Apple had a rather disappointing year, facing numerous issues from a series of problematic software updates to the reality that profit growth stemmed more from improved manufacturing efficiency than from increased demand.

Additionally, there are concerns that production of the Apple Vision Pro may soon come to an end.

Recently, Bloomberg’s industry insider Mark Gurman revealed that iOS 19 will be launched in phases, similar to the staggered rollout of iOS 18.

The latter has been relying on promises surrounding Apple Intelligence, but its features are being introduced gradually because they weren’t ready at the time of announcement.

Gurman had previously hinted at this when he, having accessed Apple’s AI earlier than most, found it lacking compared to competitors like Gemini. He asserted that Apple still had significant progress to make. This was evident when Apple announced that its AI features would be released to the public in phases.

The iPhone 16 launch was particularly underwhelming, causing Apple’s stock to decline upon its announcement, likely due to the absence of Apple Intelligence at launch and its unavailability in the EU and China. As it stands, we can expect only basic features this December—such as ChatGPT integration and Genmoji—with additional features delayed until next year. To make matters worse, Apple has postponed the revamp of Siri until 2026, long after the iPhone 17 is expected to be released.

Gurman has indicated that insiders at Apple have informed him that iOS 19 will experience a staggered rollout akin to iOS 18, with most major features not arriving until iOS 19.4. He noted that this aligns with Apple’s recent strategy of reducing the frequency of annual product releases.

However, this approach also means that newer iPhone models will lack the same initial excitement that previous versions enjoyed. While I support moving away from annual releases, it should be done in a way that benefits consumers.

It’s better to release a fully developed phone later than to push an incomplete product to market with promises of future updates to fix issues and fulfill commitments. This strategy has failed in the modern gaming industry, and I hope consumers will recognize and put an end to such practices in this context as well.