To be clear, this is a fake award ceremony and there is no trophy. I do not stand behind my pick and I do not claim that this event is fare. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s take a look at a few of the candidates in no particular order. I can assure you that at the time of this writing, I have no idea what the winner is, or which items will be mentioned. Let’s do this:

M1 iMac

The M1 has been around for a year. It should feel old and busted right now. It doesn’t, not even close. Apple didn’t have to do much to the iMac to make it great again. They gave it a complete and overdue redesign and knocked it out of the park. The new machines are beautiful, functional, and absolutely delightful. No one having spent the money to get one of these will ever feel ripped off. The only buyer’s remorse one might have is not having waited for the orange or yellow color.

Beats Fit Pro

Beats crapped the bed with the Studio Buds. They forgot they were owned by Apple instead of Google. They made a lowest common denominator type product which was not appreciated by the people who don’t mind spending a bit more for something a bit nicer. The Fit Pros were a complete course correction. They made amends and will hopefully never look back. These earphones are better than AirPods Pro. And that’s saying a lot. Don’t waste time evaluating them. Just buy them.

M1 MacBook Pro

What’s that? A second M1 product in the lineup? At risk of repeating myself, the redesign of the product was well overdue. Apple addressed all of the complaints with the next generation processor leading the way. I don’t really care about processors. But even amateurs will be blown away by the power under the hood of these machines. They are everything they needed to be. It doesn’t matter what Apple releases next year, the current models will last you for many years to come. Now is a good time to buy.

M1 iPad Pro

Hang on… That’s another M1 product. This thing is starting to look rigged. Of all the great products Apple released this year, I find this one the most disappointing. Don’t get me wrong: The specs are superb. The chip is amazing and the screen on the big one is even better than the chip. The problem is that none of it advanced the product line with regard to what it could do or how it could be used. It is still an iPad with all the limitations of an iPad. This is the first time I have accepted the fact that an iPad is all it will ever be. This is the year I stopped expecting Apple to advance the ball. They are happy with it where it is.

iPad mini 6

This iPad is not half the product the big guy is. But I love it more. There isn’t much to be said about the mini except that it also received a much needed and overdue redesign. It’s biggest fault is that the OS seems out of place on the device. This is an iPad that is crying out for its own interface. The product could be more delightful with a bit of software love from Apple.

iPhones 13

I have little to say about the iPhones 13. They are the current iPhones and slightly better than last year’s iPhones. Camera improvements are nice, but not enough to make a big noise about.

iOS/iPadOS/Monterey

I would love to seriously consider software for these awards. But none of the new OSs are worthy. There are nice features such as Quick Notes and Live Text. But none of the operating systems stand out. They all have issues. When is the last time Apple produced a piece of stand-alone software everyone was excited about?

Other Stuff

Obviously, the winner will not come from this group. AirPods 3 are okay. AirTags? Finally! iPad classic? Yawn! Apple Watch 7? Barely an update.

And the Winner Is…

Beats Fit Pro for the win!

I had a moment deciding between Beats Fit Pro and MacBook Pro. In the end, not everyone needs a MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air is more than enough for the vast majority of people, and an amazing value on top of that. The Beats Fit Pro can be enjoyed by every Apple Product user. The price is accessible, The features are thoughtful and well-executed. And you will get more joy from them pound for pound, dollar for dollar.

The other winner is a close second. It is Apple’s campaign to fix previous product missteps. Almost everything in the list was overdue for a redesign or needed considerable fixes from the previous version. They didn’t shy away from it. 2021 was the year Apple decided to fix everything and right the ship. They are setting a new course into parts unknown. I, for one, can’t wait to see where they take us.

David Johnson