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Apple's Shift Toward More Staggered Releases Could Bring More Innovation and Less Predictability
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Recognition of a true problem. But I’m guessing they’ve been persistently experiencing sales drops or there would be no need to consider an alternative. Some people like incremental, but it just seems like the focus of always flooding the market with new small updates 10 different options on every product like has changed the culture a bit. I’d rather a silence for a few years with seemingly explosive innovation or design changes at random years when they finally have another new and fresh option to offer.
I wish this is true. Really.
Apple appears to be slowly moving away from regular, timed hardware and software releases that come on an annual basis, instead favoring more of a staggered product release cycle, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman highlighted in his most recent Power On newsletter.
Gurman suggests that Apple Intelligence is evidence that Apple is "ever-so-slightly" moving away from a big fall launch for its hardware and software products. iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia debuted without any Apple Intelligence features, despite the fact that Apple Intelligence was a key focal point of iOS 18 at the Worldwide Developers Conference, and heavily advertised for the new iPhone 16 models.
Instead, the first Apple Intelligence features will come out in October in an iOS 18.1 update, and Apple plans to add new Apple Intelligence capabilities in iOS 18.2, iOS 18.3, and iOS 18.4. Everything that Apple highlighted in June 2024 won't be available until well into 2025.
Apple has delayed some software features in the past, introducing them in later updates, but with Apple Intelligence, Apple announced everything well in advance and made it clear that the software updates would roll out over time.
Gurman suggests that Apple could continue on this path, adopting a strategy that will see it release products when they're ready rather than pushing to get devices out on a scheduled timeline. As Apple's product lineup has grown more complex, software has also become more complicated. This year, Apple had to pull iPadOS 18 for the new M4 iPad Pro models after it was released, plus it had to remove beta versions of watchOS 11.1 and the HomePod Software 18.1 because the software was causing significant issues.
Apple is not expected to stop offering yearly releases of the iPhone, but there are signs that it is holding updates on some other products. There was no new version of the Apple Watch SE this year (and it seems to be on a 3-year update cycle as of now), nor did Apple introduce a new Apple Watch Ultra, instead adding a new color for the Ultra 2.
Macs and iPads that are planned for 2025 will come at various points throughout the year and may not be tied to specific events like WWDC and the September iPhone event. Gurman has previously said Apple will introduce new MacBook Air models, new iPad Air models, and a new iPhone SE early in 2025, with a Mac Studio to follow in mid-2025 and a Mac Pro to come later.
Gurman suggests that continuing on with a staggered approach could result in more innovation thanks to fewer timing constraints, and that such a strategy would also make Apple less predictable, which is something that the company aims for.
Article Link: Apple's Shift Toward More Staggered Releases Could Bring More Innovation and Less Predictability
Remember when software was released every few years? I wasn’t in the Mac camp back in the mid 2000s, but I remember Windows XP being out for many years before Vista was released. I believe the gap was around 5 years.
My first laptop came with Vista, and I don’t understand why many people didn’t like it. The hardware was **** though, as the whole thing broke within 2.5 years and I then bought my first Mac.
My first Mac came with Snow Leopard. Wasn’t there like 2 years between Leopard and Snow Leopard?
They should release software when it’s ready, for every device. We don’t need software to be released every year, just because new hardware is being released.
Apple’s software quality has dropped ever since Scott Forstall was fired/asked to leave, and I’m sure yearly updates for the sake of it doesn’t help.
“It just works” hasn’t been true for years.
My first laptop came with Vista, and I don’t understand why many people didn’t like it. The hardware was **** though, as the whole thing broke within 2.5 years and I then bought my first Mac.
My first Mac came with Snow Leopard. Wasn’t there like 2 years between Leopard and Snow Leopard?
They should release software when it’s ready, for every device. We don’t need software to be released every year, just because new hardware is being released.
Apple’s software quality has dropped ever since Scott Forstall was fired/asked to leave, and I’m sure yearly updates for the sake of it doesn’t help.
“It just works” hasn’t been true for years.
Mavericks was actually pretty big under the hood, so it's not surprising there were some issues. It was far from the widgets and screensavers that we know today. It introduced timer coalescing, memory compression, tweaked memory management, added app nap, dock and menu bar on all screens, Finder tabs, optimizations for battery life, etc. I think it was the last release to actually move OpenGL forward.
It was the last macOS release I was actually excited about because it changed the actual operating system (and not just the bundled applications) in meaningful and exciting ways. Now macOS updates are kind of... uneventful. If I recall, the platforms state of the union for macOS this year was just another ad for AI.
Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly. All while setting a brand-new standard for privacy in AI.
www.apple.com
Apple Intelligence will be available in beta on all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad and Mac with M1 and later, with Siri and device language set to U.S. English, as part of an iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia update this fall. English (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, UK) language support available this December. Some features, additional platforms, and support for additional languages, like Chinese, English (India, Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese, and others, will be coming over the course of the next year.
Clean Up will be available in beta on all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad and Mac with M1 and later, as part of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 this fall.
We do not need a new iPhone every year. Or revert to the tick-tock cycle of S releases where the S release offers new colours and a minor spec bump (no new features). We don’t need a new version of iOS every year too.
So next year they will release M4 Mac Pro shortly after iPad M5.
Apple appears to be slowly moving away from regular, timed hardware and software releases that come on an annual basis, instead favoring more of a staggered product release cycle, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman highlighted in his most recent Power On newsletter.
Gurman suggests that Apple Intelligence is evidence that Apple is "ever-so-slightly" moving away from a big fall launch for its hardware and software products. iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia debuted without any Apple Intelligence features, despite the fact that Apple Intelligence was a key focal point of iOS 18 at the Worldwide Developers Conference, and heavily advertised for the new iPhone 16 models.
Instead, the first Apple Intelligence features will come out in October in an iOS 18.1 update, and Apple plans to add new Apple Intelligence capabilities in iOS 18.2, iOS 18.3, and iOS 18.4. Everything that Apple highlighted in June 2024 won't be available until well into 2025.
Apple has delayed some software features in the past, introducing them in later updates, but with Apple Intelligence, Apple announced everything well in advance and made it clear that the software updates would roll out over time.
Gurman suggests that Apple could continue on this path, adopting a strategy that will see it release products when they're ready rather than pushing to get devices out on a scheduled timeline. As Apple's product lineup has grown more complex, software has also become more complicated. This year, Apple had to pull iPadOS 18 for the new M4 iPad Pro models after it was released, plus it had to remove beta versions of watchOS 11.1 and the HomePod Software 18.1 because the software was causing significant issues.
Apple is not expected to stop offering yearly releases of the iPhone, but there are signs that it is holding updates on some other products. There was no new version of the Apple Watch SE this year (and it seems to be on a 3-year update cycle as of now), nor did Apple introduce a new Apple Watch Ultra, instead adding a new color for the Ultra 2.
Macs and iPads that are planned for 2025 will come at various points throughout the year and may not be tied to specific events like WWDC and the September iPhone event. Gurman has previously said Apple will introduce new MacBook Air models, new iPad Air models, and a new iPhone SE early in 2025, with a Mac Studio to follow in mid-2025 and a Mac Pro to come later.
Gurman suggests that continuing on with a staggered approach could result in more innovation thanks to fewer timing constraints, and that such a strategy would also make Apple less predictable, which is something that the company aims for.
Article Link: Apple's Shift Toward More Staggered Releases Could Bring More Innovation and Less Predictability
Bad for stockholders isn’t so bad after all. The prime focus on just profits is overall bad for everybody. Business can be done a different way.
Boeing is one of the latest major companies to demonstrate how a narrow focus on shareholder profit ended up hurting its reputation — and worse, killing people. Their profit over safety resulted in poor executed products such as the 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner.
Here’s a quote from the podcast American Scandal that puts very succinctly an issue with shareholder value. The person being interviewed is airline industry consultant, Scott Hamilton.
There are no grounds for a lawsuit. Devices already released and being sold are marketed with the current features available, and the promise of years of further updates to follow. Apple Intelligence is no different. They announced it at WWDC as coming later, they never said it was available now. There needs to be lead time so it can be tested and developers can be ready to build on it.
They still have to prove themselves. Can we imagine a yearly release of the Apple Vision Pro? These forced releases were a neat idea that doesn’t work. I wish Apple would stop releasing annual iPhone updates too. The iPhone 16 with a half-executed camera button that Steve and Jony wouldn’t have wanted and no Apple Intelligence features are a prime example.
I am struggling to see the point the article is trying to make.
For one, I don’t see Apple moving away from an annual upgrade cycle for the iphone and Apple Watch. Given the sheer number of people who buy a new iPhone every year (well over 200 million), it just makes sense. Even if you argue that this year‘s iphone is only a marginal upgrade from the previous year’s, it’s still a significant improvement for someone looking to upgrade after 3-5 years.
As for the ipad and the mac, the reality is that people are holding on to them longer, so there really isn’t much to lose from not releasing a new upgrade every year. Apple can probably get away with refreshing the ipad every 1.5 years, 2 years for MacBooks and maybe even 3 years for desktop Macs, in order of sales volume.
When it comes to software, since Apple has perfected the art of pushing timely software updates to hundreds of millions of users on day 1, I don’t think it matters whether you get a feature like Apple Intelligence right away, or a month or two later. What matters is that users eventually get it, an iphone sold is an iphone sold, and in the greater scheme of things, what’s a month delay for someone looking to hold on to their iPhone for the next few years?
As for other products like AirPods and Apple TV, yeah, it will be ready when it‘s ready.
So yeah…¯\_(ツ)_/¯
For one, I don’t see Apple moving away from an annual upgrade cycle for the iphone and Apple Watch. Given the sheer number of people who buy a new iPhone every year (well over 200 million), it just makes sense. Even if you argue that this year‘s iphone is only a marginal upgrade from the previous year’s, it’s still a significant improvement for someone looking to upgrade after 3-5 years.
As for the ipad and the mac, the reality is that people are holding on to them longer, so there really isn’t much to lose from not releasing a new upgrade every year. Apple can probably get away with refreshing the ipad every 1.5 years, 2 years for MacBooks and maybe even 3 years for desktop Macs, in order of sales volume.
When it comes to software, since Apple has perfected the art of pushing timely software updates to hundreds of millions of users on day 1, I don’t think it matters whether you get a feature like Apple Intelligence right away, or a month or two later. What matters is that users eventually get it, an iphone sold is an iphone sold, and in the greater scheme of things, what’s a month delay for someone looking to hold on to their iPhone for the next few years?
As for other products like AirPods and Apple TV, yeah, it will be ready when it‘s ready.
So yeah…¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Without the hardware change or new design, only thing they can stagger is software which can’t work without the underlying hardware. No point releasing the devices earlier and keeping the buyers wait for beta testing or be part of the beta testing (after selling the devices) is not a great strategy. This is nice way of saying that Apple is slowing down their innovation.
Agreed. Just look at the Vision Pro exploding on the scene and how well it’s doing! 🤭
Apple Silicon is Apple's most successful hardware innovation since it started designing its own CPU with the A6 back in 2012. The main issue is that some machines (Mac Studio, Mac Pro, iMac) sometimes skip a generation for no apparent reason.
Vision Pro seems like a solution looking for a problem, but so did the Apple Watch back in 2014-2015. A cheaper second generation, more capable software, and more optimized apps can make this a better device for a wider audience, even if it is more niche than the Watch.
Titan is a failure, but it was never released or even publicly revealed. Companies develop and scrap prototypes all the time. Most models never make it out of R&D, that's just part of it.
iPhone: in some ways, yes, in others, like SoC, it is ahead or par. This depends. At least software capabilities of iOS are now closer to Android than they have ever been.
Well, the last major rewrite of macOS was arguably Snow Leopard in 2009, when they also ditched PowerPC support. The Big Sur update in 2020 was less dramatic as it optimized macOS for ARM64, and did not ditch support for x86_64. I am curious as to which functions you would want to rewrite, as macOS is running fine on both my machines, and has done so for every release since Big Sur.
Is this anything new? its been happening for a few years now that Apple releases new software in a blaze of "excitement" and we spend the next year receiving patches,updates,bug killers.