Apple Slowly Moves Away From Its Annual Product Release Strategy

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cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/44256463

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4mo ago

Bloomberg

Apple Slowly Moves Away From Its Annual Product Release Strategy

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Good. We don’t (anymore) need a new iPhone / MacBook / iPad every year. Only when the improvements are substantial. Now they’re just adding and changing things to make it seem like anything changed at all compared to the previous generation of devices.
- Then don't buy a new iPhone/MacBook/iPad every year.
  I personally prefer to buy a device that's as up-to-date as possible whenever I buy it. I wouldn't want to buy an expensive device that's 2.5 years old when I buy it only for it to get replaced by its successor half a year down the line.
  
  Yep, lots of things like cars, home appliances, home theatre components, etc. get regular, if not yearly, updates even when some of those things have a 10+ year lifecycle for the average consumer. It’s not like Apple stops supporting devices after a couple years. With things like the Apple TV that aren’t updated as often I end up putting off buying something that I want because, like you said, it might already be 2+ years old and I wouldn’t want to feel behind when the new one comes out less than a year later. I’d rather see smaller updates more often so there’s always something recent when I’m looking to buy.
- Why not? While it does seem wasteful that people actually get a new phone every year, I want to see a new model every year so I can decide when it’s sufficiently improved over the one I currently own, or I may want to decide on an older model so want there to be one with whatever I feel is sufficient. Having new models every year gives us all more choice, not just anyone who may replace theirs that frequently
  Edit: I really want an Apple TV, but there are constant technology changes so buying the current two year old design seems like a bad idea. It may still work but Why would I invest in a truncated future? If there were a 2024 version, I would already have it. Maybe even if there was a 2023 version
  
  I get your point. But we’d probably adjust if there’s less releases, I think. More choice might not be better when it comes to the planet and it’s natural resources. And we’re now at a point where phones barely change when compared to the year before.
  If there’s a new iPhone every two years, you can still decide when the improvements justify upgrading for you.
  
  I really want an Apple TV, but there are constant technology changes so buying the current two year old design seems like a bad idea.
  I’ve got a first gen ATV4K and the newer one - the only difference I’ve noticed over the years is the remote. We bought a current gen remote for the old one and it’s the same experience. Just pull the trigger, if you’ve got Apple devices it’s a great streaming box. ATV4K is not where the constant technology changes are happening.

This will likely apply to everything but the iPhone. I don't believe for a second we'll have a fall come by without a new iPhone.
- I think you are 100% correct. Look at the iPad, it’s way overpowered for how limited iPadOS is.
  Making a new cpu each year is probably really expensive and they come with marginal differences.
  Apple can offer marginal iPhone processor increases and then take a few generations of marginal upgrades to release a new Mac processor with a bigger power jump.

I just got a new iPhone 14 Plus and damn it is a good phone. Don’t need anything else.
- iPhone 13 Pro is also great. I have no need to upgrade until 2028.

iphone x is when i stopped feeling the need to update every year. now i do about every 4 years.

I imagine having to release new phones without much difference from the previous year is getting costly. At this point the iPhone 15 is a much better buy than a brand new 16. I would have to think stretching it to every 2 years would make them more money.

Good. Now go back to the tick/tock releases of MacOS (odd years) and iOS (even years).

13 comments