Apple slowly moving away from annual product / software releases

“Apple has a range of operating systems — iOS, macOS, visionOS, watchOS, tvOS and iPadOS, as well as the software running on AirPods and home devices. That makes it harder to get everything out the door on time.

In recent years, Apple was forced to delay key new features in its software updates by weeks or months. That created some awkward situations. The company made bold pronouncements about the improvements at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, only for some features to slip from September until December or even March.

The latest software updates also show the strain of Apple’s approach. The current iPad operating system — iPadOS 18 — has few new features and included a bug that made some M4 iPad Pros unusable upon installation. The hardware had to be replaced to fix the problem, and the OS was unavailable for two weeks before returning Thursday. A day earlier, Apple was forced to pull the third beta version of watchOS 11.1 after it caused a similar glitch. And the same story unfolded with a HomePod beta update in September.

The good news is, Apple has clearly realized that there’s an issue. Pursuing a big fall launch for most of its new hardware and software offerings has become too much of a toll — and the company is ever-so-slightly inching away from that path.

To see this in action, look no further than Apple Intelligence. When it introduced the features in June, Apple telegraphed that the rollout would take place over several months, with Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook even admitting on a conference call with analysts that the release would be staggered.“

When Will Apple Intelligence Be Released? When Is Apple Releasing M4 Macs, iPad? – Bloomberg