Based on Apple’s patterns of the past, along with some current rumors and my gut feelings, it looks as if 2012 is going to be a doozy:

• The 3rd iPad
• Mountain Lion
• iOS 6
• The 6th iPhone
• Significant update to the MacBook Pro lineup
• A television (?)
• And who knows what else (such as iMac, Mac Pro, and or iPod updates, iCloud enhancements, etc.)

A few years from now, I suspect we will look back at 2011 as having been the year Apple’s foundation was done being laid. From the introduction of the iPhone and iOS in 2007 to the shipping of Lion and then iCloud in 2011 — it was all just one long product rollout.

Apple spent the previous several years getting their mobile devices, desktop hardware, and operating systems all right where they want them. The foundation has been laid, and starting in 2012 they’ll be building on that foundation.

It sounds dramatic and even a bit cliché, but this is the beginning of the future for them. Apple isn’t slowing down any time soon.