Reports suggest Apple to focus on performance and reliability in this year’s iOS and macOS releases

Ina Fried for Axios:

Apple has shaken up its iOS software plans for 2018, delaying some features to next year in an effort to put more focus on addressing performance and quality issues, Axios has learned.

On cut features:

On the cutting board: Pushed into 2019 are a number of features including a refresh of the home screen and in-car user interfaces, improvements to core apps like mail and updates to the picture-taking, photo editing and sharing experiences.

I’ve been wondering when Apple would spruce up the home screen with something more modern. If this report is true, it’s too bad we’ll have to wait for their vision of what that looks like. Also sad about CarPlay. It definitely could use some work.

On new features still slated for release:

What made it: There will be some new features, of course, including improvements in augmented reality, digital health and parental controls. In addition, Apple is prioritizing work to make iPhones more responsive and less prone to cause customer support issues.

Mark Gurman from Bloomberg also reported a smaller scale-back of new features is in the works for macOS while watchOS and tvOS chart a normal course.

There are multiple outlets corroborating this story, so I’m inclined to believe the context. However, as these rumors go, there’s no telling to what exact degree they are true until the WWDC keynote is over.

I don’t see this is a bad thing, but more of an unfortunate necessity after the string of bugs and security issues caused by lack of oversight. Not to mention the bad press Apple received as a result thereof. Hypothetically, this could mean iOS 12.x and macOS 10.14.x releases may be more substantial updates down the line — especially for iOS and new iPhone models, which typically have a few unique features.

Also, if Gurman is right, this could allow more time for Apple to focus on watchOS and tvOS. watchOS received a relatively small update last year in the form of watchOS 4. For a device still in its infancy, it has started to hit its groove, but adjustments are still in order. This is especially true when it comes to opening up the SDK even more for developers (e.g. new APIs for audio to allow for podcast apps).

We’ll see how true this is eventually. A lot can happen between now and June.