5: iSlate

The Internet is abuzz with rumors of Apple's next blockbuster product. It's probably some sort of tablet computer and it's probably being announced at the end of this month.

I'm excited about the new product, but I'm at least as excited about the version they'll release in 2019.

When the iPod was released in 2001, it had 5GB of storage and a black-and-white screen. It was about twice as thick as an iPod Touch. Really, it could do just one thing: play music. It didn't work with Windows. Not long after its release, Steve Jobs famously said that the iPod would never incorporate video.

Viewed through today's eyes, that original iPod was equal parts gorgeous and clunky. Its evolution into what we have today seems obvious in hindsight, but wasn't a foregone conclusion at the time. And it happened bit by bit.

Whatever Apple has up its sleeves will likely be great.

But it's probably just the beginning.