Julie Clover
Apple appears to be gradually moving away from the regular, scheduled hardware and software releases that happen annually in favor of a more staggered product release cycle, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman highlighted in his latest Power On newsletter.
Gurman suggests that Apple Intelligence is evidence that Apple is moving “a little” away from the big fall launches of its hardware and software products. iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia debuted without any Apple Intelligence features, despite Apple Intelligence being a key element of iOS 18. at the Worldwide Developers Conference and were heavily promoted for the new iPhone 16 models.
Instead, the first Apple Intelligence features will arrive in October with the iOS 18.1 update, and Apple plans to add new Apple Intelligence capabilities to iOS 18.2, iOS 18.3, and iOS 18.4. Anything Apple teased in June 2024 won't be available until 2025.
In the past, Apple has delayed some software features, rolling them out in later updates, but with Apple Intelligence, Apple announced everything early and made it clear that software updates would be released over time.
Gurman suggests that Apple may continue down this path, adopting a strategy that allows it to release products when they're ready, rather than pushing them to release devices on scheduled dates. As Apple's product lineup has become more complex, the software has also become more complex. This year, Apple had to recall iPadOS 18 for the new M4 iPad Pro models after its release, and also removed beta versions of watchOS 11.1 and HomePod Software 18.1 because the software was causing serious problems.
Apple isn’t expected to stop offering annual iPhone releases, but there are signs that it’s holding back updates for some other products. There was no new Apple Watch SE this year (and it seems to be on a 3-year update cycle at this point), and Apple didn’t introduce a new Apple Watch Ultra, instead adding a new color for the Ultra 2.
The Mac and iPad, scheduled for 2025, will arrive at different times throughout the year and may not be tied to specific events like WWDC and the September iPhone event. Gurman has previously said that Apple will introduce new MacBook Air models, new iPad Air models, and a new iPhone SE in early 2025, followed by the Mac Studio in mid-2025, with the Mac Pro coming later.
Gurman suggests that continuing the incremental approach could lead to more innovation due to fewer time constraints, and that such a strategy would also make Apple less predictable, which is what the company is aiming for.
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