TechPhonesiPhonesApple’s slowing down its schedule for everything other than iPhones, says insiderThe iPhone will remain an annual upgrade, but a new report says Apple plans to slow down its release schedule from 2025When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

TechPhonesiPhonesApple’s slowing down its schedule for everything other than iPhones, says insiderThe iPhone will remain an annual upgrade, but a new report says Apple plans to slow down its release schedule from 2025When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

The iPhone will remain an annual upgrade, but a new report says Apple plans to slow down its release schedule from 2025

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Apple)

iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16

(Image credit: Apple)

Quick SummaryAfter some high-profile quality control issues, Apple is reportedly slowing down its product update strategy to move away from annual releases for non-iPhone devices.This could start to come into force from next year.

After some high-profile quality control issues, Apple is reportedly slowing down its product update strategy to move away from annual releases for non-iPhone devices.This could start to come into force from next year.

After some high-profile quality control issues, Apple is reportedly slowing down its product update strategy to move away from annual releases for non-iPhone devices.This could start to come into force from next year.

After some high-profile quality control issues, Apple is reportedly slowing down its product update strategy to move away from annual releases for non-iPhone devices.

This could start to come into force from next year.

For some years nowApplehas been on a fairly predictable schedule: it releases newiPhones, AirPods and Apple Watches in September, it updates its Macs in October or November and there are typically new iPads and other products in the spring. However, it is claimed the release cycle is putting too much pressure on the company’s engineers, so Apple is reportedly going to update some of its hardware at a more leisurely pace.

The change won’t affect theiPhone. Annual updates are a crucial part of Apple’s calendar: for all kinds of reasons including marketing and revenues, so the annual iPhone event is here to stay. But, according to Mark Gurman fromBloomberg, this year’s Apple Watch launch was the shape of things to come.

What does a slower schedule mean for Apple devices?

This year’sApple Watchevent updated the coreApple Watch– but it simply added a new colour for theApple Watch Ultra 2, and it didn’t unveil the next generation of Apple Watch SE.

As Gurman explains, that kept the focus firmly on the core Apple Watch model; the other two models will get updated next year and then likely remain on a two-year schedule.

One of the reasons Apple is reportedly doing this is because of quality control. For example iPadOS 18 had to be pulled from the newiPadPros because of serious software issues – it was only re-released for those devices last week – and the third beta of watchOS 11.1 had to be pulled too. Last month, there were software issues with HomePods.

The problem, it seems, is that Apple doesn’t have different teams for different devices.

Gurman gives the example of Apple’s audio engineers: they don’t just work onAirPods, but also on the speakers for HomePods and Apple Watches, iMacs and MacBook Pros. Not only that, but those devices are using various operating systems.

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The current Apple hardware range runs watchOS,iOS, iPadOS, macOS and tvOS, and there’s apparently a homeOS coming too. That’s an awful lot of bases to cover, and the recent software issues in particular suggest that Apple is trying to do too many things in too short a time period.

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