Last month we reported on how Apple plans to delay new iOS features to instead focus on security and performance. Today Bloomberg has detailed some of the upcoming plans. Instead of keeping to an annual schedule, Apple plans to focus on the next two years of iOS updates. While there will still be a yearly update, engineers will have more discretion to push back features that aren't as polished.
It's tough to say how this will affect Apple in the long term, especially if engineers get a little lazy and features start to get pushed further and further. I will say I think it's a good strategy overall I would rather wait for a finished product that have something that doesn't work pushed out to meet a deadline.
Finding a new balance between speed and quality will be tricky. On the one hand, spreading feature updates over a longer period could hurt Apple’s competitiveness in the fiercely contested smartphone market. On the other hand, sticking to what Troughton-Smith calls a “ruthlessly ambitious” upgrade cycle risks rushing out features before they’re ready and undermining Apple’s vaunted reputation for quality.
It's tough to say how this will affect Apple in the long term, especially if engineers get a little lazy and features start to get pushed further and further. I will say I think it's a good strategy overall I would rather wait for a finished product that have something that doesn't work pushed out to meet a deadline.
Finding a new balance between speed and quality will be tricky. On the one hand, spreading feature updates over a longer period could hurt Apple’s competitiveness in the fiercely contested smartphone market. On the other hand, sticking to what Troughton-Smith calls a “ruthlessly ambitious” upgrade cycle risks rushing out features before they’re ready and undermining Apple’s vaunted reputation for quality.