Why doesn't Apple release incremental updates?

[Abazigal]

Is there any reason why Apple chooses to consolidate all its planned new features for IOS and release them all at one go, rather than spreading some of them out over the year?

I mean, with so many features included in each IOS update, is it so hard to just toss out a new feature or 2 every 1-2 months? You will still have more than enough features to justify a major update every year.

Plus, some improvements, such as the merging of phone numbers with apple IDs, I deem to be quite crucial. This seems the sort of thing you would want to quickly push out to all IOS5 users, rather than hold back on it.

Not to mention that sometimes, the developer may have a great idea at the end of the year, but by the time it gets announced/implemented 9 months later, it is also outdated or replicated by an existing feature/app. So people have the impression that Apple stole the idea from somewhere else, where in reality, they may have come up with it first or around the same time.

Your thoughts?

 

[r.j.s]

It is easier to roll all those new features into one massive update - especially if a feature depends on some other feature - than it is to try to incrementally implement, test and release features on a limited basis.

It's why there are software versions.

 

[ixodes]

I like the way Apple does it now.

They may change their approach at some point in the future, but I don't see a need thus far.

 

[brylliant]

Is there any reason why Apple chooses to consolidate all its planned new features for IOS and release them all at one go, rather than spreading some of them out over the year?

I mean, with so many features included in each IOS update, is it so hard to just toss out a new feature or 2 every 1-2 months? You will still have more than enough features to justify a major update every year.

Plus, some improvements, such as the merging of phone numbers with apple IDs, I deem to be quite crucial. This seems the sort of thing you would want to quickly push out to all IOS5 users, rather than hold back on it.

Not to mention that sometimes, the developer may have a great idea at the end of the year, but by the time it gets announced/implemented 9 months later, it is also outdated or replicated by an existing feature/app. So people have the impression that Apple stole the idea from somewhere else, where in reality, they may have come up with it first or around the same time.

Your thoughts?

That's just how Apple does it. It's all about marketing too. If they release a major software along with new hardware, it looks good for them.

 

[iMrNiceGuy0023]

Apple gets to promote they have 200 new features instead of 199 new features

 

[tann]

If anything were to change I could see them making the iPad version of iOS more iPad specific and releasing a big update to that around the iPad release (and a small iPhone one to allow iCloud things (if any) to stay all synced) then a massive iPhone iOS release around the iPhone (and a less massive iPad one).

Doubt it though.

 

[taedouni]

They don't just add features, they also do some overhauls of the coding of the OS.

 

[RacerCG]

If anything were to change I could see them making the iPad version of iOS more iPad specific ...

You were prescient! With iPadOS, they've done just that.

 

[tann]

You were prescient! With iPadOS, they've done just that.

Haha wow, thank you! That was a long time ago!