Apple had a tough 2016. Early in the year, the tech giant became entangled in a legal battle with the FBI over the company’s refusal to help the agency unlock the phone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. Apple argued that doing so would open a back door that would put other iPhone users at risk of privacy breaches.
Apple also had a somewhat disappointing financial year with annual sales dropping for the first time since 2001, when the company released the iPod. On the hardware side, Apple did release a refreshed version of the iPhone and the MacBook Pro, but both received mixed reviews.
And the big fruit left us guessing again this year about its plans to built an autonomous car. Rumors were seemingly confirmed in December when Apple wrote a letter to U.S. regulators asking that they restrain from imposing heavy restrictions on testing of self-driving cars.
What’s next for Apple? We’ll be tracking all the latest news in the new year.