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cook attends iphone 16 launch event

ifeng.com technology news beijing time on october 7, mark gurman, a well-known reporter from bloomberg, wrote on sunday that apple has traditionally conducted annual product updates in the fall. but now, with so many hardware and software systems, it's impractical for apple to do so, and the company is moving away from annual product launches.for marketing and other purposes, apple may only maintain a yearly update model for iphones in the future.

for years, apple has updated its major products on an annual basis. the outside world is already familiar with apple's process: first preview the new software system in june, and then launch corresponding supporting devices, such as iphone, ipad and mac, in september and october.

there are many benefits to doing this.first, it helps motivate employees to work toward the same goals,avoid confusion by clarifying when certain products need to be ready.

secondly,manage expectations so analysts and investors know what to expect.apple has posted steady revenue growth during essentially the same time period every year, boosting results in the all-important holiday quarter.

third,easier to create marketing and pr plans.if apple held a big launch event every year in the fall, marketing and pr could focus on promoting it. arranging the launch event after the summer also ensures that media members can refocus on their work after returning from their summer personal vacations. iphone launches are usually held on the first tuesday or wednesday after labor day in the united states.

problem with strategy

despite these advantages, cracks are starting to appear in apple's launch strategy.first of all, apple now has a richer product line, covering multiple iphones, ipads, macs and airpods. it is not realistic to update all these products on an annual basis. moreover, some products, such as the apple watch ultra or iphone se, don't require frequent updates.

in fact, apple has deviated from the rhythm of autumn updates on some products. the company launched a new ipad in may this year, and in january 2023 released a faster mac computer and an upgraded homepod. it also occasionally releases new macs in june, such as the 15-inch macbook air at wwdc in 2023 and the 13-inch macbook air the year before that.

but,apple seems to have to take a more flexible approach, releasing products when they are ready and not releasing them when they are not.

cook hosts apple press conference

apple's organizational structure is divided by function: hardware, software and services, rather than having separate divisions for each product category. this means that apple engineers are often required to contribute to all product lines. for example, the audio team not only develops new headphones, but also supports the speakers and acoustic systems for every mac, apple watch, and iphone.

beyond that, apple has a range of operating systems: ios, macos, visionos, watchos, tvos and ipados, as well as software that runs on airpods and home devices. this makes it more difficult for apple to launch all its products on time.

update postponed

in recent years, apple has begun to be forced to delay key new features in software system updates by weeks or months, which has caused some embarrassing situations. apple confidently announced product improvements at its worldwide developers conference in june, but some features were delayed from september to december or even march.

the latest software update also highlights the pressure on apple's strategy.the current ipad operating system, ipados 18, has few new features and contains a glitch that caused some m4 chip ipad pros to "brick" after installing the new system. to fix the problem, apple had to replace hardware and withdraw the operating system, rendering it unusable for two weeks until it was restored last thursday. just the day before, apple was forced to withdraw the third beta version of watchos 11.1 after it caused a similar glitch. the same problem also appeared in the homepod beta update in september.

the good news is that apple is well aware of the problems with this release strategy. for apple, pursuing a fall release date for most new hardware and software has become a burden, and the company is veering off that path little by little.

phased rollout

the latest ai system apple intelligence is an example. when apple announced it in june, it hinted that all of its features would be gradually rolled out over several months, and apple ceo tim cook even admitted during a conference call with analysts that apple intelligence's capabilities the rollout will be staggered.

currently, apple does not clearly indicate the phased rollout of the ai ​​system in its marketing.it touts the iphone 16 as the first device built for apple intelligence and plasters its website and retail stores with signs for the new ai capabilities. however, the iphone 16 released last month did not come with apple intelligence functionality.

apple intelligence features rolled out in phases

over the past few years, apple has generally avoided discussing features that aren't ready yet, as it doesn't want to fuel the narrative that updates are delayed. but by spreading out product launches throughout the year, apple can make this look like a positive, showing how flexible they are in launching products.

when it comes to hardware, apple clearly doesn't need to upgrade every year.however, while apple may release a new iphone every year for competitive, financial and marketing reasons, it is now more flexible in the timing of its other products.

apple didn't release an ultra 3 watch this year, but added a new black appearance option to the ultra 2. it also hasn't updated the lower-end model, the apple watch se. this has focused attention on the flagship series 10 series of watches, which have a new design and other new features.

ultra and se watches will be updated in 2025, bringing the update cycle for these non-flagship series models to two years. that's partly because apple's hardware innovation has slowed, so rolling two years' worth of features together can have a bigger impact.

in the future, only iphones may be updated every year

however, there are other signs that apple's product launches are becoming increasingly fragmented. the company plans to spread out several hardware releases next year over the first and second half of the year, which makes sense since apple intends to spend much of 2025 on major updates to ios 18. a phased rollout of hardware would allow those products to use ios. 18 latest features.

to continue this way into 2026 and beyond, apple needs to abandon its practice of rushing to prepare operating system features before september and instead release them in stages.the change may make investors nervous, but without these restrictions, apple may ultimately be able to innovate more and potentially generate more revenue beyond the holiday quarter.

to say the least, it would at least make apple less predictable, which is what the company that pursues its philosophy of "surprise and delight" has been working towards. (note: "surprise and delight" is a marketing and customer experience strategy of apple that aims to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty through unexpected surprises and positive experiences). (author/xiao yu)

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