Tier-Ranking Apple's 2022
New Macs, iPads, iPhones, AirPods, & even an Apple display came to us in 2022. But do they all stack up?
With the year nearing its end, I'm looking back at the products & software Apple released in 2022. It's hard for me to believe that the year began at the height of another ferocious wave of Covid-19, with much of the world still trying to get its economic bearings following two years of supply chain upheaval. I believe that many of Apple's products were affected by supply chain disruptions due to covid, & attribute at least a part of that to numerous Apple releases this year, which I felt were rather lacklustre. Nevertheless, there are no bonus or sympathy points awarded in this tier. Some products were absolute bangers; others were complete duds, so let's get started.
My 2022 Apple Product Tier.
F-Tier
iPad (10th Generation)
At first, I was so excited to see Apple launch the 10th Generation iPad late in 2022. New Form Factor, 5G, USB-C, intriguing new colours, landscape camera. How could something so good go so bad?
The iPad got a $120 price bump, starting at $449 and going up to $749.00. And despite getting a USB-C connector, the decision was made to keep the device at USB-2.0 data speeds - making file transfers to/from the device reminiscent of 2003 & uploading music to my iPod. Other touches, like the lack of an anti-reflective coating or the decision to manufacture a thicker iPad rather than adopt a laminated display, feel cheap, especially given the higher starting price.
And then there's the Apple Pencil 1 support. I can see the argument that Apple might've stuck with that design because of the number of schools using these devices. Still, that rationale becomes almost moot when you factor in that the only way to pair that pencil is with a dongle that's nearly impossible to get and even easier to lose. The whole implementation feels unfinished, almost rushed out.
The iPad (10th Generation) gets an F-ranking because of its cost, mismatched features, and the fact that its neighbours, the 2022 iPad Air or $329 iPad (9th Generation), are considerably better products for most people.
D-Tier
Alpine Green iPhone 13 Pros & Green iPhone 13s
They're green. Green is the feature.
iPad Pro 11-inch (4th Generation) & 12.9-inch (6th Generation)
Released at the same time as the iPad (10th Generation), the latest Pro iPads get Apple's new M2 chip, Apple Pencil hover, Wi-Fi 6E & Bluetooth 5.3. Apple Pencil Hover is cool, but far from a killer feature; if I had an iPad Pro I'd seriously debate purchasing it if it became a $50 add-on, never mind spending $799-2,399 to replace my existing device. The other features (M2, Wi-Fi 6E, BT 5.3) feel like such edge-case updates that the people who buy this iPad will likely benefit from them, but they shouldn't be reasons to upgrade. The M2 has a 15% faster CPU & 35% faster GPU, but I can't think of anyone living out on the edges of the iPad performance who'll truly need these features.
Again, its ranking was brought down by its very modest improvements and by the outgoing M1 iPad Pro and previous A12X and A12Z iPads that continue to be compelling tablets.
Apple Watch Series 8
Crash Detection and nighttime temperature sensing for retrospective ovulation estimation are the main selling points of Series 8, which otherwise looks & functions much the same as Series 7, and to a close but slightly lesser degree the Series 6, 5, & 4. If you needed to upgrade, this is again a solid product, but you could be as happy and pocket several hundred dollars by opting for a discounted Series 7.
Retrospective fertility tracking is a nice perk if you want more data about your reproductive health. Still, Series 8 is being sold as a watch that happens to give you some bonus data that might be helpful in this regard as opposed to a device dedicated to providing you with precise fertility data. As for Crash Detection, it's both useful and will be a life-saving feature, but I would only nudge people towards this watch specifically for this feature if they drive in very isolated places and at very obscure times of the day.
iPhone 14
The main improvements over the 13 are Crash Detection, 5% better battery life, Emergency SOS via satellite, an extra GPU core, and an improved 12MP main camera with Photonic Engine & 4K Cinematic Mode. It's a decent leap from an 11 or earlier, but it's a shuffle step from something like the 12 or 13. And while Emergency SOS via Satellite is an impressive feature, I can only think of 2-3 friends who are avid outdoors people and who regularly wander through places without cell coverage that this feature becomes a compelling reason to update.
M2 MacBook Pro
It's a perfectly fine computer, but the M2 MacBook Pro is an incremental update over the M1 MacBook Pro, with arguably cheaper/better options (M2 MacBook Air, M1 MacBook Air, outgoing M1 MacBook Pro) available. I can only reason someone is choosing to grab this computer because they remain a diehard for the Touch Bar.
Magic Keyboard Folio for iPad (10th Generation)
An Apple-made version of the Logitech Combo Touch that's considerably more expensive ($159 v. $249). I don't get it. I like the function keys & the larger trackpad and wish both came to the other iPad models, but this isn't a reason for anyone to buy this keyboard (and the only accompanying iPad it is compatible with). Its 'lapability' sucks, the Keyboard doesn't strongly attach to the display when closed, wobbles as a result, and the back plate/stand nearly doubles the weight of the iPad itself. By adding the Magic Keyboard Folio to the 10th generation iPad, you're now looking at a product that begins at $700 and goes up to $1000 - that's MacBook territory.
C-Tier
Apple TV 4K
Apple brought down the price of the Apple TV from $179 to $129, doubled the storage (32 to 64GB), upgraded the processor to an A15, removed a fan, and added support for HDR10+. Great incremental update! While the base model lacks ethernet and a thread radio, for $20 more, you get both and another doubling of storage. Do that! Apple has a good thing going with its streaming service and continuing to drive down the price to ensure their streaming, arcade, and fitness experience can reach as many people through the console they control is paramount. At this point, Apple should sell the AppleTV independently for $69 and have the Siri Remote remain an optional add-on, with navigation controlled via a user's iPhone.
Apple Watch SE (2nd Generation)
Crash detection, updated S8 SiP, and a $30 lower starting price are excellent plays to get the Apple Watch onto more people's wrists. It's not at the coveted $199 price point, but Apple gets some points for finally dropping the Series 3 from its lineup.
iPhone 14 Plus
It's a great iPhone with a new larger screen that doesn't require people to pay hundreds more for the weight, cameras, and features of the Pro Max if what they want is just a bigger iPhone. That extra money for the Pro Max gets you a bevy of features that outweigh the added cost, but that's me, and I know a Pros feature would go wasted on some who would never use any of the added features.
iPad Air 5
A great processor (M1), exclusive iPadOS software feature (Stage Manager), and an updated 12MP front camera round out the updates to the iPad Air. I'm still baffled that the iPad mini has a rear flash, the iPad Pros have a rear flash, but the iPad Air? No flash. This Air feels like a rushed stopgap product. Unless you need Stage Manager, keeping your existing iPad Air (4th Generation) or an iPad 2-3 years older will likely continue to be a good decision. That's both a testament to the longevity of iPads and the incremental nature of this update.
It gets bumped to C-Tier treatment because I am in love with that Blue finish. My tier, my rules. Otherwise, this belongs in D-Tier.
tvOS 16
I was initially going to put this into D-tier because I have yet to see Apple doing much to highlight the features in this release. But after reading about some of the features, tvOS 16 scraps into C-tier. More language support, accessibility features (buddy controller, hover text), My Sports support, Shared Photo Library, iPhone-only Fitness+ support, and Personalized Spatial Audio are the main dishes.
B-Tier
iPhone SE (3rd Generation)
It's one of the top 10 selling smartphones and this year received 5G, 15% more battery, and an A15 processor. It gets to hang out in B-tier because it's a solid entry-level iPhone for most and comes in at a price nearly half the cost of any current iPhone 14. It's a super basic offering, but still a really solid one.
watchOS 9
Several quality-of-life improvements have been introduced in watchOS 9. This includes enhanced views for the Calendar, more discrete incoming messages, improved sleep data, a drop-dead gorgeous & powerful new Compass app, enhanced workout data on the watch and inside the Fitness app, and more. Plus, the new Astronomy, Metropolitan watch faces, and the added gradients in Modular are superb.
macOS 13 (Ventura)
I have no beef with Ventura; it's a solid version of macOS. Perhaps most importantly, it has felt very stable & zippy from the first boot. In contrast, I have memories of previous macOS updates that would feel slower, glitchy, or drain more battery until several point updates into their release.
It might feel like low-hanging fruit to compliment the addition of a weather and clock app to the OS, but both have been perhaps my most used new features on Ventura. Stage Manager is a solid feature on the Mac, and while I might be in the minority, I really like the look and some of the new features of the redesigned System Settings. Other features, from follow-up & undo send in Mail, messages editing, Shared Photo Library and Continuity camera, round out a reliable macOS release.
A-Tier
Mac Studio
The Mac Studio is Apple's first new class of Mac since the iMac Pro was released in 2017. The Mac Studio is a chunky slab of aluminum 2.5 times the height of the Mac mini with a ton of ports and an ungodly amount of power. With this release, Apple also debuted the M1 Ultra - completing their M1 lineup - a chip that can go toe-to-toe with the performance of a 28-core Intel Mac Pro (Oof).
Many would put this product into the S-Tier, but the Mac Studio finds itself in my A-Tier because of its aesthetics - it's a very homely-looking machine - its lack of post-purchase upgradeability, and to a greater extent, my personal issues with a persistent whistling/whine emitting from my unit. I've been working with Apple for three months to resolve the horrendous whistling from my device that has worsened in recent months to the point of making the machine nearly unusable. Multiple fan and power supply replacements have been attempted to no avail, and the entire process has been a giant headache and source of frustration. I don't know how widespread this issue is, but a few forums suggest I am not alone. The bad news seems to be that when people have escalated the issue to Apple engineers, they're receiving the diagnosis from Cupertino that this whine falls within the Mac Studio's "expected behaviour."
The whistling & the lack of post-purchase upgradability aside, it's a port-filled prosumer powerhouse that'll give people years of incredible performance.
Studio Display
Yes, the camera on the Studio Display falls short of expectations. And yes, it's weird that the display doesn't have an off button and has been known to crash. But once we get past that, it's a phenomenal display. It looks good, sounds incredible, and its introduction reintroduces an 'affordable' (starting at $1,599 compared with the $4,999 Pro Display XDR) display option into Apple's lineup. It's everything you've come to expect from an Apple panel and Apple build quality, and I like the number of stand options (VESA, Tilt, Tilt & Height) available at purchase. Would I have liked to see a miniLED option? Of course! Could I/Would I pay the price of that monitor? Probably not.
iOS & iPadOS 16.1
I know I will be chased by mob for suggesting iOS 16 is an A-tier product, but since the release of 16.1, it's served me very well. The battery life complaints I had with iOS 16 have been addressed with this point release, and the features debuting with this version are meaningful and enhance my use of my phone & iPad considerably device. This includes the updated home screen customization, Live Activities, enhancements to Focus Mode, undoing in both Mail and & Messages, more intelligent AI for photos and live text, vastly improved dictation and dictation UI, multi-routing mapping and more. I even like Stage Manager on the iPad, and I adore finally having a native weather app on the device as well.
iPhone 14 Pro & Pro Max
The main draw of the 14 Pro over its nearest kin, the 13 Pro, is a 48MP main camera, Dynamic Island, Always On Display, Crash Detection, Emergency SOS via Satellite, & Action Mode. These amount to a pretty sizeable leap over even the 13 Pro, which should even make users upgrading from last year's device happy with the feature improvements. The Dynamic Island alone is lovely, though it doesn't justify the upgrade. However, the sum of all the new parts makes this an upgrade people will be happy with.
S-Tier
AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)
These are the best audio devices Apple makes! The noise cancellation is superb, bass and audio quality excellent, and more battery, Find My, and adjustable touch controls for volume adjustment make these headphones exceptional. I hate the plugged-up feeling from in-ear headphones, but I've never felt plugged up with AirPods Pro.
M2 MacBook Air
Larger display, an absolutely gorgeous redesign, sizeable performance gains over M1, and ludicrous battery life. Its feature set dramatically exceeds the expectations you should have for a device of this size & class. And I know I'm being biased, but the M2 MacBook Air gets a ton of bonus points for being a computer that is such a joy to use.
Apple Watch Ultra
My favourite Apple product in years! Apple leaned into making a watch look and feel so extra they just had to call it Ultra.
At first, I wasn't sold on the design; it looked a little too aggressive, coming from the sleek and polished look I've come to know and love about the Apple Watch. But that quickly changed after I stopped comparing the device to a conventional Apple Watch. Judged on its own merits, the Ultra offers an exceptionally bright display, absolutely killer battery life, fantastic mics, and, yes, I'll admit it, makes me feel sportier than I deserve to feel.
The bead-blasted titanium finish is gorgeous and durable, while the bands further the character Apple is trying to give this watch. I love that Apple swung towards making a compelling adventure watch for a lot of hobbyists/athletes without feeling constrained by the history of the Apple Watch.
In Sum
I tried to base my rankings not on how a product compared to the outgoing model (e.g. improvement from the Air 4 to the Air 5) but on how much a new product differentiated itself over its predecessor and whether I would still recommend it (and the cost savings) over the latest model.
Outside of a few exceptional hardware releases, a lot of Apple's products felt a lot more incremental, even by Apple's incremental approach norms. Many felt rushed out, as though there was more Apple had wanted to include but were somehow constrained. Was this covid or inflation-related? I don't believe either were non-factors, but just how much of a role each is unknown. Looking forward to how things evolve - what products Apple updates, what new products they introduce - as 2023 is right around the corner.
