>the shift
Amazon and others have shown there’s a good reason to break Apple’s rigid release cycles, believes
These days, Apple is facing more competition than ever. Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and even Facebook now build consumer electronics that compete with something in Apple’s orbit or, in the case of AR, is rumored to soon be there. It might seem counterintuitive, but I think this new competition has done great things for Apple, especially in terms of its overall software quality, which means everyone’s devices get better, faster.
As an example, let’s look at Amazon’s Echo devices. The first iteration was a screenless voice-controlled assistant for the home; basically a speaker with a microphone, powered by Amazon’s Siri competitor, Alexa. It has since expanded into small satellite speakers called Echo Dot, and the Echo Show, a version with a screen for displaying information and video calls. After Amazon stumbled hard with its first, now defunct smartphone, the Echo line has been a surprise hit. It has so far spawned competition from Google with its own Google Home speaker assistants, and a rumored response in the works from Apple.
The key here is that Amazon releases frequent Echo updates throughout the year in the form of new commands, speech recognition improvements, and more app integrations. Google takes a similar approach. Instead of hanging its hat on one big, yearly, Apple-like event to tell the public about new features and fixes, Amazon is constantly making the Echo more valuable.
Now, I’m a big fan of the way Apple releases OS and security updates for its devices for years after their initial release. It’s one of the many reasons why I continue to trust and stick with Apple. But these days, I see more people who have grown cautious of Apple’s big yearly iOS and macOS upgrades; “I’ll wait for the first update where they fix all the bugs” is a common refrain. That said, I think there are positive signs that Apple is becoming more nimble with OS updates that bring more than just “bug fixes and improvements.”
In March 2016, iOS 9.3 brought Night Shift, big Apple News improvements, and the option to password protect individual items in Notes. In January 2017, macOS 10.12.4 added Night Shift. And in iOS 10.2 and 10.3, Apple introduced a wealth of new features and improvements like more emoji, the new TV app, new Apple ID and iCloud storage tools, “Find My AirPods,” and lots of other small but useful extras.
Annual fixes and improvements are nice and all (and necessary), but regular updates like these help a company stay in touch with its customers and maintain a positive image in a different way. I hope Apple’s recent moves come from an embracing of what I think is a beneficial trend. After all, more reasons throughout the year to like our Apple devices doesn’t sound like a bad thing.