A new MacBook Pro, HomePod, and more are still planned for release in 2020

Working from home is not stopping Apple from moving forward.

What you need to know

• Apple is still planning on releasing a number of products this year.
• A new MacBook Pro, Apple TV, HomePod, and more are expected in 2020.
• The company is adapting to its remote work environment.

While many of Apple's corporate employees have been working from home as part of the company's efforts to protect its people from the novel coronavirus, it has not stopped the company from moving forward on a number of new generations of its products.

A new report from Bloomberg details that, while the shift to remote work has not been easy, it has not stopped progress on new devices. According to the report, Apple is still planning on releasing new versions of the HomePod, Apple TV, Macbook Pro, iPad, Apple Watch, iMac, and iPhone by the end of this year.

"The company is working on new versions of the HomePod speaker, Apple TV set-top box, MacBook Pro, budget iPads, Apple Watch and iMac for as early as later this year. The next round of flagship iPhones are targeting release in their normal fall window."

Keeping the details of all of these new products a secret is a difficult task, one that Apple has struggled to do even when its employees were working behind closed doors at its campus. Now, with the added risk of employees working on sensitive information at home, Apple has taken steps to ensure this information stays secure.

"As part of the work-from-home order, Apple has clamped down on which employees are allowed to take home future versions of software, including the next release of iOS, the platform that runs the iPhone and iPad. Like with hardware, employees working on unreleased software, such as the upcoming iOS 14, require approval from the highest levels of the organization, the people said."

The company sent employees a memo stressing the importance of keeping confidential information secure while remote and has even gone so far as to offer to purchase desks and other equipment so that people are able to work securely from their home.

"Whether you're working at home or at the office, it's always critical to keep confidential work confidential. While working remotely, use the same care and always securely store confidential items and documents when not in use."

Gene Munster, Apple analyst and co-founder of Loup Ventures, says that the recent release of the new iPad Pro and MacBook Air points to the fact that Apple realizes the world relies on its products and is committed to its timelines.

"Apple has struck the balance between recognizing that much of the world runs on their products and that they need to keep them functioning and advancing, and they are balancing that with employee safety ... they are reminding us with these small products they've recently announced that they're going to keep working."

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