilities are unknown, but it is expected to use onboard cameras and microphones for contextually aware functionality.

As for the AI AirPods, the idea is similar. The same report indicates that Apple plans to cram cameras into a pair of true wireless earbuds and see what kind of AI applications can be gained from that addition. It’s not an entirely unheard-of idea. At CES earlier this year, Razer showed off Project Motoko, a pair of gaming headphones with cameras on the outer shell of each earcup, but the company has yet to ship that product.

Given that Apple is pipelining three different display-free AI gadgets with cameras and microphones — glasses, the pendant, and AirPods — it seems unlikely that all three will launch. On the other hand, if it wants to push its AI deeper into users’ lives, perhaps allowing the consumer to choose the best form factor for their personal needs is a winning strategy.