Apple inches away from annual software, product releases
For years, Apple has updated its operating systems and biggest products on an annual basis. The company gives a preview of its new operating systems at WWDC in June and then rolls out the accompanying major hardware products — Macs, iPads, and iPhones — during September and October. But, now, the company is slowly moving away from that strategy.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
Apple has a wider range of products these days, including several iPhones, iPads, Macs and AirPods. Updating all of those things at a yearly cadence isn’t practical. Moreover, there are some products — such as the Apple Watch Ultra or iPhone SE — that don’t need to be updated that often.
To be clear, Apple already deviates from its fall launch schedule. The company rolled out new iPads this past May and debuted faster Macs and a refreshed HomePod in January 2023. It also sometimes introduces new Macs in June, such as when it launched the 15-inch MacBook Air at its Worldwide Developers Conference in 2023 and the 13-inch version the year before that.
But it seems like Apple will have to go further toward a more fluid approach, where it releases products when they’re ready and doesn’t release them if they’re not…
On top of all the products, Apple has a range of operating systems — iOS, macOS, visionOS, watchOS, tvOS and iPadOS, as well as the software running on AirPods and home devices. That makes it harder to get everything out the door on time… Apple has clearly realized that there’s an issue. Pursuing a big fall launch for most of its new hardware and software offerings has become too much of a toll — and the company is ever-so-slightly inching away from that path.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s actually a terrible burden always being right about Apple, but it’s one we gladly carry for you, dear readers:
Frankly, we don’t need a new Mac or iPhone/iPad operating system every year and Apple Inc. doesn’t need it, either. Annual OS releases shouldn’t be mandated. What we all really need, customers and Apple Inc., are operating systems that are rock solid and do what they’re supposed to do when they’re supposed to do it. Why not just add new features/services to existing OSes with continued point releases that refine and extend the experiences and services you want to deliver? Why not just release new operating systems only when they are rock solid and ready?
– MacDailyNews, January 5, 2015
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