Apple RUMOURS..!!

The Internet practically overflows with rumors about Apple. Rumors about the next iPhone, the next iPad, the next iPod, the next iMac; whispers of an iTV, or an iCar, an iRoboticHorse; gossip about upcoming software features, and hardware features and features that haven't even been invented yet. It can be dizzying -- and overwhelming -- to keep track of them all, as plentiful as the raindrops that fall from the sky in a thunderstorm.

Given the incredible amount of them, it might not surprise you to learn, then, that many Apple rumors that pop up throughout the year turn out to be totally, completely, pathetically incorrect. Whenever Tim Cook and his executive friends introduce a new product, in fact, a great number of Apple rumors perish, proven wrong by a feature that's not included, a spec that's not announced, a product that never materializes.

Below, just as we did in 2011, we've gathered together a list of all the worst Apple rumors of the year. Though rumors leading up to unveilings of the iPhone 5, iPad 3 and MacBook Pro with Retina display were all fairly accurate, there were still a few errant predictions.

Here, then, is almost everything we were told to expect from Apple that never came. Better luck next year, Apple rumormongers!

The Next iPhone

Apple's new iPhone will use bigger 4.6-inch display -- Apple's new iPhone actually used a 4.0-inch display.
Rumor source: Reuters/Maeli Business Newspaper, March 2012

Apple's new iPhone will have 3.5-inch screen -- Nope, still 4.0 inches.
Rumor source: iMore, March 2012

New iPhone Prototypes Have NFC and Antenna -- The prototypes might've, but the final iPhones did not ship with NFC capability.
Rumor source: 9to5Mac, June 2012

NFC Coming To iPhone 5? MasterCard Exec Thinks So - Think again, MasterCard exec.
Rumor source: MasterCard executive, February 2012

Glass-Backed iPhone 5 in the Works? - Not so much. The back of the iPhone 5 is anodized aluminum, which is, according to science, not glass.
Rumor source: iLounge, March 2012

Entry-level iPhone Nano Predicted To Launch in 2012 -- Still waiting on that so-called "iPhone Nano."
Rumor source: China Times, April 2012

8GB iPhone 4S to join iPhone lineup next week as Apple drops iPhone 3GS? - The lowest storage you can purchase is 16GB.
Rumor source: The Telegraph, June 2012

Confirmed: The New iPhone Will Have A 19-Pin “Mini” Connector -- Confirmed: The Lightning connector actually has 8 pins.
Rumor source: TechCrunch, June 2012

What's Up Dock? 19-Pin Connector Coming To Apple Devices - Still 8 pins.
Rumor source: Reuters, July 2012

Apple's new mini Dock Connector to feature 9-pin, orientation independent design - sources -- Ooooh, so close. But still 8 pins.
Rumor source: AppleInsider, August 2012

The Next iPad

Apple Will Unveil Two New iPads in January 2012 -- This report, from December 2011, missed the release date and the number of iPads Apple unveiled. Otherwise, it was totally correct.
Rumor source: Digitimes, December 2011

Report claims Asian suppliers scramble to meet special iPad 3 launch date: Jobs’ Feb. 24 birthday anniversary -- Either they didn't scramble fast enough, or this rumor was bunk. (The third-generation iPad was released in March.)
Rumor source: Focus Taiwan, November 2011

Apple To Unveil An 8GB iPad 2 With The iPad 3, Begin Production On 7.85-inch iPad In 3Q12
Rumor source: Digitimes, March 2012

iPad Mini Reportedly Set For October Launch, $200-$250 Price Tag -- The price tag, we now know, is $329.
Rumor source: iMore, May 2012

Apple's 'iPad mini' rumored with 7.85" display for $250-$300 -- Closer, though!
Rumor source: MyDrivers.com, July 2012

The Next iPad Will Be Called The iPad HD, Not The iPad 3 -- Well, they were right about one thing: The new iPad was not called the iPad 3.
Rumor source: CNET and VentureBeat, simultaneously, the day of the iPad's unveiling, February 2012

The Next Mac Computer

The Next Version of The iMac Will Be Released In Spring 2012, Have Apple TV Capability -- So, the new iMac didn't arrive until November, and it doesn't have anything resembling Apple TV capability. I'd say this prediction was misguided.
Rumor source: Brian Blair, Wedge Partners, December 2011

Apple to disrupt notebook space with radically redesigned MacBook Pros - Though 2012's MacBook Pros did become thinner, the redesigns were not "radical" nor do they "look like MacBook Airs," as AppleInsider's source predicted.
Rumor source: AppleInsider, February 2012

Rumor: Apple to launch 15-inch MacBook Air in April, 'effectively killing the Pro' -- The MacBook Pro lives! And the 15-inch MacBook Air does not!
Rumor source: Electric Pig, March 2012

Apple Planning To Launch $799 MacBook Air In Q3 2012 -- Wishful thinking: The cheapest MacBook Air remains $999.
Rumor source: Digitimes, May 2012

After nearly two years without an update, Apple to finally revamp Mac Pro next week -- It has now been two-and-a-half years without a Mac Pro revamp.
Rumor source: 9to5Mac, June 2012

The Apple Television

Apple And Sharp Ramping Up Production of iTV, Launch By Summer 2012 -- Strike 1.
Rumor source: Peter Misek, Jefferies & Company, November 2011

Apple's iTV To Launch In Q4, According To Report -- Strike 2.
Rumor source: Peter Misek, Jefferies & Company, March 2012

Apple Television Will Be Called "iPanel," Will Ship in Q4 2012 -- Strike 3.
Rumor source: Peter Misek, Jefferies & Company, April 2012

Apple Will Unveil The iTV At Its Worldwide Developers Conference In June -- Strike 4.
Rumor source: Peter Misek, Jeffereies & Company, June 2012

The iTV is in Production, Will Be Out By Year's End -- Strike 5.
Rumor source: Peter Misek, Jefferies & Company, August 2012

Apple suppliers to start preparing materials for iTV in 1Q12, Release In Q2 or Q3 -- This report from the end of 2011 was, in a word, wrong.
Rumor source: Digitimes, December 2011

Apple To Launch Subscription TV Service by Christmas -- Not looking likely.
Rumor source: New York Post, March 2012

Apple TV Will Launch In Time For Holiday Season 2012 -- Not unless you have a time machine.
Rumor source: Gene Munster, Piper Jaffray, November 2011

Sharp and Foxconn Are Producing iTVs, Could Be Here By Christmas -- Nah.
Rumor source: 21cbh.com, June 2012

Apple TV Will Come In Three Sizes By December 2012 -- Actually, it came in zero sizes.
Rumor source: Smarthouse, December 2011

Other Things People Were Wrong About

Rumor: Apple to hold 'strange' event in Feb. ahead of March third-gen iPad launch -- It held no such event.
Rumor source: Macotakara, February 2012

The next iPod nano is going to have a camera if these new spyshots are real -- They weren't.
Rumor source: Apple.pro, February 2012