Apple Now Seeking More Software Engineers Than Hardware Engineers

[MacRumors]

Software engineering positions have outnumbered hardware engineering positions in Apple job listings for the first time since at least the first quarter of 2016, according to data-driven website Thinknum.

The website claims Apple's "software and services" job listings have topped its hardware engineering listings since the third quarter of 2018.

Thinknum's Joshua Fruhlinger told us that the data is sourced exclusively from Apple's jobs portal and does not include listings on third-party websites. His website began tracking the listings in the first quarter of 2016, so it's unclear if software job listings have ever topped hardware ones before.

Whether accurate or not, the data is meaningful, as Apple has been focusing on growing and expanding its portfolio of services such as the App Store and Apple Music in recent years. Apple is also expected to introduce subscription-based news and video services at an event on March 25 at Steve Jobs Theater.

Apple has also been increasing its emphasis on machine learning and Siri under new AI chief John Giannandrea, with those areas falling under the software engineering category as well.

There are now over 1.4 billion active Apple devices around the world. That saturation coupled with rising prices has led to lower demand for some products. Last quarter, for example, Apple issued its first revenue warning in 16 years due to "fewer iPhone upgrades" than it anticipated.

With hundreds of millions of iPhones now sold, Apple is focused on building out its ecosystem of services and software features surrounding the device, and it obviously needs plenty of software engineers to accomplish that goal.

Article Link: Apple Now Seeking More Software Engineers Than Hardware Engineers

 

[Menneisyys2]

yeah, someone needs to work on new emojis...

 

[joshwenke]

Good. I think their software quality has been a lot less than the hardware quality.

 

[jerryk]

This is very misleading. People do not work only on software and not hardware, and visa verse. The line between two gets very blurry when you write code for personal devices, or create a device and need to write code to test it in real world use cases.

 

[twocents]

Good! Been using iOS since v1.1 on my 1G iTouch and have to say that for typical user it has gotten a bit complicated and unintuitive. You would be surprised how often people are surprised when I show them the flashlight in Control Center, swipe to backspace in Calculator, 3D Touch shortcuts even. Further, with the A11 and A12 there is plenty of amazing hardware groundwork that needs good software to make the most of it. Cause an iPad is a computer, right?

 

[cube]

This is very misleading. People do not work only on software and not hardware, and visa verse. The line between two gets very blurry when you write code for personal devices, or create a device and need to write code to test it in real world use cases.

Most software engineers do not do hardware.

 

[jscooper22]

If Apple et al have their way, we'll all be on dumb terminals in a few years, with them holding and controlling all our data, and allowing us to access it for a fee through connections they'll also control.

 

[Baymowe335]

yeah, someone needs to work on new emojis...

Or the $45B services business...

 

[fairuz]

This is very misleading. People do not work only on software and not hardware, and visa verse. The line between two gets very blurry when you write code for personal devices, or create a device and need to write code to test it in real world use cases.

Generally you're considered a hardware engineer if you write drivers or anything lower.
[doublepost=1551460673][/doublepost]

Good. I think their software quality has been a lot less than the hardware quality.

I'd maybe say this if it weren't for the MBP keyboard.

 

[chucker23n1]

If accurate, the data is rather unsurprising

I would correct this to: whether accurate or not, the data is not very meaningful.

This is very misleading. People do not work only on software and not hardware, and visa verse. The line between two gets very blurry when you write code for personal devices, or create a device and need to write code to test it in real world use cases.

A software engineer is unlikely to also do hardware.

A hardware engineer may do some work in the firmware/embedded area, but typically not in higher-level software than that.

Even for a hardware product that largely relies on low-level software like AirPods, chances are software integration like the popup that shows you AirPods are nearby/connected were done by a software team.

 

[cube]

Generally you're considered a hardware engineer if you write drivers or anything lower.

That is still software, but I think it tends to be done by hardware engineers.

 

[Joe Rossignol]

I would correct this to: whether accurate or not, the data is not very meaningful.



A software engineer is unlikely to also do hardware.

A hardware engineer may do some work in the firmware/embedded area, but typically not in higher-level software than that.

Even for a hardware product that largely relies on low-level software like AirPods, chances are software integration like the popup that shows you AirPods are nearby/connected were done by a software team.

Sure, I like that.

 

[iwill424]

About bloody time...

 

[jerryk]

Generally you're considered a hardware engineer if you write drivers or anything lower.

Today I am writing a Machine Learning Model that I will train on my Linux system through a user facing web site I created and deployed to the cloud. When it is trained I will deploy it via the driver I wrote to an edge device.

This moving back and forth is not uncommon as ML and AI becomes embedded into lives. A lot of other people I work with and know do the same thing. The days of just being a web developer that uses backend created by someone else, or just hardware guy that create a device and throws it over the fence are coming to a close. It is the reason top college programs have Computers Science-EE degree programs.

 

[dazz87]

Good.... iOS needs a lot of work.

 

[dogslobber]

All job openings are in the Bay area only.

 

[anton_usa]

Sigh... Apple's internet-based software offerings like iCloud are hardly well built or fun to use. The only software items I like are Terminal 2 and Xcode. But I loooove their hardware- like the MBP and iPhone designs.

 

[EvilEvil]

It will look good on your resume but don't expect to actually improve any of Apple's software.

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

yeah, someone needs to work on new emojis...

Omg, hilarious. /s

But, on the real... I’d bet literally everything I own, against a donut, that the incredibly minuscule portion of Apple’s graphic design team that have ever been even remotely involved with updating emoji designs (you know, like every single other tech company does) to support the latest Unicode additions, is eclipsed by the amount of Googlers working on Doodles.

 

[dspdoc]

Cause we know they aren't focusing on the Mac. That is for sure!

 

[Swazaloo]

yeah, someone needs to work on new emojis...

You do release emoji is a standard, and when they add new ones they are just complying to that standard.. right?
[doublepost=1551462904][/doublepost]

Sigh... Apple's internet-based software offerings like iCloud are hardly well built or fun to use. The only software items I like are Terminal 2 and Xcode. But I loooove their hardware- like the MBP and iPhone designs.

Accessing iCloud via it's website is pretty slow and not ideal. But the native iCloud integration built into macOS is incredible.

 

[cb3]

Sign me up for the "Not Available" category.

 

[BeforeTheMeds]

Omg, hilarious. /s

But, on the real... I’d bet literally everything I own, against a donut, that the incredibly minuscule portion of Apple’s graphic design team that have ever been even remotely involved with updating emoji designs (you know, like every single other tech company does) to support the latest Unicode additions, is eclipsed by the amount of Googlers working on Doodles.

Sounds like someone hit a nerve.

 

[xgman]

well software inevitably has to run on something ..

 

[pika2000]

Good. Hopefully we will see more about iWorks on the cloud, and maybe revival of Aperture? (wishful thinking...)